A few from our Mother's Day trip to Dollywood!
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Harper's Baptism Weekend
We were so blessed to have family and friends attend Harper's baptism on Sunday. The McDermott's made the long drive from Minnesota to be here for Harper's baptism (Josh and Brenda are her Godparents). Dylan was thrilled to have his cousins here for a few days. He had a ton of fun playing with Gabe and even Madison and Kaelin.
Carolyn, Kyle and Amie arrived on Friday and were able to make it to Dylan's baseball practice. I kept busy on Saturday making some of the food for the baptism lunch and the cake. Dana and Paul flew in from Chicago late Saturday afternoon and the McDermotts arrived a few hours later. Saturday night was busy at our house! It was great to have everyone together though!
Sunday morning was busy getting kids ready and the final food prep done. Harper did great at her baptism and just let out a small cry when her head was doused with water! Dylan and Gabe went to children's church and had a good time making crafts.
Lunch and the afternoon were great (other than the ISU NCAA tournament loss :( even though the weather wasn't too great.
Monday morning, Carolyn, Kyle and Amie, and Paul and Dana headed back to the midwest. The McDermotts stayed in town for another day and a half, and while the weather was cold we managed to stay busy. We went to lunch at the Diners, Drive-In and Dives recommended Pizza Palace. We didn't know there wasn't any seating inside of the "palace", however we made do in the very roomy tahoe. The kids had a good time having a picnic in the back of the tahoe!
After lunch we made our way to Sweetwater and The Lost Sea. Dave, Dylan and I had been there about 3 years ago, but it was still a fun trip. Dylan didn't remember anything from our last visit (obviously) and Harper was happy just to look around and nap.
Dinner was at one of our favorite places, Chez Guevara and then to the McDermotts hotel so Dylan could hang out with his cousins and check out the water park. It was a long day, but a lot of fun. We don't get to see the McDermott family very often so it was great to catch up.
Carolyn, Kyle and Amie arrived on Friday and were able to make it to Dylan's baseball practice. I kept busy on Saturday making some of the food for the baptism lunch and the cake. Dana and Paul flew in from Chicago late Saturday afternoon and the McDermotts arrived a few hours later. Saturday night was busy at our house! It was great to have everyone together though!
Sunday morning was busy getting kids ready and the final food prep done. Harper did great at her baptism and just let out a small cry when her head was doused with water! Dylan and Gabe went to children's church and had a good time making crafts.
Lunch and the afternoon were great (other than the ISU NCAA tournament loss :( even though the weather wasn't too great.
Monday morning, Carolyn, Kyle and Amie, and Paul and Dana headed back to the midwest. The McDermotts stayed in town for another day and a half, and while the weather was cold we managed to stay busy. We went to lunch at the Diners, Drive-In and Dives recommended Pizza Palace. We didn't know there wasn't any seating inside of the "palace", however we made do in the very roomy tahoe. The kids had a good time having a picnic in the back of the tahoe!
After lunch we made our way to Sweetwater and The Lost Sea. Dave, Dylan and I had been there about 3 years ago, but it was still a fun trip. Dylan didn't remember anything from our last visit (obviously) and Harper was happy just to look around and nap.
Dinner was at one of our favorite places, Chez Guevara and then to the McDermotts hotel so Dylan could hang out with his cousins and check out the water park. It was a long day, but a lot of fun. We don't get to see the McDermott family very often so it was great to catch up.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Playing catch up
I am way behind in posting. My sister visited in January and I have a great photo of her with Dylan and Harper, but it's on the computer and didn't get uploaded to Flickr so I haven't posted it. Everything seems like that lately, just a little behind.
We have been busy lately, but it seems like it is just with everyday stuff, taking care of the kids, working, running, oh, yes I did say running. I bet you didn't think you would her me say that BOTH of us would be running... this would have been most appropriate for me a few weeks ago...
or maybe this...
Not anymore my friends, I started the couch to 5k program with Fleet Feet last week. I did some run/walks for the week before training started and I think that helped me loosen up because I haven't really been too sore yet. I did my longest run on Sunday, 20 minutes without stopping! It was about 1.2 miles, so not super impressive time wise or even distance, but for me it was huge! I also moved up running groups last night and ran with the run only group instead of the run 2 minutes walk 1 minute group. I actually was sweaty after last nights run (even though it was cold and windy) so I think that is the right group for me. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be considering I don't like running. I do have a bunch of weight I want to loose and running is the best way to do that (along with eating healthier of course) so I am sucking it up. I feel accountable to the group to show up for the runs and do the runs on the days I am not meeting at the store to do the group runs, so I can be ready for the longer distances.
It has been hard for Dave though. Now he is home with the kids two nights a week while I am out running, usually seeing his friends that are still meeting for group runs. He is getting runs in with friends on other days though. However, there is a pub run on Thursday that I am going to and he will be home with the kids. I am pretty sure his worlds are colliding, but he is handling it well. We won't have young kids at home forever, so eventually we will be able to do what we want, when we want.
