Happy Birthday, Ethan!
Monday, February 13, 2012
8 is great!
8 years old. I can hardly believe how time has flown. 8 years ago, we were impatiently waiting for labor to get a move-on. We went in to start the induction at 7 am, and nothing was happening before 3 or 4 in the afternoon. You took your time, buddy. As the sun set and it got dark, we started wondering if you might be a Valentine baby. We hoped not. I'm sure our families were anxiously waiting to hear our news; I'm sure they had expected to hear the news already! You finally made your appearance at 11:13 pm. Cutting it close, don't you think? We're loving watching you grow up, Ethan Robert Baker. We pray that you will be a man of integrity, that you'll be a man after God's own heart.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Tooth Fairy
Nope, the tooth fairy still has not visited our home. However, her inaugural stop on Marla Drive is imminent. Here's the surprise: it won't be for Ethan.
Ethan has an adult tooth protruding behind his lower front baby teeth. The dentist said he should keep working on wiggling the baby tooth in front of the adult tooth. It's starting to get loose, but there's a lot of progress to be made.
Yesterday, Caleb said his tooth was hurting a little, and when I inspected it, I discovered that it is SO loose that it could come out any day. In fact, he wanted me to pull it, but when I started, he changed his mind. :) (Then Ethan said, "you know, my top teeth are hurting a little..." and discovered that his top teeth are quite a bit looser than the bottoms!)
I pulled Ethan aside later, and asked him if he'll be disappointed if Caleb loses a tooth before he does (after all, Caleb's two years younger!). He thought for a second, then responded with, "I just really want to lose one, so that I can get more money for legos." (Okay, sibling rivalry not an issue on this one!) I told him that he wouldn't get very much from the tooth fairy, maybe a quarter. He looked at me, shocked. "Most kids get $5!!!" WHAT?! Not in this house, buddy. Our tooth fairy is Dutch.
Ethan has an adult tooth protruding behind his lower front baby teeth. The dentist said he should keep working on wiggling the baby tooth in front of the adult tooth. It's starting to get loose, but there's a lot of progress to be made.
Yesterday, Caleb said his tooth was hurting a little, and when I inspected it, I discovered that it is SO loose that it could come out any day. In fact, he wanted me to pull it, but when I started, he changed his mind. :) (Then Ethan said, "you know, my top teeth are hurting a little..." and discovered that his top teeth are quite a bit looser than the bottoms!)
I pulled Ethan aside later, and asked him if he'll be disappointed if Caleb loses a tooth before he does (after all, Caleb's two years younger!). He thought for a second, then responded with, "I just really want to lose one, so that I can get more money for legos." (Okay, sibling rivalry not an issue on this one!) I told him that he wouldn't get very much from the tooth fairy, maybe a quarter. He looked at me, shocked. "Most kids get $5!!!" WHAT?! Not in this house, buddy. Our tooth fairy is Dutch.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Having a Super week!
Most, if not all of my readers know I live in Indianapolis.
Most, if not all of my readers know that next weekend in Indianapolis, a very large event is taking place.
Yes, the Super Bowl is taking place in our great city on Sunday. Preparations have been in the works for several years, and from what I've heard and read in the paper, our city has done a fantastic job of putting everything together. I had no idea how many events and celebrations happen in the week leading up to the Super Bowl. We've made some last minute plans to experience the festivities first hand. No, we're not spending thousands of dollars to watch the game at Lucas Oil Field. But we are going to head downtown tonight, just Jonathan and me, to participate in the
Jonathan has also decided to splurge and take the boys to the NFL Experience tomorrow. We'll pull Ethan out of school a little early and the three of them will head downtown to have some fun pretending to be professional football players. Or something. I'm not quite sure what it is. But at $20 per kid, it better be fun!! Jonathan will get in free because he's working security at the NFL Experience all weekend. Yippee!
Which reminds me, we're not hosting a Super Bowl party this year, in case anyone was wondering. Enjoy the game: Go Giants!!!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Mystery Trip
Last week Friday, I went on a mystery trip, planned by my sisters. I have two sisters who live in California, as well as a sister-in-law who lives in Michigan. The two west coast ladies planned a long weekend for the four of us, and Joy (my sister-in-law) and I didn't have a clue about any of the plans. Including, I might add, our airport destination. So when I arrived at the airport on Friday and was checking in, I got a very confused look when the guy checking me in asked where I was going, and I said, "um, well, I don't know!" I knew we were going to California, and quickly learned that I was heading to Palm Springs! I had been sent a packing list, as well as the time I needed to arrive at the airport, and my confirmation code.
