Weekend in Asheville

This past weekend we went to Asheville to visit the grounds of the Biltmore House. We toured the house during our last visit in February, so this time we wanted to visit the petting zoo, winery, Festival of Flowers, and have a picnic lunch. We did all that, and more. We had an afternoon snack of yummy ice cream and even saw a wedding. Luke and Olivia also saw their first frog during one of our many walks. Olivia thought it was hilarious to see it hop while Luke was very busy playing in the grass.

Luke and Olivia haven't been in a hotel room since they've been walking, so they had lots to explore. Their favorite activity was to climb on and off of the luggage carrier. In fact, they were having so much fun they stayed up until after 10:30pm and Luke woke up at 5am to play some more! It was a great way to spend a weekend together as a family before Dan leaves for Japan.

Happy Easter!

We had a lot of fun celebrating Easter over the past few days. We started out by decorating cupcakes on Friday and ended up with more sprinkles on the floor and counter by the time we were done. Luke and Olivia thought it was hilarious when the sprinkles got stuck to their little fingers. Saturday we went to an egg hunt in our neighborhood and then had an egghunt in our backyard with Oma, Opa, MauMaw, and PauPaw.

On Sunday morning the babies woke up to their Easter baskets from the Easter Bunny and we had another egg hunt in the backyard with Grandma, followed by dying Easter eggs-a first for Dan and me in a VERY long time. Luke and Olivia had so much fun and it is truly wonderful to see them learning new things all of the time. It's such a privilege to be their mommy and daddy! Happy Easter everyone.

Pretty pink toes

Springtime means sandals and time for pretty pink toenails. Check out Olivia's pretty little pink toes just in time for Easter!

The loss of a family pet

Our beloved bunny rabbit Onyx passed away last night in his sleep. I have had him since 2001, and he has lived in 1 apartment and 3 houses with me/us. He lived a good life, and 10 years is a long life span for a bunny. I am so glad he didn't suffer.

Here is a picture of Onyx and the babies last year at Easter. I'm especially sad he won't be here for Easter this year, but he is going to be the Easter Bunny in heaven instead. We love you, Onyx, and you will be greatly missed.

Hugs

First Camping Adventure

Now that Luke and Olivia are full on walking, we thought it was a good time to tackle camping with them. Let's just say Dan's idea of camping and my idea differ quite a bit. He's good with a tent and sleeping bag while I prefer running water and a/c =). Luckily we went with MauMaw and PauPaw, who have a camper complete with running water and a/c. We went the past Saturday-Monday to Dan Nicholas Park, which is about an hour from our house. The first afternoon was a little crazy because the storms knocked out the power and we had no hot water, but luckily the weather improved and we had great days on Sunday and Monday.

There is a lot to do at Dan Nicholas Park, and I mean A LOT! There is a fast moving carousel, a little train, a petting zoo, a huge park, paddle boats, miniature golf, friendly ducks...the list goes on. Some of Dan's family joined us on Sunday and we spent almost all day outside, including eating dinner and toasting marshmallows around the campfire. There was so much for Luke and Olivia to do they didn't really feel like napping for very long. Needless to say they passed out Sunday night!

Monday we went back to the playground for a little bit and then it was time to return home so Dan could get some work done. The days went by so fast and I think we will definitely go camping again sometime this summer.

Happy Birthday!

Today we celebrated my 34th birthday. Luke and Olivia colored a picture for me and got me a birthday cake, and Dan got me 2 beautiful Pandora charms. We also had a fabulous dinner of Bojangles (my fav!) and went to dinner with good friends on Friday night. It was a nice and relaxing birthday, which is just the way I like it!

Japan

Dan is almost halfway through his trip to Japan, and he said so far everything is going well. We are able to skype at least once a day, which is a great way for Dan to see Luke and Olivia. It's so cute; I'll say let's go talk to daddy and they look for the computer. They will also put the phone up to their little ears and talk to daddy. Adorable! He gets home late Friday night, and we are looking forward to a relaxing weekend. He returns to Japan again in May, but for now we are just taking it one trip at a time. We stay very busy with playdates, trips to the playground, trips to Discovery Place Kids, and visits with family and friends.