Harper continues to be adorable. She is so close to rolling over. Although I am secretly dreading it because then she won't be able to sleep swaddled in her sleep sack at night. I am hoping that she will sleep well on her tummy though and start sleeping through the night. Right now she goes to bed at 7pm and usually wakes up once a night, sometimes its 12:30 sometimes is 3, 4 or 5 am. I would like to put her to bed later so we don't get woken up in the middle of the night, but she is just DONE by 6:45 or so.
Dylan will be starting coach pitch baseball in a few weeks. He loves staying home with Dave two days a week. Usually one of those days they will meet me for lunch. They stay busy doing chores around the house, golfing, playing outside and running errands. Dylan is also a great helper with Harper and loves to give her kisses and always makes sure he tells her good night and gives her a kiss. Harper is enamored with Dylan, when she hears him talk she looks at him with huge smiles and just stares. It really is sweet.
Harper's baptism is in a few weeks and we are super excited to have a bunch of family coming in to celebrate with us. What have you been up to?!
We have been busy lately, but it seems like it is just with everyday stuff, taking care of the kids, working, running, oh, yes I did say running. I bet you didn't think you would her me say that BOTH of us would be running... this would have been most appropriate for me a few weeks ago...
or maybe this...
Not anymore my friends, I started the couch to 5k program with Fleet Feet last week. I did some run/walks for the week before training started and I think that helped me loosen up because I haven't really been too sore yet. I did my longest run on Sunday, 20 minutes without stopping! It was about 1.2 miles, so not super impressive time wise or even distance, but for me it was huge! I also moved up running groups last night and ran with the run only group instead of the run 2 minutes walk 1 minute group. I actually was sweaty after last nights run (even though it was cold and windy) so I think that is the right group for me. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be considering I don't like running. I do have a bunch of weight I want to loose and running is the best way to do that (along with eating healthier of course) so I am sucking it up. I feel accountable to the group to show up for the runs and do the runs on the days I am not meeting at the store to do the group runs, so I can be ready for the longer distances.
It has been hard for Dave though. Now he is home with the kids two nights a week while I am out running, usually seeing his friends that are still meeting for group runs. He is getting runs in with friends on other days though. However, there is a pub run on Thursday that I am going to and he will be home with the kids. I am pretty sure his worlds are colliding, but he is handling it well. We won't have young kids at home forever, so eventually we will be able to do what we want, when we want.
Harper continues to be adorable. She is so close to rolling over. Although I am secretly dreading it because then she won't be able to sleep swaddled in her sleep sack at night. I am hoping that she will sleep well on her tummy though and start sleeping through the night. Right now she goes to bed at 7pm and usually wakes up once a night, sometimes its 12:30 sometimes is 3, 4 or 5 am. I would like to put her to bed later so we don't get woken up in the middle of the night, but she is just DONE by 6:45 or so.
Dylan will be starting coach pitch baseball in a few weeks. He loves staying home with Dave two days a week. Usually one of those days they will meet me for lunch. They stay busy doing chores around the house, golfing, playing outside and running errands. Dylan is also a great helper with Harper and loves to give her kisses and always makes sure he tells her good night and gives her a kiss. Harper is enamored with Dylan, when she hears him talk she looks at him with huge smiles and just stares. It really is sweet.
Harper's baptism is in a few weeks and we are super excited to have a bunch of family coming in to celebrate with us. What have you been up to?!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Brenda!
As said in my last post, it was great to have Brenda visit last week. Here are a few of the photos!
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| Brenda, Harper, & Dylan |
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| Harper LOVES to be talked to! |
Friday, January 11, 2013
Helping a new Mom and Dad out
Today marks Harper's first full week at daycare! I actually went back to work on January 2nd, but Dave's cousin Brenda was here last week to watch Harper so she didn't have to start daycare until this week.
It was SO nice to have Brenda here last week. She watched Harper while we were at work (and when we were home!) made us great dinners, did laundry, baked Dylan pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, and so many other little things that made our life so much easier last week! We were very sad to see her go back home to her family last Saturday.
Watching all the stuff she was doing got me thinking. How many people know what to really do for people that have just had kids? If you have kids it's easier to know what to do to help parents out, but as your kids get older you might forget how tough (and easy) newborns are. So if you are heading out to visit a friend with a newborn here is my list of helpful things you can do for the parents(some are more applicable if you are staying at their house):
1. Hold the baby while the parents eat and let them eat first. Especially if the mom is breastfeeding the baby, she will be starving and appreciate not having to hold the baby while she is eating. While Harper is a pretty easy baby it always seems that around dinner time she wants someone to hold her, it's nice to be able to eat a hot meal at a normal pace and not have to worry about finishing eating in record speed!
2. Leave food for the parents. Brenda left us spaghetti lasagna and an egg casserole to make when she left. All we had to do was bake them. It is so nice to have homemade food that can just be thrown in the oven or reheated after work.
3. Put the baby to bed. Guess what Mom's and Dad's you aren't going to be there to put your kids to be every night! You might as well start letting someone else put your baby to bed. (Unless you are exclusively breastfeeding, then this might be tough...) Brenda put Harper to bed for us and it was awesome. I could go to bed at 9:30 or so and get a decent amount of sleep before Harper would wake up to eat. It was awesome. Why Dave and I didn't do this sooner I don't know.