My layover was in Dallas/Ft. Worth. I wondered if Joy might have had her layover there too, and if we would be on the same flight for our last leg. But I didn't have very much time to think about it or look for her, because when I arrived from Indianapolis, I had less than an hour to get to my next gate. Of course that's plenty of time, but still a little stressful for this mama who rarely flies. As I approached the gate for my second leg, I started looking for Joy. I scanned the crowd, not seeing her. I was a little bit disappointed that she wasn't there. Then somebody moved, and there behind him, was Joy! She also wondered if we might meet up, and had seen that there was a flight coming in from Indianapolis. She had been tempted to meet me at my arriving gate, but with the short layover, not knowing if I really would be on that flight, she'd decided to just wait. It was fun to meet up. We were able to switch seats to sit next to each other for the flight from DFW to Palm Springs.
After landing in Palm Springs, we were met by Julie and Jodi, and then we headed to Julie's (and Nick's) house. When we arrived, we were given an envelope. The paper inside said this:
this rhyme is as short as Sofia
and will serve to reveal an idea
each event that we do
has its own limerick too
let's all have some warm spiced
So....we enjoyed some sangria and relaxed for a little while before heading to bed. We had been told we'd have an early start on Saturday. Saturday morning we ate a delicious breakfast and were on the road by around 7:45. We were given envelope #2, which included the following limerick:
at eight in the morning we'll go
forgetting the blizzards and snow
heading south in the car
we won't travel too far
we're off to go see
This one took a little while for us to get. We figured out that it was the name of a city, but do you have any idea how many cities in California could rhyme with "go" and "snow?" Well, we eventually figured it out: San Diego! It's a couple of hours from Nick and Julie's house, and as we got closer, we were given envelope #3:
a large naval outpost afloat
its hotel has a guest list of note
you won't find a car
on Coronado's black tar
to get there we must take a
boat!!! it turns out the girls were mistaken about not being able to take a car, but we enjoyed a ferry ride from San Diego to Coronado Island, and spent the next 3 hours or so just walking around the island. We started on the east side of the island, facing the city, and made our way around to the west side, on the Pacific. We rolled up our jeans and put our feet in the frigid water. We found a few shells to take home to our kids. We drank coffee and shared lots of laughter. We figure we walked about 5 miles on the island. Then we went back to the ferry and headed back to the car. Once there, we were given limerick #4:
Balboa's a great place to munch
and eat some red grapes by the bunch
not far from the zoo
it's a beautiful view
next up is a grand picnic
So we drove to Balboa Park. It was quite difficult to find parking, but eventually we did, and enjoyed a delicious lunch overlooking a gorge. We had chicken salad and croissants, fresh strawberries, grapes, sweet potato chips, chocolate covered pretzels, and maria cookies with nutella (which we proceeded to dip almost everything else into as well). After lunch, we walked around the park, admiring the many museums and grounds. We walked through the botanical gardens and over to a bridge with a stunning view. When we were ready to start heading back to the car, we tried to complete the loop we'd started, but were unable to because of the many gorges keeping us from our destination. We ended up doing a lot more walking that day than our bodies are used to. We were sore!!! From Balboa Park, we headed to our hotel, the Sofia hotel, which was right downtown San Diego. After settling in a bit, we were given our next envelope:
we're beautiful girls at the core
on the outside let's work a bit more
we'll get dressed up and cute
and then find a good route
to Daisy's for dinner for
Four! So we got dressed up a little and walked to Daisy's bistro, which was just around the block from the hotel. We had a delicious dinner (flat bread with hummus, flat bread pizza, marinated skirt steak with roasted potatoes and corn, and a sampling of 4 different amazing desserts: cookies, sundae, butterscotch pot de creme, and blackberry cabernet sorbet. After stuffing ourselves, we waddled back to the hotel, got comfy in our jammies, played a game of Bohnanza, and gave ourselves facials. Before bed, we were given our next limerick:
inspired by a Biblical tale
make sure you hang on to the rail
it might be quite cold
but we're sure to behold
the sight of a giant grey
