So we have been busy since our last update. School is nearing it's end (only 2 more weeks left!) at least for me; the kids have until mid June. Emily has been busier than ever getting ready for the move. She has the bug and has started packing as well as looking for a place to live. In fact she will be in Denver this upcoming week hitting the pavement scouting for a new dwelling space for our clan. Other than moving and school, we have traveled a little too. I had a conference in Charlotte, NC and it happened to fall during the kids' spring break, so we made a road trip out of it. I dropped Em and the kids off at a friend's (Lauren) in Johnson City, TN. Needless to say, nary a day went by without a big something to do. Here are some of the pictures of our many adventures!!!
We went to the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC (built by George Vanderbilt in the late 1800's and still owned by the Vanderbilt family). This is the castle that we were able to tour. It's hard to describe this place in words, utterly amazing!
Mr. Vanderbilt hired a famous Architect to design the mansion and a famous landscaper to develop the surrounding grounds. Needless to say there is multiple flower gardens including a greenhouse with exotic flowers and plants from around the world. When driving into the estate there are areas with bamboo growing everywhere, making you feel like you were actually at those exotic places! We were there just as the flowers were starting to bloom in the gardens.
Em and Lizzy resting in the greenhouse in a sitting area.
Spring is one of my favorite seasons...this is why.
The kids taking a break eating gourmet chocolate from one of the souvenir shops.
We had to walk about 8 minutes from the parking area over a hill which looked down on the mansion. This is at the bottom of the hill.
Coming up on channel 8, 6, and almost 4 News...
Em and the kids went to the hands on museum. This was one of the favorites of the kids, pretending to work as anchor people.
Me not tall enough to reach Michigan, but the weather today is, cold, cloudy, partly sunny, windy, rainy, snow flurries, chance of hail, and there is a tornado watch in place through the night. Tomorrows forecast...any and all of the above.
This just in...Hannah Montana has been sighted at a mall, unfortunately it is not at the mall where we are at.
We are raising 3 wild animals and that's the truth!
This part of the museum taught the kids about how Locks work (i.e. the Panama Canal).
One of the days was spent at a Dinosaur museum.
Sue the Tyrannosaurus Rex. How many places can we see her? This is #2. We visited her when she was in Idaho Falls, ID. She is still more traveled that we are.
One of the highlights of the Dinosaur Museum was digging for fossils. The D.O.T. had just excavated a bunch of dirt to make a road and it was a sight where there was possible dinosaur bones.
This is what went through the mind of the museum director..."you know visitors pay us to come here, why not give them a tour of this pile of dirt and then let them take a shovel-full of it and sift through it to 'experience' what it would be like out on a 'real' dig! (Unsuspecting suckers won't realize that we are getting paid by them to do our work!)"
As it turned out...Lizzy did the work and found a left patella bone of a pre-historic rhinoceros, which they suspect dates to pre-ice age era. GO LIZZY! (Gage felt left out so he is holding up a rock...although it could be a tooth...hard to tell.)
A bitter-sweet moment. This is my class at our farewell party before we all part our separate ways for our 4th year residency's. We've been together for 3 years solid now.