3a. Wake up with the baby in the morning so the parents can sleep. They have probably been up with the baby off and on during the night. Letting them sleep in and get caught up on sleep is a huge help 4. Help around the house. Fold laundry, wash dishes, empty the dishwasher, sweep the floor it will be appreciated.
4. If you are going to bring the new parents/baby something bring them diapers/wipes/formula. I would rather someone buy me $20 worth of diapers than spend it on flowers. Harper got a lot of Target gift cards for Christmas and we have used them specifically for her diapers, wipes and formula, the gift cards have been a great help.
5. Help refill bottles and change diapers. Another thing I noticed while Brenda was visiting us. If Harper would finish a bottle and want more to drink Brenda would get up and refill the bottle for whomever was feeding Harper. I know it seems like a little thing, but refilling a bottle while holding a baby is a pain, having someone else do it is great. Dave and I are doing this for each other now too.
6. Play with the other kids. Brenda built forts with Dylan, played games with him, got him snacks, made him dinner, and gave him baths. Or she took care of Harper while we took care of Dylan.
7. I had 2 c-sections so I only know about that recovery, here are a few things to help someone who has had a c-section:
Offer to pick up items from the store since the new mom can't drive herself the first few weeks after having a c-section.
Don't underestimate how painful the recovery is, it hurts like hell for the first few weeks at least. It is very difficult to do even simple tasks like emptying the dishwasher. That was most frustrating for me, people underestimating how painful the recovery is. Make sure the person takes their pain medication, you do need to move around after a c-section and the only way you can do that without crying in pain is to take the pain medicine.
8. Watch the baby while the mom/dad sleep. This was a huge help for me too, I napped when Harper napped, but I slept so much better when someone else watched her while I was sleeping.
9. This isn't so much to help the new parents out as it is for the new parents. Don't be afraid to learn new things from your friends/family that visit. It doesn't mean you are a bad parent because your cousin showed you a new and easier way to burp your baby. Be grateful you don't have to spend 20 minutes trying to burp your baby anymore!
10. Don't expect the parents to entertain you, you are there to help them, they have a baby that probably isn't sleeping much and they are probably tired. Don't be high maintenance.
Don't be afraid you are going to step on the parents toes if you help out. Yes, you should probably ask before doing some of these things, but for the most part the parents will be grateful for the help!
Did I miss anything that helped you out as a new parent?
Watching all the stuff she was doing got me thinking. How many people know what to really do for people that have just had kids? If you have kids it's easier to know what to do to help parents out, but as your kids get older you might forget how tough (and easy) newborns are. So if you are heading out to visit a friend with a newborn here is my list of helpful things you can do for the parents(some are more applicable if you are staying at their house):
1. Hold the baby while the parents eat and let them eat first. Especially if the mom is breastfeeding the baby, she will be starving and appreciate not having to hold the baby while she is eating. While Harper is a pretty easy baby it always seems that around dinner time she wants someone to hold her, it's nice to be able to eat a hot meal at a normal pace and not have to worry about finishing eating in record speed!
2. Leave food for the parents. Brenda left us spaghetti lasagna and an egg casserole to make when she left. All we had to do was bake them. It is so nice to have homemade food that can just be thrown in the oven or reheated after work.
3. Put the baby to bed. Guess what Mom's and Dad's you aren't going to be there to put your kids to be every night! You might as well start letting someone else put your baby to bed. (Unless you are exclusively breastfeeding, then this might be tough...) Brenda put Harper to bed for us and it was awesome. I could go to bed at 9:30 or so and get a decent amount of sleep before Harper would wake up to eat. It was awesome. Why Dave and I didn't do this sooner I don't know.
3a. Wake up with the baby in the morning so the parents can sleep. They have probably been up with the baby off and on during the night. Letting them sleep in and get caught up on sleep is a huge help 4. Help around the house. Fold laundry, wash dishes, empty the dishwasher, sweep the floor it will be appreciated.
4. If you are going to bring the new parents/baby something bring them diapers/wipes/formula. I would rather someone buy me $20 worth of diapers than spend it on flowers. Harper got a lot of Target gift cards for Christmas and we have used them specifically for her diapers, wipes and formula, the gift cards have been a great help.
5. Help refill bottles and change diapers. Another thing I noticed while Brenda was visiting us. If Harper would finish a bottle and want more to drink Brenda would get up and refill the bottle for whomever was feeding Harper. I know it seems like a little thing, but refilling a bottle while holding a baby is a pain, having someone else do it is great. Dave and I are doing this for each other now too.
6. Play with the other kids. Brenda built forts with Dylan, played games with him, got him snacks, made him dinner, and gave him baths. Or she took care of Harper while we took care of Dylan.
7. I had 2 c-sections so I only know about that recovery, here are a few things to help someone who has had a c-section:
Offer to pick up items from the store since the new mom can't drive herself the first few weeks after having a c-section.
Don't underestimate how painful the recovery is, it hurts like hell for the first few weeks at least. It is very difficult to do even simple tasks like emptying the dishwasher. That was most frustrating for me, people underestimating how painful the recovery is. Make sure the person takes their pain medication, you do need to move around after a c-section and the only way you can do that without crying in pain is to take the pain medicine.