Yes, the next day, my birthday(!!) we were going to go whale watching! We had been told to pack a hat, scarf, and mittens, and Joy and I both thought they were for spending time in the mountains. Nope, they were for whale watching! So on Sunday, we started with a breakfast of homemade lemon and lemon blueberry scones with lemon curd. So yummy. Then we packed up, checked out, and made our way to the marina for our whale watching tour. We had a three hour tour, and it was so much fun! We saw three grey whales, as well as several dolphins. The weather was beautiful. It was a little chilly on the ocean, but not so cold that we were uncomfortable. After the whale watching, we had lunch at a fun taco shop near the ocean. It was delicious, authentic Mexican fare. After lunch, we got back on the road, heading north. And we were given our last limerick:
with reds, whites, and blushes divine
those varietals picked off the vine
we'll take a few sips
and pay with our chips
it's time to go sample some
You got it, we went wine tasting. We went to Temecula, where there are dozens of wineries. And the scenery is breathtaking! It reminded me of pictures I've seen of Tuscany. Rolling hillsides, rows of grapevines, palm trees, cyprus trees, SO beautiful! Unfortunately, the winery we chose was not so beautiful, but we still enjoyed our time sampling the wines. After the wine tasting, we made a quick stop at HomeGoods and then made our way back to Nick and Julie's house. Nick and Ben had made us a delicious (birthday) meal of steak, salad, and risotto. Julie made chocolate lava cakes for dessert. It was a memorable birthday!! We spent Sunday night and Monday in Redlands, with Nick and Ben, the brothers-in-law, as well as Eva and Sofia, my nieces. Monday was a very low-key day. We played some games, went for a walk, hung out together. It was relaxing. Tuesday morning, I was up at 4:30 to catch my 6:55 flight home.
What an amazing weekend! Thanks again, Julie, and Jodi, for all your work putting that together. And Joy, Julie, Jodi, Nick, Ben, Eva and Sofia, it was fun to spend some quality time together. I'm starting to think about the fun things we could plan for you guys on a mystery trip to the mid-west!
I'll have to post more pictures when I get them from Julie and Jodi. I didn't take a camera, and was trying to take a picture of the whale with my phone, but it was too slow. So this is actually a picture of Julie's camera, with the picture she had taken (zoomed in). We weren't actually as close as it appears. :)
My layover was in Dallas/Ft. Worth. I wondered if Joy might have had her layover there too, and if we would be on the same flight for our last leg. But I didn't have very much time to think about it or look for her, because when I arrived from Indianapolis, I had less than an hour to get to my next gate. Of course that's plenty of time, but still a little stressful for this mama who rarely flies. As I approached the gate for my second leg, I started looking for Joy. I scanned the crowd, not seeing her. I was a little bit disappointed that she wasn't there. Then somebody moved, and there behind him, was Joy! She also wondered if we might meet up, and had seen that there was a flight coming in from Indianapolis. She had been tempted to meet me at my arriving gate, but with the short layover, not knowing if I really would be on that flight, she'd decided to just wait. It was fun to meet up. We were able to switch seats to sit next to each other for the flight from DFW to Palm Springs.
After landing in Palm Springs, we were met by Julie and Jodi, and then we headed to Julie's (and Nick's) house. When we arrived, we were given an envelope. The paper inside said this:
this rhyme is as short as Sofia
and will serve to reveal an idea
each event that we do
has its own limerick too
let's all have some warm spiced
So....we enjoyed some sangria and relaxed for a little while before heading to bed. We had been told we'd have an early start on Saturday. Saturday morning we ate a delicious breakfast and were on the road by around 7:45. We were given envelope #2, which included the following limerick:
at eight in the morning we'll go
forgetting the blizzards and snow
heading south in the car
we won't travel too far
we're off to go see
This one took a little while for us to get. We figured out that it was the name of a city, but do you have any idea how many cities in California could rhyme with "go" and "snow?" Well, we eventually figured it out: San Diego! It's a couple of hours from Nick and Julie's house, and as we got closer, we were given envelope #3:
a large naval outpost afloat
its hotel has a guest list of note
you won't find a car
on Coronado's black tar
to get there we must take a
boat!!! it turns out the girls were mistaken about not being able to take a car, but we enjoyed a ferry ride from San Diego to Coronado Island, and spent the next 3 hours or so just walking around the island. We started on the east side of the island, facing the city, and made our way around to the west side, on the Pacific. We rolled up our jeans and put our feet in the frigid water. We found a few shells to take home to our kids. We drank coffee and shared lots of laughter. We figure we walked about 5 miles on the island. Then we went back to the ferry and headed back to the car. Once there, we were given limerick #4:
Balboa's a great place to munch
and eat some red grapes by the bunch
not far from the zoo
it's a beautiful view
next up is a grand picnic
So we drove to Balboa Park. It was quite difficult to find parking, but eventually we did, and enjoyed a delicious lunch overlooking a gorge. We had chicken salad and croissants, fresh strawberries, grapes, sweet potato chips, chocolate covered pretzels, and maria cookies with nutella (which we proceeded to dip almost everything else into as well). After lunch, we walked around the park, admiring the many museums and grounds. We walked through the botanical gardens and over to a bridge with a stunning view. When we were ready to start heading back to the car, we tried to complete the loop we'd started, but were unable to because of the many gorges keeping us from our destination. We ended up doing a lot more walking that day than our bodies are used to. We were sore!!! From Balboa Park, we headed to our hotel, the Sofia hotel, which was right downtown San Diego. After settling in a bit, we were given our next envelope:
we're beautiful girls at the core
on the outside let's work a bit more
we'll get dressed up and cute
and then find a good route
to Daisy's for dinner for
Four! So we got dressed up a little and walked to Daisy's bistro, which was just around the block from the hotel. We had a delicious dinner (flat bread with hummus, flat bread pizza, marinated skirt steak with roasted potatoes and corn, and a sampling of 4 different amazing desserts: cookies, sundae, butterscotch pot de creme, and blackberry cabernet sorbet. After stuffing ourselves, we waddled back to the hotel, got comfy in our jammies, played a game of Bohnanza, and gave ourselves facials. Before bed, we were given our next limerick:
inspired by a Biblical tale
make sure you hang on to the rail
it might be quite cold
but we're sure to behold
the sight of a giant grey
Yes, the next day, my birthday(!!) we were going to go whale watching! We had been told to pack a hat, scarf, and mittens, and Joy and I both thought they were for spending time in the mountains. Nope, they were for whale watching! So on Sunday, we started with a breakfast of homemade lemon and lemon blueberry scones with lemon curd. So yummy. Then we packed up, checked out, and made our way to the marina for our whale watching tour. We had a three hour tour, and it was so much fun! We saw three grey whales, as well as several dolphins. The weather was beautiful. It was a little chilly on the ocean, but not so cold that we were uncomfortable. After the whale watching, we had lunch at a fun taco shop near the ocean. It was delicious, authentic Mexican fare. After lunch, we got back on the road, heading north. And we were given our last limerick:
with reds, whites, and blushes divine
those varietals picked off the vine
we'll take a few sips
and pay with our chips
it's time to go sample some
You got it, we went wine tasting. We went to Temecula, where there are dozens of wineries. And the scenery is breathtaking! It reminded me of pictures I've seen of Tuscany. Rolling hillsides, rows of grapevines, palm trees, cyprus trees, SO beautiful! Unfortunately, the winery we chose was not so beautiful, but we still enjoyed our time sampling the wines. After the wine tasting, we made a quick stop at HomeGoods and then made our way back to Nick and Julie's house. Nick and Ben had made us a delicious (birthday) meal of steak, salad, and risotto. Julie made chocolate lava cakes for dessert. It was a memorable birthday!! We spent Sunday night and Monday in Redlands, with Nick and Ben, the brothers-in-law, as well as Eva and Sofia, my nieces. Monday was a very low-key day. We played some games, went for a walk, hung out together. It was relaxing. Tuesday morning, I was up at 4:30 to catch my 6:55 flight home.
What an amazing weekend! Thanks again, Julie, and Jodi, for all your work putting that together. And Joy, Julie, Jodi, Nick, Ben, Eva and Sofia, it was fun to spend some quality time together. I'm starting to think about the fun things we could plan for you guys on a mystery trip to the mid-west!
Monday, January 9, 2012
Stupid Government Documents
We are in the process of planning our Spring Break! Our plan is to drive to DC and spend a few days with our good friends, Bill & Alissa (and family). Then we'll drive from there to London, ON, to spend a few days with our good friends, Kevin & Amy (and family). We'll stop at Niagara Falls on the trip between DC and London. As many of you probably know, in the past few years, the law has changed, so now adults are required to have passports to travel to Canada. Actually, that's not true. I discovered that Jonathan and I can both go to Canada with just our birth certificates. But the U.S. won't let us back in without passports. Our kids, being under 16, can still travel to AND from Canada (by land) with just a birth certificate.
