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.

Minnesota!

For Valentine's Day, Mark surprised me with a trip to visit my sister Andrea and her family in Minnesota. I have had a hard month emotionally, so he felt like this would be the perfect way for me to recharge. And it was.

After spending 24 hours stuck in St. Louis during a snow storm, I was so happy to finally get to Minnesota! Don't get me wrong, I'd had a fun time hanging out in the airport all day Thursday, waiting in horrendous lines, finally getting a taxi to a hotel (and thinking I was going to die as I sat squished in the backseat of that van, watching cars spinning in the snow on the roads all around us), hanging out in the Redbird Bar with my new friends Robyn and Dylan, then sleeping on the couch in Robyn's hotel room... yes, I'd had a great first day of my trip, but I was really relieved when I finally saw Andrea. We picked up Spencer from work and had lunch at a yummy Mexican restaurant. Then we headed home and waited for the kids to get home from school, and the party really began...

Being the awesome aunt that I am, I always seem to bring out the mature, sophisticated side in my nieces and nephews...

I brought a balloon animal kit for the kids, and I was impressed by their creations! 

We played Pound the Table, Ticket to Ride, and Settlers. I loved sitting around their table laughing, eating, and playing games. 

Mark ordered pizza and had it delivered to us Friday night, so that was a fun surprise. Mark was home taking care of the kids and still managed to do nice things for me while I was away! :)

I took a picture with each of the Driskill kids so I could show my kids how tall Tyler, Amanda, Zach, and Devin are all getting. It's hard for me to believe that Tyler and Amanda are both way taller than me and that Zach and I are exactly the same height... at least I've got a couple of inches on Devin still. But I'm sure he'll pass me up soon too!

Of course, our Saturday morning temple trip was a highlight. It was beautiful and happy.

Zach played awesome in his basketball game that afternoon, then Saturday night we went to the Ice Castle by the Mall of America. I loved being outside in the snow and cold (I kept saying it felt so Christmasy!), and the ice castle was really neat.

That Viking had the greatest laugh. Very Viking-esque.

Tyler took this picture of his mom and dad, and I thought it was super cute. :)

It was so good to be in the Driskill's home, go to church with them, play and laugh with them, watch family videos, meet their friends, hear about all the kids' activities, and stay up late talking with Andrea. I needed some good sister time and family time, and I sure got it. I had plenty of time on my flights and layovers to read and watch movies and think and write. It really was nice to get away from all my responsibilities and get to be just me for a little while. But I was so ready and happy to see Mark and my kids when I got home Sunday night. What a great Valentine's gift, Mark. Thank you! And thank you, Andrea, Spencer, Tyler, Amanda, Zach, and Devin for letting me come visit!

Happy 2013 so far...

We started off the new year with a nice week of family time, with no school or work. We spent a couple of days at Great Wolf Lodge again (like last year), and the kids loved it even more this time. 

Our fun "kids camp" room

Lovin' the water

Funny that Grant doesn't look happy here because he spent hours on that water toy. He loved spraying strangers with the powerful squirt gun. :)

Lotsa Water Dump Zone!

Eliza had grown a couple of inches since last year, so she had moved up into the "yellow zone" which meant she could ride on all but one of the grown-up rides as long as she had an adult with her. She was in heaven. Eliza isn't scared of much, so she didn't even hesitate at going down all the tube rides and the mat race rides. Grant missed the "yellow zone" by about half and inch, but he wouldn't have wanted to go on the big rides anyway. There were two kid slides he could go on, and he was completely happy going down those fifty times. Kimball went on every ride as many times as he could and loved them all. All the kids liked the wave pool and the water dump zone and the basketball pool. We just went from one thing to the next for two solid days and had a fabulous time. Mark and I kept teasing about getting sunburned though because it does feel weird to be at a water park all day and not have to worry about the sun at all!

We also spent a day at the Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC and had a fun time learning about trains and cars and airplanes. We saw some super cool old engines and even got to ride on a turntable at the roundhouse, just like on the Thomas movies. 

Look at that steam engine!

And yes, even Liza's new baby Heidi got to come with us

After our week of play, we had to get back to real life. The kids went back to school, Mark went back to work, and Grant and I spent a lot of time at home trying to get our house put back together from the holidays. We've had gorgeous weather this week (even in the 70's) so we're having a hard time believing it's only January. But we are looking forward to a new year and the new experiences that await.