8. Watch the baby while the mom/dad sleep. This was a huge help for me too, I napped when Harper napped, but I slept so much better when someone else watched her while I was sleeping.
9. This isn't so much to help the new parents out as it is for the new parents. Don't be afraid to learn new things from your friends/family that visit. It doesn't mean you are a bad parent because your cousin showed you a new and easier way to burp your baby. Be grateful you don't have to spend 20 minutes trying to burp your baby anymore!
10. Don't expect the parents to entertain you, you are there to help them, they have a baby that probably isn't sleeping much and they are probably tired. Don't be high maintenance.
Don't be afraid you are going to step on the parents toes if you help out. Yes, you should probably ask before doing some of these things, but for the most part the parents will be grateful for the help!
Did I miss anything that helped you out as a new parent?
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Santa!
Dylan was so excited to go see Santa today. We went to the Shops at Franklin Square's Annual Christmas Festival to see Santa. It was a great event, they had crafts for the kids, a bounce house, carolers and of course, Santa! Dylan told him his very long Christmas list. Harper slept through the whole thing, but we did manage to get photos of both of them visiting Santa!
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Harper!
She's here!
Harper Elizabeth Vannier
November 2, 2012
12:39pm
7.5 lbs
20"
We made it home from the hospital on Monday afternoon. Dylan has been a great big brother, helping out when he can. He loves to "pet" her head and sings Rock-a-bye Baby to her when she cries.
My recovery is going well. I think I only have another night or two of sleeping in the recliner!
I know everyone says all babies are different and Harper and Dylan are certainly proving that true. While Dylan stuck to the same eating schedule for two months (every two hours, it was awful). Harper eats every 3 or 4 hours and then will some times eat every hour. She sleeps pretty well and we are hoping that will continue to improve!
We have had a few visitors since we have been home and Dave was lucky enough to be able to stay home for a week after Harper arrived and Grandma Carolyn has been here since before we went to the hospital. She has been a great help taking care of Dylan, taking him to gymnastics, school and other activities. My mom will be here next week and say for a week and then my dad will be here in December. We are also excited to have Dave's cousin Brenda coming to stay with us the first week I go back to work in January!
If you haven't stopped by to visit and want to let us know! We love having visitors!
Here is a slideshow of photos from the past week.
Harper Elizabeth Vannier
November 2, 2012
12:39pm
7.5 lbs
20"
We made it home from the hospital on Monday afternoon. Dylan has been a great big brother, helping out when he can. He loves to "pet" her head and sings Rock-a-bye Baby to her when she cries.
My recovery is going well. I think I only have another night or two of sleeping in the recliner!
I know everyone says all babies are different and Harper and Dylan are certainly proving that true. While Dylan stuck to the same eating schedule for two months (every two hours, it was awful). Harper eats every 3 or 4 hours and then will some times eat every hour. She sleeps pretty well and we are hoping that will continue to improve!
We have had a few visitors since we have been home and Dave was lucky enough to be able to stay home for a week after Harper arrived and Grandma Carolyn has been here since before we went to the hospital. She has been a great help taking care of Dylan, taking him to gymnastics, school and other activities. My mom will be here next week and say for a week and then my dad will be here in December. We are also excited to have Dave's cousin Brenda coming to stay with us the first week I go back to work in January!
If you haven't stopped by to visit and want to let us know! We love having visitors!
Here is a slideshow of photos from the past week.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Chicago Marathon
All of the guys stayed with my sister, Dana and her husband, Paul. Dana even cooked for them on Saturday night! :) Paul was nice enough to get up at the crack of dawn and drive them to the starting point of the race too. Generally the guys are running a little behind on race mornings even after preparing the night before. It was also the coldest weather they have run a race in. Omaha was also cold, but not as cold as Chicago. Cold is definitely better to run the race in though, so I don't think they were complaining too much.
This race was tougher than Omaha, I don't think the course was more difficult though. Dave had problems the entire race, he was not feeling well for some reason. (I am hoping he isn't contagious!) However, he did seem to recover after the race and on Sunday night. The guys went to eat at a favorite place of ours, The Bad Apple Bar. They have the BEST burger menu and a huge selection of beers. Their fried cheese is also the best I've ever had. If you're in Chicago, it's a place you don't want to miss!
(Thanks to Paul and Dana for the photos!)
Monday, September 17, 2012
Photos: Tennessee Valley Fair
We had a great time again this year at the Tennessee Valley Fair. Dylan loved the petting zoo, riding the donkey and of course the rides!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Charleston
My mom had a rather large milestone birthday this year. I don't think she would mind me telling you how old she is, but I'll leave that up to her. She had mentioned something earlier in the year about doing something with Dana and I for her birthday, maybe even going on a trip. Dana and I talked over Christmas and brought the idea up to Mom, who was on board right away. The hard part was deciding where to go. We wanted to go somewhere that none of us had been to before. It had to be a non-stop flight from Chicago (according to the high maintenance traveller of our group :) and it would be nice if it was driving distance for me since Knoxville is SO EXPENSIVE to fly out of. After tossing around a few cities we decided on Charleston, SC. It's a 6 hour drive from Knoxville, not ideal, but certainly do-able. And a quick flight from Chicago.