Anyway, we don't have passports. Well, not valid ones, anyway. Jonathan had one that expired so long ago that he had to apply for a brand new one. Mine had expired recently enough that I just had to renew mine. We'd been meaning to apply for new passports ever since Kevin & Amy moved to Ontario, but kept putting it off. With our spring break trip in the works, we decided it was time. We had previously picked up the forms we'd need from the post office, so on Saturday, we took our filled-out forms, the required proof of ID and citizenship, and headed to the post office, kids in tow. That was our first mistake. Maybe once upon a time we thought we were going to get passport cards for the kids. I don't remember, but for some reason, we decided to do this process together. The line for passports was about 10 people deep, and didn't move quickly. We stood in line for over an hour. To help the line move a little faster, one employee was collecting our driver's licenses (once we were almost to the front) to make copies. When she asked if Jonathan had his original birth certificate, we started to worry. I read the form again. Here's what it says:
1. PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP
APPLICANTS BORN IN THE UNITED STATES: Submit a previous U.S. passport or certified birth certificate. Passports that are limited in validity will need to be supplemented by other evidence. A birth certificate must include your name, date and place of birth, sex, date the birth record was filed, the seal or other certification of the official custodian of such records.... (it goes on about birth certificates).
We had Jonathan's previous passport. I had also looked for Jonathan's birth certificate very briefly before we left. I was confident we wouldn't need it, but thought just to be safe, let's bring those too. I couldn't find the original, so I'd taken a copy. But we also had his previous passport, which according to the above paragraph, was enough, right?
Nope. Here's the problem. Jonathan was 6 months away from turning 16 when he'd gotten his previous passport. That made him a minor. Apparently that's one of the things that "limits the validity of the passport." I don't have a problem with the rule. I just wish it had been clearer on the form, so that we didn't have to stand in line for over an hour with 3 squirrely kids for naught.
I guess it wasn't all for naught. I was able to get mine renewed, which was slightly complicated by the fact that my name has changed since my previous passport was issued. So I had to send in our original marriage license documenting the name change. And when we got home I went through Jonathan's file again and DID locate his original (or at least certified) birth certificate. So now Jonathan can go (alone) to get his taken care of.
Unrelated excitement: I'm going to California in 4 days! More on that later...
Anyway, we don't have passports. Well, not valid ones, anyway. Jonathan had one that expired so long ago that he had to apply for a brand new one. Mine had expired recently enough that I just had to renew mine. We'd been meaning to apply for new passports ever since Kevin & Amy moved to Ontario, but kept putting it off. With our spring break trip in the works, we decided it was time. We had previously picked up the forms we'd need from the post office, so on Saturday, we took our filled-out forms, the required proof of ID and citizenship, and headed to the post office, kids in tow. That was our first mistake. Maybe once upon a time we thought we were going to get passport cards for the kids. I don't remember, but for some reason, we decided to do this process together. The line for passports was about 10 people deep, and didn't move quickly. We stood in line for over an hour. To help the line move a little faster, one employee was collecting our driver's licenses (once we were almost to the front) to make copies. When she asked if Jonathan had his original birth certificate, we started to worry. I read the form again. Here's what it says:
1. PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP
APPLICANTS BORN IN THE UNITED STATES: Submit a previous U.S. passport or certified birth certificate. Passports that are limited in validity will need to be supplemented by other evidence. A birth certificate must include your name, date and place of birth, sex, date the birth record was filed, the seal or other certification of the official custodian of such records.... (it goes on about birth certificates).
We had Jonathan's previous passport. I had also looked for Jonathan's birth certificate very briefly before we left. I was confident we wouldn't need it, but thought just to be safe, let's bring those too. I couldn't find the original, so I'd taken a copy. But we also had his previous passport, which according to the above paragraph, was enough, right?
Nope. Here's the problem. Jonathan was 6 months away from turning 16 when he'd gotten his previous passport. That made him a minor. Apparently that's one of the things that "limits the validity of the passport." I don't have a problem with the rule. I just wish it had been clearer on the form, so that we didn't have to stand in line for over an hour with 3 squirrely kids for naught.
I guess it wasn't all for naught. I was able to get mine renewed, which was slightly complicated by the fact that my name has changed since my previous passport was issued. So I had to send in our original marriage license documenting the name change. And when we got home I went through Jonathan's file again and DID locate his original (or at least certified) birth certificate. So now Jonathan can go (alone) to get his taken care of.
Unrelated excitement: I'm going to California in 4 days! More on that later...
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
2012, Here We Come!
