Birthday at the Biltmore

Bug picked something a little different this year--instead of a party, he wanted to go to spend his special day at the biggest house in America.

 

We let him bring along a friend, and these two buddies had a fabulous day together.

These two boys have been friends since before they were 2.

Movies in the car, the tour of an amazing house, dodging rain showers, racing in the gardens, playing with the farm animals,

and amazing views everywhere around the estate.  This was a fabulous weekend to visit--all the fall beauty on the outside, and they'd just decorated for Christmas on the inside.

This picture cracks me up--I imagine that the children who grew up in this house probably rolled around on the ground, too.

And these three found a small fortune of pennies in the gravel.  They were excited about their $1 treasure.

This sweet little guy got off easy and was carried through most of the 178,926 square foot house.  (But he never napped, which we've been paying for ever since.)

Fall at the Biltmore farm.

I'm glad we still have 9 more years before he can drive!

The house isn't the only thing that is super-sized there.

Brothers.

 

Love this picture of these two friends!

Fabulous Weekend

Just the two of us.

An absolutely gorgeous day at the Biltmore.

The Carpet of Flowers.

Huge puffy clouds, low humidity, a breeze.

Beautiful gardens. It was so relaxing, especially as we sat at the Arbor Grill for two hours, eating good food and listening to live music, and enjoying the fact that we could just sit with no jumping up to get extra milk or napkins that had fallen on the ground.

And then we got to sleep in, eat a late breakfast, and head for the Dupont Five Falls Hike. It's an 11 mile hike, and unfortunately it started to rain so we had to cut it short, but we got to see three of the five falls before we turned back.

They really were beautiful. They filmed parts of Last of the Mohican's around these falls.

Lot of water, but with all the rain we get here, it has to go somewhere!

I'm really starting to fall in love with the NC mountains. They may not be as high as what we were used to out west, but they are gorgeous. And spending a couple days with the man I love was fabulous. We're so grateful for good friends who make things like this possible by watching our kids and dog.

Fun with the Family

Rara brought a gingerbread house kit to decorate with the kids

and Uncle D. helped them with all the frosting. (And I managed to finish up the last of the christmas gifts and a lot of my wrapping while they did all this.)

Then, after Christmas, and when Uncle C. and Aunt R. had joined us, we went up to Asheville and spent the day at the Biltmore,

where it was freezing cold and the kids had more fun with the snow than anything else.

They even made a miniature snowman, which was still there several hours later, meaning there were hundreds of people who went home that day with pictures of the Biltmore, and Bean's snowman.

The greenhouses were nice and warm, which helped us thaw out after a couple hours outside.

That trip marked the beginning of all the illness. Uncle D. was hit with food poisoning just a little after we started our house tour (we couldn't even get in until 4:30, so we were in for a LONG day), which meant he missed most of the house, and then, what should have been about a 2 hour trip home because more like 4 because our car battery died while we were at the McDonald's just outside the Biltmore. Luckily, that is the poshest McD's I've ever seen, so as AAA called us over and over, postponing their time of arrival, we were at least able to wait in comfort, listening to Christmas carols from the player piano, while a fire crackled nearby and we admired the tin-inset ceiling a beautiful tapestry over the hearth.

We made a lot of puzzles, played a lot of games, including some very spirited games of Nertz and Old Maid, and watched a lot of movies. Especially as we took turns this last week succumbing to the stomach bug and strep throat.

But we did have a day in there that both kids seemed healthy, and everyone else was willing to overlook their stuffiness so we could explore the Shipwreck and Pirate exhibit at Discovery Place. We tried out the windtunnel (which only makes it up to Category 1 hurricane, but that was more than enough for Bugaboo--I think he made us open it when the winds hit 30 mph.

Uncle C. makes a great pirate.

And in an unrelated part of the museum, we got to try laying on a bed of nails.

We had a great time with everyone, ate way too much traditional southern food, which really didn't mix so well with all the tummy issues, and were sad to say goodbye to everyone this week.

The Biltmore Estate

While Grandma was here, we took a day trip up to Ashville to see the Biltmore house and grounds.

This house is truly amazing--its massive--255 rooms, 175,000 sq feet. We couldn't take pictures inside, but I was really impressed with how much of the house they have open. It seems that most tours let you go to a few rooms and that it, but this one allowed us on 4 floors plus the basement--we saw many of the 43 bathrooms, and 60 bedrooms, several kitchens, the bowling alley, indoor swimming pool, libraries, servant quarters. . . You can really get a feel for what it might have been like to live here.

It was also fun to have Grandma taking some pictures--I'm in more pictures from this trip than ever, even if they document me taking pictures.

The Conservatory

The greenhouses were pretty amazing. The rest of the gardens weren't quite in bloom, but there were plenty of pretty plants and flowers to look at in the several rooms of the conservatory.

There were even a couple ponds with fish in them and the gardener told the kids they could put their fingers in to let the fish nibble. Bean loved it, Bugaboo didn't want to get that close to the wildlife.

The gardens are huge, and it was a beautiful day for a walk. Hard to beleive that it had snowed just 3 days before.

The Farm

I had no idea how much there was to do besides tour the house. We ended up spending all day there and could have used another hour or two at the farm. They have a lot of games and interactive displays for the kids to play with. Bean's favorite was the 4 week old pygmy goat. She chased the goat around trying to get it to sit in her lap. Bugaboo, once again, wouldn't let us put him down. (We really need to get a pet so he can get used to real animals--he loves them in abstract but once they start moving, he gets very nervous.)