We arrived on the last Friday of March to beautiful blue skies and traffic...Dana and Mom's flight was delayed due to thunderstorms in Chicago, so I was able to pick them up at the airport and we all headed to the hotel together. However, just as we were getting close to our exit traffic stopped. Apparently the Cooper River Bridge Run is a big deal here. Over 40,000 runners participate in the annual 10k. Dana said she might have saw something about there being a race in Charleston the weekend we were there, but she didn't think it would be a big deal. She underestimated the popularity of the race. (In fact, I'm sure you've heard of "Ridiculously Photogenic Guy" - his picture was taken at this race.) The traffic wouldn't have been such a big deal, but my Mom had scheduled us on a walking tour of Charleston at 2:30pm. I picked them up at the airport a little after 1pm and we didn't get to our hotel until 2:20 or so. Our room wasn't ready so we just valeted my car. Mom went it to the hotel to use the restroom and then next time I saw her she was limping out the front door. Um, what? She told me she twisted her ankles (that's right both of them, I don't even know how that's possible) coming down the stairs. We waited a few minutes to see if she would be alright to go on the walking tour or if we would have to scrap it. She walked a little bit and we all decided it would be best to skip the walking tour and head to the rooftop terrace of our hotel and get some ice on her ankle.
After relaxing for a little bit, getting checked into our room and getting Mom loaded up on ibuprofen we headed out to start exploring Charleston.
Since Mom and Dana's flight was late they hadn't gotten a chance to eat lunch so we headed towards Gaulart and Malicet aka G and M aka Fast and French. Of course there was a ton to see on our way, beautiful churches, old buildings....It was so nice to have time to stop and take photos and not be rushed! I could play with the settings on my camera and see what worked the best for the photos.
Our late lunch at G&M was perfect. It's a small place, so I can see why the wait is long for prime meal times. The food is very French, but there are still options for everyone. I'll be doing a restaurant review in a few days, so I'll fill you in then!
We finished our late lunch close to 5pm, but had to decide what to do for dinner. We had dinner reservations for Saturday night, but not Friday night. With there being so many people in town we didn't want to have to wait forever for dinner. After walking around a bit more and heading to the Waterfront Park outside of our hotel we decided to go out to Five Loaves Cafe. It wasn't in walking distance, but it looked like there was a free trolley that would take us pretty close.
We were right, but it took a while to wait for the trolley to take us to the vicinity of the restaurant. We almost decided to go up to the bar up the street from our hotel and eat there. Even though we had a late afternoon snack Dana and I were still starving. As we were waiting for the trolley my Mom tells Dana and I that was the hardest thing about traveling with us when we were younger. That we had to eat all the time! You see, my Mom would be just fine with eating a pastry or some other random sweet food or drink and be fine. Dana and I prefer a real meal. I'm pretty sure we aren't the strange ones here...So, we finally made it to Five Loaves Cafe and had to wait about 10 minutes. Again, I am writing separate restaurant reviews, but we all liked this place as well. It's out of the way, but worth the trip.
After dinner we were spent, we took a cab back to the hotel. Got our milk and cookies, that's right our hotel had complimentary milk and cookies starting at 8:30pm every night. We enjoyed our cookies and discussed what time to have our breakfast delivered (wanted earlier because I'm pregnant and starving when I wake up, I was thinking a head though and brought cereal and milk so I could eat first thing. Oh, you didn't know I was pregnant, sorry, that's a whole different post, Surprise! (it was for us too). Dana wanted to be up and showered before the breakfast was delivered. What? That's crazy to me, who cares what you look like when the room service person shows up with your food as long as you have clothes on? Anyway, we decided that between 8 and 8:30am would be acceptable.
Saturday morning we did sleep in until breakfast arrived around 8am. After breakfast we finished getting ready and headed out to explore the city. Our destination was Battery Park. Along the way we admired the old homes, flower gardens and architecture.
After our walking tour to Battery Park (narrated by Dana) we headed back towards downtown for our lunch reservation at Husk Restaurant. Husk Restaurant was name the best new restaurant in America in 2011 by Bon Appitet magazine. We did have a great lunch (although I have one complaint...). Review is coming!!
We had a long lunch, almost 2 hours and I was about asleep after that, but Mom and Dana pushed me on. We walked over to the open air market and culinary store to see if there was anything we needed. I found some local bloody mary mix and rim spices for Dave and Aunt Dana bought Dylan a Del Sol shark shirt at the market.
Throughout our trip we saw horse drawn carriages giving tours. I had mentioned a few times when I was tired that it might be nice to go on a carriage ride to see more of the city. We decided to stop by the carriage stand since it was right by the market to see what it would cost. If we went on a group tour we would have had to wait over an hour, but we could go on a private tour right now. Dana and I were ready to walk away, but Mom said she would take care of it and wanted to go. It turned out to be great. Our guide was excellent and our horse, Kevin was 20 hands tall, the largest horse in their fleet. Of course, my Mom was asking questions about how the horses are treated, do they get to leave the city, etc. Our guide told us that the horses work for a week, but no more than 3 or 4 tours a day (I think) and then go out to a farm for a few weeks before coming back and doing tours again. It didn't sound like too bad of a life to me. We learned quite a bit about Charleston and the region on our tour and saw some parts of the city we hadn't seen before too.