I'm still here. I'm still not promising (or even resolving) to blog more. And I don't even have anything terribly exciting to blog about today, but something's better than the nothing I've been posting as of late, right?! Speaking of resolutions, I should mention that on December 31st I read 12 chapters of the Bible to complete my one-year 2011 resolution! I'm honestly shocked that I did it. And I'm starting it again. :)
We had an enjoyable Christmas break. It was very nice to have a week just at home (Jonathan was working, of course) before heading to Michigan for a week. I'm bummed to have missed Indiana's snow while we were in Michigan, and Michigan's snow when we came home. I'm optimistic we'll still have some good dumping though, so I'm not too depressed about it.
What I AM depressed about is the cold that our entire family picked up while with my family. Really, it was inevitable, since 20 of us were under one roof for 4 straight days. Jonathan and I are both pretty miserable. Anelise's nose has been dripping for several days, though it doesn't seem to bother her. And Ethan and Caleb are starting to sniffle. On the bright side, I'm glad we weren't sick WHILE we were in Michigan. That would have been much worse, in my opinion. And it's nice that Bible Study doesn't kick off until next week. It's nice to have a day today that I can stay in my p.j.'s and just do stuff around the house (or sleep on the couch most of the day).
And with that, I'm going to go unload the dishwasher.
We had an enjoyable Christmas break. It was very nice to have a week just at home (Jonathan was working, of course) before heading to Michigan for a week. I'm bummed to have missed Indiana's snow while we were in Michigan, and Michigan's snow when we came home. I'm optimistic we'll still have some good dumping though, so I'm not too depressed about it.
What I AM depressed about is the cold that our entire family picked up while with my family. Really, it was inevitable, since 20 of us were under one roof for 4 straight days. Jonathan and I are both pretty miserable. Anelise's nose has been dripping for several days, though it doesn't seem to bother her. And Ethan and Caleb are starting to sniffle. On the bright side, I'm glad we weren't sick WHILE we were in Michigan. That would have been much worse, in my opinion. And it's nice that Bible Study doesn't kick off until next week. It's nice to have a day today that I can stay in my p.j.'s and just do stuff around the house (or sleep on the couch most of the day).
And with that, I'm going to go unload the dishwasher.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Asheville
Jonathan and I recently had the pleasure of taking a vacation without the kids. We were celebrating our 10th anniversary (nearly a year late). Our dear friends, Joel and Shontel, drove down from Michigan with their 3 young boys, to stay with our 3 kids so that we could get a long overdue getaway. They arrived last Saturday, and we were on the road by 7:30 Sunday morning. We drove 7.5 hours south (and east) to Asheville, North Carolina, a charming town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We had an amazing time, despite uncooperative weather. Here's a run-down of some of the things we did:
Sunday: we went to Chimney Rock State Park. The "chimney" is a rock formation that you can either hike to (lots of stairs) or take an elevator up to. We had planned to go to Chimney Rock later in the week, but the day before we left, I happened to check their website and learned that all access to the Chimney was going to be closed beginning Monday, Dec. 5th, for the entire winter, for renovations. We also learned that if we paid for admission into the park after 3 pm, we could get in the following day for free. So on Sunday we drove right to the State Park, arrived at 3:30 and climbed the stairs to the chimney. It was a beautiful view, and although it was overcast and drizzly, it ended up being the clearest day we were in North Carolina. So I'm glad we did it. I should mention that the drive from Asheville to Chimney Rock (Chimney Rock is 25 miles further) is pretty crazy: constant hairpin turns to zigzag up into the mountains. It was a beautiful drive, but I definitely wouldn't want to do it in snow! After Chimney Rock, we drove back to Asheville and checked into our hotel. Asheville is a fun town with lots of shops, restaurants, microbreweries, etc. We spent a little time on Sunday just walking around, and ended up eating dinner at LAB, which is Lexington Avenue Brewery. Jonathan also got a pint glass there to add to his collection.
Monday: After a lazy morning, including a delicious breakfast at Tupelo Honey Cafe (omelet and goat cheese grits for Jonathan, sweet potato pancake with pralines and peach butter for me), we drove back to Chimney Rock. We did one hike that ended at the base of a lovely waterfall. It wasn't particularly long, maybe 1.5 miles, and it was drizzling most of the time. After we finished our hike, the rain started getting harder and more consistent. We walked through a couple of shops just outside the park before driving back to Asheville. Since we'd had a big breakfast, we skipped lunch. In the afternoon we walked more around Asheville, and ate dinner at Fiore, an Italian place.
