Happy Spring: Asheville, Birthdays, Easter, Charleston, Conference

The kids had 3 weeks off of school starting March 15. Mark has to work in Asheville for all of March and April, so we headed down to Asheville (about 3.5 hours away) to spend time together as a family. We started off the kids' break with a visit from Nana and Grandpa, so of course, they got to come to Asheville too...

We hiked up to the top of Grandfather Mountain and got to cross Mile High Swinging Bridge

Playing at Split Rock in Grandfather Mountain State Park

Exploring the grounds at the Biltmore

It was oh so good to see my parents and spend 5 awesome days with them. I wish they could come every month.

My Grant Boy had his 4th birthday. Grant is all about super heroes, so his birthday was full of the Avengers and Spiderman and good guys and bad guys. 

Avenger party!

This is the "Hulk Smash Cake" that Grant helped me plan and decorate

I really don't want my baby to be growing up so fast, but we sure do enjoy this kid in all his stages. 

We had to take Nana and Grandpa back to the airport, so we spent a few days in Durham. I took the kids to a super cool trampoline place called Defy Gravity one morning. I'm pretty sure I had the most fun of all.  Wall-to-wall trampolines is a dream come true for me!

My friend took this picture of me doing a back flip. I could still do lots of tricks, but I was so sore the next day!

Then I celebrated my big 33rd birthday, back in Asheville so we could be with Mark, my mountain-man hubby.

We spent lots of happy, quiet days all together playing games and reading books in our little apartment. Mark would go to work and the kids and I would hang out till the afternoon when Mark got home from work (his schedule is so nice in Asheville!). When it was warm enough, we played outside and went hiking and exploring. 

A Sunday evening walk at the Biltmore

Just outside our apartment building

Hiking on the Mountains to Sea Trail near our apartment

Mark took his big yearly ophthalmology test on a Saturday morning, then we loaded up the van and headed to the Isle of Palms, just outside of Charleston, South Carolina, for a few days at the beach with some friends. We rented a beach house with the Schmutz, Preece, and Draughan families, then the Paxtons joined us later in the week. It wasn't overly warm weather, but it was beautiful and we still had a great time playing on the beach and exploring Charleston.

Our Easter egg hunt at the beach house with all the kiddos

Battery Park in downtown Charleston 

Checking out the beautiful old houses on Rainbow Row

My favorite thing about our beach trip was our girls' outing to visit Middleton Place, an old Southern plantation. The gardens and grounds there were beyond beautiful (they are known as the oldest landscaped gardens in the US), especially with the azaleas all in bloom. And the history was fascinating. Learning more about the slave trade and slavery in Charleston was sobering but important. I got such a better feel for what life was like in the South before the Civil War and could better understand why things are like they are today. I loved going through the house and seeing things like an 1818 copy of the Declaration of Independence, printed on silk (Arthur Middleton was one of the signers of the Declaration; his father was the president of the First Continental Congress) and right by that a copy of the South Carolina Ordinance of Secession signed by Williams Middleton in 1860. Much of Middleton Place was burned at the end of the Civil War. The Middleton family had hidden many of their valuables in other locations though, so we were able to see some of their gorgeous furniture and paintings, silver candlesticks and pitchers dating back to the late 1700s when Arthur Middleton and his wife had traveled to Europe, and so many other beautiful, interesting things. I know I'm nerdy, but I love learning more about people and places from the past.

    

Jenny, Amy, Eliza, and I in the gardens at Middleton Place

Isn't that amazing?

Part of the house that was rebuilt after it was burned in 1865 

We drove back to Asheville after our Charleston trip, then came back to Durham on Friday. We wanted to all be home for General Conference. We missed dying Easter eggs last week, so we made up for it today. Then, as is tradition, the kids rolled their eggs down the driveway. I'm not sure why we do that, but the kids love it.

General Conference was amazing. I would listen to talks like that for a whole week if I could. I loved the music and the spirit that filled our home the last two days. I loved the messages on the importance of family and faith and sharing the gospel. With spring finally here in all its warmth and beauty, with several weeks of wonderful family time behind me, and with the power that comes from a weekend of General Conference, I am ready to start fresh and be a better me. 

The kids start back to school in the morning. Mark is back in Asheville. Real life begins again. I am so thankful for times like these last few weeks when life slows down and I get to focus on what matters most.

And just because it makes me happy, here's a picture of my favorite Hulk.