After our tour we headed back to the hotel. It had started to rain and we were hoping to make it back for the wine and cheese reception! Yes my friends, our hotel had a free wine and cheese reception every afternoon. I didn't partake in any wine, but I heard it was good. The cheese was standard cheddar and jack and pepper jack along with a creamy cheese. But it was still good to have a cheese, fruit and crackers snack!
We decided to drive to our dinner restaurant, Lana. It was in the same vicinity as Five Loaves Cafe, which turned out to be quite a walk from the trolley stop. It look a little while to find our parking spot, but other than that we had a great evening. Lana Restaurant review to come! Of course, after dinner we headed back to the hotel for cookies and milk :)
Sunday morning was pretty much the same as Saturday, sleeping in, eating a lazy breakfast. But since it was our last day in Charleston we weren't quite sure what to do. We decided to take a drive out to the most popular plantations and see what we could see. I wanted to get on the road around Noon to start my drive back to Knoxville and drop my Mom and Dana off at the airport.
It took us about 25 minutes to get to the plantations, which are conveniently all on the same road. We couldn't see a lot, but did get out at Middleton Plantation. It's supposed to be the best one. What was nice about it was that they had a cafe, museum store and a few other things you could access without having to take the plantation tour. After a quick look around we headed back to Charleston so I could drop Dana and Mom off at the airport.
All in all it was a great trip. We had wonderful food, explored the city and got to spend some time together, which doesn't get to happen very often. I would certainly recommend a visit to Charleston to anyone!
We arrived on the last Friday of March to beautiful blue skies and traffic...Dana and Mom's flight was delayed due to thunderstorms in Chicago, so I was able to pick them up at the airport and we all headed to the hotel together. However, just as we were getting close to our exit traffic stopped. Apparently the Cooper River Bridge Run is a big deal here. Over 40,000 runners participate in the annual 10k. Dana said she might have saw something about there being a race in Charleston the weekend we were there, but she didn't think it would be a big deal. She underestimated the popularity of the race. (In fact, I'm sure you've heard of "Ridiculously Photogenic Guy" - his picture was taken at this race.) The traffic wouldn't have been such a big deal, but my Mom had scheduled us on a walking tour of Charleston at 2:30pm. I picked them up at the airport a little after 1pm and we didn't get to our hotel until 2:20 or so. Our room wasn't ready so we just valeted my car. Mom went it to the hotel to use the restroom and then next time I saw her she was limping out the front door. Um, what? She told me she twisted her ankles (that's right both of them, I don't even know how that's possible) coming down the stairs. We waited a few minutes to see if she would be alright to go on the walking tour or if we would have to scrap it. She walked a little bit and we all decided it would be best to skip the walking tour and head to the rooftop terrace of our hotel and get some ice on her ankle.
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| Judy (Mom) icing her ankle... |
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| View of the Cooper River from our Hotel, The Harbour View Inn |
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| Cooper River Bridge (view from the terrace of our hotel) |
After relaxing for a little bit, getting checked into our room and getting Mom loaded up on ibuprofen we headed out to start exploring Charleston.
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| Shops outside of our hotel. |
Since Mom and Dana's flight was late they hadn't gotten a chance to eat lunch so we headed towards Gaulart and Malicet aka G and M aka Fast and French. Of course there was a ton to see on our way, beautiful churches, old buildings....It was so nice to have time to stop and take photos and not be rushed! I could play with the settings on my camera and see what worked the best for the photos.
Our late lunch at G&M was perfect. It's a small place, so I can see why the wait is long for prime meal times. The food is very French, but there are still options for everyone. I'll be doing a restaurant review in a few days, so I'll fill you in then!
We finished our late lunch close to 5pm, but had to decide what to do for dinner. We had dinner reservations for Saturday night, but not Friday night. With there being so many people in town we didn't want to have to wait forever for dinner. After walking around a bit more and heading to the Waterfront Park outside of our hotel we decided to go out to Five Loaves Cafe. It wasn't in walking distance, but it looked like there was a free trolley that would take us pretty close.
We were right, but it took a while to wait for the trolley to take us to the vicinity of the restaurant. We almost decided to go up to the bar up the street from our hotel and eat there. Even though we had a late afternoon snack Dana and I were still starving. As we were waiting for the trolley my Mom tells Dana and I that was the hardest thing about traveling with us when we were younger. That we had to eat all the time! You see, my Mom would be just fine with eating a pastry or some other random sweet food or drink and be fine. Dana and I prefer a real meal. I'm pretty sure we aren't the strange ones here...So, we finally made it to Five Loaves Cafe and had to wait about 10 minutes. Again, I am writing separate restaurant reviews, but we all liked this place as well. It's out of the way, but worth the trip.