Tuesday: Most of Tuesday was spent at the Biltmore Estate. It was AMAZING. The tickets were really expensive, and honestly, I was skeptical that walking through a mansion would be worth the cost. I was wrong. Just driving in was amazing. The grounds were BEAUTIFUL, and this is December. Nothing is blooming, yet there was beauty everywhere! We parked the van, and walked through the gardens and over to the green house, which is huge. Room after room of beautiful plants. After the green house we walked up to the residence (I can't call it a house). We opted to do a self-guided tour rather than an audio tour (we're cheapskates), so I'm sure there are lots of details we didn't learn, but it was still very impressive. The house has 250 rooms. We were able to tour parts of 4 floors, I believe. Some of the rooms had 6 or 7 Christmas trees, with plenty of room to spare. The banquet hall has a full pipe organ. The basement has a bowling alley and a swimming pool. One thing that surprised me was that it was only used by the VanderBilts for about 30 years before they decided to open it to the public. It is still owned and operated by the VanderBilt family. After touring the residence, we drove to the winery, a couple of miles further into the estate. We had lunch at a lovely restaurant named after the VanderBilts' dog. Then we toured the winery and tasted several wines (all white, because their reds are all dry, and we don't care for dry wine!). Then we decided we were ready to be done, and drove back to our hotel. Dinner on Tuesday was my favorite. We went to a tapas restaurant called Curate (ku-rah-tay). We shared a pitcher of sangria and ate several tapas. My favorites were roasted red peppers stuffed with goat cheese, and fried eggplant drizzled with honey and rosemary. After a long, relaxed dinner, we walked around the block to French Broad Chocolate Cafe. We each had a truffle and shared some pumpkin chocolate mousse. Jonathan also had a glass of a local beer. It was raining steadily at that point, and we were able to find a table at the window. So we just sat and enjoyed our chocolate and beer, watching the rain (and people out in it).
Wednesday: When we woke up and realized it was pouring, and was forecasted to continue all day, we started considering coming home a day early. They were predicting that the rain would change over to snow overnight, and we had done the sightseeing we'd wanted to, and honestly, we were starting to miss the kids! So we decided to check out early. We checked out around 10:30, but left our car in the parking garage and walked into town again. We'd hoped to find some little gifts to bring home for the kids. Unfortunately, the store I wanted to go to didn't open until 11. So we just walked around town, helping some older tourists who couldn't read their map (I wonder if they ever did get to the place they were looking for...) and exploring some streets we hadn't seen yet. After the store opened, we bought a couple of things for the kids, then walked back to the hotel to get the van, drove to the "mecca of beer stores" (according to a website my brother frequents), and then drove to 12 Bones Smokehouse for lunch. 12 Bones had been recommended by a cousin who has visited Asheville several times. It was such a good way to end our trip: excellent southern food at a place frequented by more locals than tourists. We each had a half rack of ribs: Jonathan's had a dry rub, mine had a blueberry chipotle sauce. And the sides were amazing. We had smoky potato salad, mashed sweet potatoes, and jalapeno cheese grits. SO good! After the smokehouse we got on the road. We drove through lots of rain and a little snow (which was beautiful, coating the trees!) and arrived home around 8:30 Wednesday night.
We are so thankful to Joel and Shontel for making this trip possible. The kids had a great time without us. In fact, when we woke Ethan up Thursday morning, he burst into tears (and they weren't tears of happiness!). Anelise is still asking when we'll see Nathan Boy, Daniel, and Peter again. And we're thinking maybe we'll go back for our 20th anniversary!
Sunday: we went to Chimney Rock State Park. The "chimney" is a rock formation that you can either hike to (lots of stairs) or take an elevator up to. We had planned to go to Chimney Rock later in the week, but the day before we left, I happened to check their website and learned that all access to the Chimney was going to be closed beginning Monday, Dec. 5th, for the entire winter, for renovations. We also learned that if we paid for admission into the park after 3 pm, we could get in the following day for free. So on Sunday we drove right to the State Park, arrived at 3:30 and climbed the stairs to the chimney. It was a beautiful view, and although it was overcast and drizzly, it ended up being the clearest day we were in North Carolina. So I'm glad we did it. I should mention that the drive from Asheville to Chimney Rock (Chimney Rock is 25 miles further) is pretty crazy: constant hairpin turns to zigzag up into the mountains. It was a beautiful drive, but I definitely wouldn't want to do it in snow! After Chimney Rock, we drove back to Asheville and checked into our hotel. Asheville is a fun town with lots of shops, restaurants, microbreweries, etc. We spent a little time on Sunday just walking around, and ended up eating dinner at LAB, which is Lexington Avenue Brewery. Jonathan also got a pint glass there to add to his collection.
