Fall Break Part 2

We were up early on Thursday morning ready to take part in the fun activities around the Great Wolf Lodge.  Kate took part in the wolf walk while Ben did some MagiQuest.  

 Then we hit the water park for some more fun!  We loved the racing slides.  All 4 of us could race down them together.  Kate was really good!

 We loved just getting to all act like kids and have fun together!

 We were looking on TripAdvisor looking for something fun to do in Charlotte.  The number 1 thing was the Billy Graham Library.  We were a little skeptical but decided to check it out.  It was amazing!!  We were so impressed.  It sat on a beautiful piece of land and we had a blast exploring all they offered.

 We got to see the house that Billy Graham grew up in.  Very neat!

 Then we went through the museum part.  It was so cool.  Very interactive and informative.  We learned so much but also had a lot of fun.  They did an amazing job of presenting the gospel.

 It was a great stop and I would highly recommend it to anyone who goes to Charlotte.

 We then found this awesome little park in downtown Charlotte that had this really fun football area where kids could go through a football obstacle course.  Ben was of course in heaven!

 We then took a drive by the Panthers Stadium..  Ben is a huge Panthers fan because of Cam Newton.  We were hoping to run into him but he was out of town.  Ben wore his jersey of course!

 We did some research and found a restaurant that had been on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.  It qualified as a Dive and Drive In.  A total dump but they had some amazing fried chicken.

 We had the full drive in experience!  It was great!

 The night finished up with a special visitor.  The kids got some cookies and milk before bed.  They were so excited!

 Friday we decided to head back to the Panthers stadium to take a tour.  Ben loved all the Cam jerseys they had in the gift shop.

 The tour was really cool!  We learned all about the team and stadium.

 We even got to go down on the field.  Amazing!

 And got to go into the visitor's locker room.

 Ben liked seeing the locker Peyton Manning used.

We got to go into the executive booths and the media room.  

 It was a great morning!  Ben the football loving boy was over the moon excited.

 We headed back to the lodge where Kate decorated a pumpkin in the kids club.

 Then we hit the water park for some nighttime fun!

 We had so much fun!!!  Loved every minute of our time in Charlotte and at the Great Wolf Lodge!

Fall Break Part 1

Well, our fall break didn't go quite as planned but it turned out wonderful.  We had an amazing trip to Washington DC planned for months.  Ben (and the rest of us) was so excited.  First there was a threat of a government shut down.  Then a hurricane was headed straight for DC.  And finally my dad got sick.  We just knew this was not the right time for us to go.  Thankfully when my dad started getting better, we decided to take a last minute trip.  We did some quick research (really like 24 hours before we left) and decided to head up to Charlotte NC.  We had never been there and it seemed like a great option.  So we headed out Tuesday afternoon after some crazy last minute packing.  This was totally out of my comfort zone.  I am a super planned person especially when it comes to trips but I'm learning to be more low key and go with the flow these days.  

We happened to be driving through Knoxville so we decided to stop and show the kids some of the places we enjoyed from our first years of marriage.  Ben was excited to see a street named after one his favorite players - Peyton Manning!  

 We checked out Neyland Stadium and the UT campus.  So much has changed in the past 10 years!

 And then we stopped for dinner at Litton's which was one of our favorite places to eat!

 We kept on travelling to Asheville NC for the night.  It is so nice that the kids have gotten to the place where they can carry their own luggage!  Travelling with them is so easy!

 Wednesday we got up and headed over to the super fancy McDonald's by the Biltmore for breakfast.  The kids thought it was funny that there was a piano in McDonald's.

 Then it was off to Charlotte and our fun stop for the next few days - The Great Wolf Lodge!!  We had heard great things about it and were excited to check it out for ourselves.

 We had the coolest room ever with a special "Kid Kamp" that included bunk beds and a special area for the kids.

 The best thing about Great Wolf Lodge is the indoor water park!!  We couldn't wait to get there so got ready ASAP.  It was amazing!  It was so clean and fun.  We spent hours together playing.  Perfect family time.  We went down the slides over and over.  Our favorite was a family slide that we could all go down together in a raft.  Awesome!

 There was a great pool area where we got to play basketball together.

 Ben and Kate enjoyed racing across the lily pads.  Kate smoked Ben everytime!

 These guys had so much fun (and so did the parents)!

 We went out to dinner after all the water park fun.  

 We finished the night off by having storytime in the lobby with Wiley the Wolf!  Kate thought it was cool (Ben not so much).

Special Visits

The beginning of October was a little crazy.  Lots going on but we made the best of it.  We had a special visit from my Aunt Susan and my cousin Ben's family.  We got to have a fun day of playing together one day during fall break.  The kids all had so much fun together.  

 My dad got really sick right before fall break.  He ended up in the hospital and after many, many tests we still don't know exactly what happened but we think he got an infection in his heart that broke off and went to his brain causing him to have a stroke.  Tough stuff!!!  Thankfully he is recovering now but we had some rough days in the hospital.  Thankfully we had some wonderful friends that helped us out with the kids for several days so we could spend time at the hospital.  Don't know what we would do without our friends!  By day 4 my dad was feeling better and was up to a visit from some crazy kiddos!

 These kiddos are better than any medicine!

A Weekend in Auburn

My poor neglected blog!  It has been so long and I'm so sorry.  Don't have an excuse other than life.  It has been a little crazy but oh so much fun.  I'm going to try to catch up over the next few days.  I've been bad about taking pictures so may not take too long to catch up.  Starting with going all the way back September...

Matt had to go out of town for a few days and the kids and I didn't have anything on the calendar so we decided to take a last minute trip down to Auburn.  The kids were so excited to get to see GG.  They love GG and going to her house.  First thing they always do is pull out the box of toys!  Kate loved the whip!

 Saturday morning we just hung out around the house and enjoyed catching up with GG.  Kate also spent some time climbing trees.  Silly girl!

 When we decided to head down I had told Ben I didn't know if we would go to the Auburn game.  I didn't know if I was brave enough to go to the game by myself with him.  He kept asking me if I was feeling brave.  I knew he would have a blast so last minute we decided to do it!  We left LaFayette about 3 hours before the game with no tickets so I didn't know how it would go.  We got to Auburn and took the bus to campus.  He was so excited!!!

 I stopped at the first scalper I saw when we got on campus and he had great seats and was asking face value so I just went ahead and bought the tickets.  Crazy!!!  But it worked out great.  Since we now had tickets we got to enjoy just hanging out on campus until the game starts.  We stopped by the tailgate show.

 Then went and saw the backside of the new video board.  It is huge!!!

 We took a quick walk across campus to Toomers to check out the new oaks they planted.

 And of course a Samford Hall picture!

 Ben could not wait to get into the game so we went ahead and went into the stadium.  Our seats were AMAZING.  About 12 rows up on the 30 yard line.  Right in the middle of the action.  We were surrounded by great Auburn people so it was so much fun!

 We loved being so close to all the action.  We got to see the band up close.

 And see the eagle flying right over our heads.

 It was a great game!!  We came up a little short to Mississippi State but Ben and I didn't care.  We just had so much fun together.  I loved getting to spend so much time with my little man doing something he loves!

 Kate was off having a blast with GG and Aunt Lisa.  They took her shopping and spoiled her rotten!!  I don't even think she noticed Ben and I were gone.  Sunday morning we got up and headed home but Ben had to read the paper to get the reviews on Auburn before we left.

It was such a fun, short trip.  So glad we went and got to have such a fun time.  Love that the kids are at such great ages so that we can do these kind of things.