After dinner we were spent, we took a cab back to the hotel. Got our milk and cookies, that's right our hotel had complimentary milk and cookies starting at 8:30pm every night. We enjoyed our cookies and discussed what time to have our breakfast delivered (wanted earlier because I'm pregnant and starving when I wake up, I was thinking a head though and brought cereal and milk so I could eat first thing. Oh, you didn't know I was pregnant, sorry, that's a whole different post, Surprise! (it was for us too). Dana wanted to be up and showered before the breakfast was delivered. What? That's crazy to me, who cares what you look like when the room service person shows up with your food as long as you have clothes on? Anyway, we decided that between 8 and 8:30am would be acceptable.
Saturday morning we did sleep in until breakfast arrived around 8am. After breakfast we finished getting ready and headed out to explore the city. Our destination was Battery Park. Along the way we admired the old homes, flower gardens and architecture.
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| I'm pretty sure this guy is mooning everyone on purpose! |
After our walking tour to Battery Park (narrated by Dana) we headed back towards downtown for our lunch reservation at Husk Restaurant. Husk Restaurant was name the best new restaurant in America in 2011 by Bon Appitet magazine. We did have a great lunch (although I have one complaint...). Review is coming!!
We had a long lunch, almost 2 hours and I was about asleep after that, but Mom and Dana pushed me on. We walked over to the open air market and culinary store to see if there was anything we needed. I found some local bloody mary mix and rim spices for Dave and Aunt Dana bought Dylan a Del Sol shark shirt at the market.
Throughout our trip we saw horse drawn carriages giving tours. I had mentioned a few times when I was tired that it might be nice to go on a carriage ride to see more of the city. We decided to stop by the carriage stand since it was right by the market to see what it would cost. If we went on a group tour we would have had to wait over an hour, but we could go on a private tour right now. Dana and I were ready to walk away, but Mom said she would take care of it and wanted to go. It turned out to be great. Our guide was excellent and our horse, Kevin was 20 hands tall, the largest horse in their fleet. Of course, my Mom was asking questions about how the horses are treated, do they get to leave the city, etc. Our guide told us that the horses work for a week, but no more than 3 or 4 tours a day (I think) and then go out to a farm for a few weeks before coming back and doing tours again. It didn't sound like too bad of a life to me. We learned quite a bit about Charleston and the region on our tour and saw some parts of the city we hadn't seen before too.
After our tour we headed back to the hotel. It had started to rain and we were hoping to make it back for the wine and cheese reception! Yes my friends, our hotel had a free wine and cheese reception every afternoon. I didn't partake in any wine, but I heard it was good. The cheese was standard cheddar and jack and pepper jack along with a creamy cheese. But it was still good to have a cheese, fruit and crackers snack!
We decided to drive to our dinner restaurant, Lana. It was in the same vicinity as Five Loaves Cafe, which turned out to be quite a walk from the trolley stop. It look a little while to find our parking spot, but other than that we had a great evening. Lana Restaurant review to come! Of course, after dinner we headed back to the hotel for cookies and milk :)
Sunday morning was pretty much the same as Saturday, sleeping in, eating a lazy breakfast. But since it was our last day in Charleston we weren't quite sure what to do. We decided to take a drive out to the most popular plantations and see what we could see. I wanted to get on the road around Noon to start my drive back to Knoxville and drop my Mom and Dana off at the airport.
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| Fountain at waterfront park, in front of our hotel. |
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All in all it was a great trip. We had wonderful food, explored the city and got to spend some time together, which doesn't get to happen very often. I would certainly recommend a visit to Charleston to anyone!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Busy, busy, busy
I feel like for the most part we aren't really ever very busy. Sure, we've got the day to day stuff like every family. Usually if we are invited somewhere or want to have people over it's not too hard to get planned. But I have been looking at our schedule for the next few months and just realized we are going to be super busy, like every weekend busy.
Here's what the rest of the month looks like for us:
Tomorrow we have a birthday party to go to, that I still have to buy the present for...
We are also having friends over for dinner tomorrow night after we get back from the birthday party.
Next week we are going to see Henry Rollins speak, which should be awesome, we saw him a few years ago when he came to Knoxville and he spoke for over 3 hours. We are also going to dinner before the show. Which will be awesome because while Dylan is getting better about not being such a pill when we go out to eat, it will still be nice to have a grown up night out!
March 18th is the Atlanta marathon. We will be heading down the night before, luckily it's only a 3 hour drive.
Guess what? The weekend of March 24th we are open!! While I would really like to sit around that weekend and recover, I am hoping it will be nice out and we can go up to the Smokies and do some hiking.
I am heading to Charleston to meet up with my mom and sister to celebrate (late) my mom's 60th birthday the last weekend in March. We didn't realize when we planned the trip that the Knoxville marathon is April 1st. I don't think we made the whole March/April same weekend connection, so Grandma Carolyn is coming down to visit that weekend to help Dave out with Dylan. She will get to see a race too. I'm bummed out that I am going to miss the marathon, the Knoxville one would be fun since it's in our hometown. Maybe next year! I am very excited to go to Charleston though, we have reservations at Husk and Lana and countless other restaurants we want to try. At least we should be doing a lot of walking to burn off the calories from all the food we are going to be eating. :)
I don't even want to start talking about April, our co-ed league volleyball starts (which I am so incredibly excited about!), Dylan's swimming lessons start, Dave will still have his Tuesday night running group and that's just during the week!