Monday: After a lazy morning, including a delicious breakfast at Tupelo Honey Cafe (omelet and goat cheese grits for Jonathan, sweet potato pancake with pralines and peach butter for me), we drove back to Chimney Rock. We did one hike that ended at the base of a lovely waterfall. It wasn't particularly long, maybe 1.5 miles, and it was drizzling most of the time. After we finished our hike, the rain started getting harder and more consistent. We walked through a couple of shops just outside the park before driving back to Asheville. Since we'd had a big breakfast, we skipped lunch. In the afternoon we walked more around Asheville, and ate dinner at Fiore, an Italian place.
Tuesday: Most of Tuesday was spent at the Biltmore Estate. It was AMAZING. The tickets were really expensive, and honestly, I was skeptical that walking through a mansion would be worth the cost. I was wrong. Just driving in was amazing. The grounds were BEAUTIFUL, and this is December. Nothing is blooming, yet there was beauty everywhere! We parked the van, and walked through the gardens and over to the green house, which is huge. Room after room of beautiful plants. After the green house we walked up to the residence (I can't call it a house). We opted to do a self-guided tour rather than an audio tour (we're cheapskates), so I'm sure there are lots of details we didn't learn, but it was still very impressive. The house has 250 rooms. We were able to tour parts of 4 floors, I believe. Some of the rooms had 6 or 7 Christmas trees, with plenty of room to spare. The banquet hall has a full pipe organ. The basement has a bowling alley and a swimming pool. One thing that surprised me was that it was only used by the VanderBilts for about 30 years before they decided to open it to the public. It is still owned and operated by the VanderBilt family. After touring the residence, we drove to the winery, a couple of miles further into the estate. We had lunch at a lovely restaurant named after the VanderBilts' dog. Then we toured the winery and tasted several wines (all white, because their reds are all dry, and we don't care for dry wine!). Then we decided we were ready to be done, and drove back to our hotel. Dinner on Tuesday was my favorite. We went to a tapas restaurant called Curate (ku-rah-tay). We shared a pitcher of sangria and ate several tapas. My favorites were roasted red peppers stuffed with goat cheese, and fried eggplant drizzled with honey and rosemary. After a long, relaxed dinner, we walked around the block to French Broad Chocolate Cafe. We each had a truffle and shared some pumpkin chocolate mousse. Jonathan also had a glass of a local beer. It was raining steadily at that point, and we were able to find a table at the window. So we just sat and enjoyed our chocolate and beer, watching the rain (and people out in it).
Wednesday: When we woke up and realized it was pouring, and was forecasted to continue all day, we started considering coming home a day early. They were predicting that the rain would change over to snow overnight, and we had done the sightseeing we'd wanted to, and honestly, we were starting to miss the kids! So we decided to check out early. We checked out around 10:30, but left our car in the parking garage and walked into town again. We'd hoped to find some little gifts to bring home for the kids. Unfortunately, the store I wanted to go to didn't open until 11. So we just walked around town, helping some older tourists who couldn't read their map (I wonder if they ever did get to the place they were looking for...) and exploring some streets we hadn't seen yet. After the store opened, we bought a couple of things for the kids, then walked back to the hotel to get the van, drove to the "mecca of beer stores" (according to a website my brother frequents), and then drove to 12 Bones Smokehouse for lunch. 12 Bones had been recommended by a cousin who has visited Asheville several times. It was such a good way to end our trip: excellent southern food at a place frequented by more locals than tourists. We each had a half rack of ribs: Jonathan's had a dry rub, mine had a blueberry chipotle sauce. And the sides were amazing. We had smoky potato salad, mashed sweet potatoes, and jalapeno cheese grits. SO good! After the smokehouse we got on the road. We drove through lots of rain and a little snow (which was beautiful, coating the trees!) and arrived home around 8:30 Wednesday night.
We are so thankful to Joel and Shontel for making this trip possible. The kids had a great time without us. In fact, when we woke Ethan up Thursday morning, he burst into tears (and they weren't tears of happiness!). Anelise is still asking when we'll see Nathan Boy, Daniel, and Peter again. And we're thinking maybe we'll go back for our 20th anniversary!
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