I am pretty sure that we are just going to keep getting busier as Dylan gets older and we will find ways to manage it. I wanted to sign him up for tee-ball too, but I think we are going to wait a year for that and soccer. Or at least until the Fall when hopefully we won't have so much going on.
I'll have marathon updates coming up, hopefully a restaurant review from wherever we go before Henry Rollins and Charleston re-cap so stay tuned! Oh, and Spring photos! The Spring flowers and trees are blooming, so I will try and capture some of the gorgeousness of East Tennessee and share it with you!
Here's what the rest of the month looks like for us:
Tomorrow we have a birthday party to go to, that I still have to buy the present for...
We are also having friends over for dinner tomorrow night after we get back from the birthday party.
Next week we are going to see Henry Rollins speak, which should be awesome, we saw him a few years ago when he came to Knoxville and he spoke for over 3 hours. We are also going to dinner before the show. Which will be awesome because while Dylan is getting better about not being such a pill when we go out to eat, it will still be nice to have a grown up night out!
March 18th is the Atlanta marathon. We will be heading down the night before, luckily it's only a 3 hour drive.
Guess what? The weekend of March 24th we are open!! While I would really like to sit around that weekend and recover, I am hoping it will be nice out and we can go up to the Smokies and do some hiking.
I am heading to Charleston to meet up with my mom and sister to celebrate (late) my mom's 60th birthday the last weekend in March. We didn't realize when we planned the trip that the Knoxville marathon is April 1st. I don't think we made the whole March/April same weekend connection, so Grandma Carolyn is coming down to visit that weekend to help Dave out with Dylan. She will get to see a race too. I'm bummed out that I am going to miss the marathon, the Knoxville one would be fun since it's in our hometown. Maybe next year! I am very excited to go to Charleston though, we have reservations at Husk and Lana and countless other restaurants we want to try. At least we should be doing a lot of walking to burn off the calories from all the food we are going to be eating. :)
I don't even want to start talking about April, our co-ed league volleyball starts (which I am so incredibly excited about!), Dylan's swimming lessons start, Dave will still have his Tuesday night running group and that's just during the week!
I am pretty sure that we are just going to keep getting busier as Dylan gets older and we will find ways to manage it. I wanted to sign him up for tee-ball too, but I think we are going to wait a year for that and soccer. Or at least until the Fall when hopefully we won't have so much going on.
I'll have marathon updates coming up, hopefully a restaurant review from wherever we go before Henry Rollins and Charleston re-cap so stay tuned! Oh, and Spring photos! The Spring flowers and trees are blooming, so I will try and capture some of the gorgeousness of East Tennessee and share it with you!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Is it too late for a Christmas wrap-up?
I have been off work since December 23rd, and while I haven't just sat around the house, I haven't been especially busy either. So ye old blog has been neglected. I do have some pretty great Christmas photos to share with you though. We were so blessed by our family with wonderful gifts again this year. Dylan LOVED opening presents, writing a "letter" to Santa, leaving out milk and cookies and opening what Santa brought on Christmas morning. We also had lots of great food and had visitors from Iowa for a few days.
Here's the re-cap:
Here's the re-cap:
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| Dylan came to work with Dave on the 23rd, he had lots of fun helping set up the range and hitting golf balls. But he also came down with a fever, so around lunchtime I picked him up and we headed home. |
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| The most delicious peppermint bark ever. So wonderful I made it twice! I gave it to our friends in their Christmas goodies and made another batch for our family. |
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| Dylan seemed to be feeling better on Christmas Eve so we did some yard work in the morning since it was such a nice day. His fever came back though during his nap so we decided to wait and go to church on Christmas morning. |
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| As you can see he started to feel better when it was time to open presents! But first he helped Dave start a fire in the fireplace. |
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| Dylan's 2011 ornament from daycare. |
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| Girl, our elf on the shelf in her last spot of the year! |
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| Dylan and his stack of presents. Nice pants huh, he put them on after his nap when he wasn't feeling good. Oh well, at least they match his shirt! |
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| A monkey pillow pet! |
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| Dad got new running shoes... |
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| Mom got a cookbook stand |
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| Dylan modeling his ISU jersey on his new Cars mat getting ready to put on his Cowboy boot slippers! |
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| Prime rib for Christmas Dinner! |
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| Done writing a letter to Santa |
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| Christmas Dinner, Duchess potatoes, prime rib and green bean casserole with crispy shallots, yum! |
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| Santa brought Dylan a train table! Grandpa Dave also visited Christmas week and brought Dylan more trains for his table! |
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| Grandma Carolyn and Granny B came to our house on Christmas Day and we opened more presents! Dylan got this great cape and mask from his cousins in Minnesota! |
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| Grandma Carolyn opening one of her presents. |
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| We had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner on Christmas Day since Granny B and Carolyn were visiting. It's Cedar Plank Salmon, roasted asparagus and wild rice. Dessert is Chocolate raspberry torte cake. |
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| Kobe and Peek-a-boo worn out after a long week. I can't believe they are sitting this close! |
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| Perfect weather today to shoot off the rocket from Kyle and Amie! |
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