Biltmore + Camp Drop Off

It's that time of summer again, when I send my eldest off to sleep away camp.  You would think I would be used to this by now, it is his third year after all.  Yet, he is making the jump from one week to two weeks....and I'm making a big jump backwards in letting go.  Ugh!

In anticipation of seeing Jack off, we made a big weekend of the drop off.  Every year we try to see a different part or attraction in North Carolina.  This year we opted to give the Biltmore House a whirl.

We arrived just in time for lunch and let me tell you, we were starving.  We got a quick bite in the village after checking in to our hotel.  Little did we know at the time, Cedric is quite a popular guy around these parts.  Our lunch was delish and the weather was fabulous for alfresco dining.

After lunch we meandered around.  The village was full of little shops and sights to see.  We left all the entertaining up to Lucy though.  She seems to be a pro.

The grounds were full of wild life.  This little guy hopped right by us and even hung out and let us chat it up with him.  Of course, this prompted Maggie to start begging for a pet bunny.  If I'm not careful, Daddy will take her to lunch and come home with one.  That's how we have two fish and a hamster to date. {not even a joke]

From there, we took the shuttle from our hotel over to the Biltmore Mansion.  There is nothing deceptive about the pictures, it's just as giant in person.

Our hotel package came with the audio tours and I'm so glad they did.  We might not have thought to purchase them otherwise and they are well worth it.  The kids got a kick out of their "cell phones".  Not to mention, Cedric, the family dog, narrates the kids version.  It makes the self-guided tour much more do-able for little ones.

To be honest, I was kind of wishing I had the Cedric version.

The tour was incredible, the house is beyond amazing, and I think it's fair to say we all really enjoyed it.  I would lying if I didn't mention, the girl's attention spans started to wither after about the 28th room.  But, over all a great experience.

Post our house tour, we made a quick visit over to the train exhibit and the farm before closing time.

The little ones were starting a steady decline so I knew it was time to take them to their HaPpY place.    It works like magic every time!

We topped our day in North Carolina with another amazing meal and ice cream in the village.  The next day was a biggie....CAMP DROP OFF!

I don't know why this still gets me every summer.  It's such a bittersweet day.  Leaving Jack for a whole two weeks is heart wrenching, but seeing his joy and excitement is exhilarating.  I imagine it will always be like that.

Fortunately, he has slew of good buddies that go every year.  This is about a third of them here.  It's amazing how this tradition has continued and new friends keep adding on.  I love this experience for him and hope my girls get to enjoy it one day too.

The camp does an incredible job of making the drop off as smooth as possible and it's plain to see I leave him in very capable hands.

After getting Jack all unpacked and settled, letting the girls enjoy the lake for a bit, and having lunch, it was time to say goodbye.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the very best part of the entire weekend before I sign off.  I said goodbye to my camper with a hug and a laundry list of things to do, like...have fun, say your prayers, be the best you can be, change your clothes, try new things....etc, etc.  He responded with a half-hearted, "okay, I love you, you can go now".

As I left his cabin and headed down the wooden stairs, I heard a clamber of thuds behind me.  When I got to the bottom this guy was right behind me, arms open and the most GIANT hug and sincere "I Love You" ever.  Seriously made my summer.

Let me just tell you, Jack is not a super touchy feely kiddo, so this was big stuff.

Now we are back to home sweet home minus one little one.  The girls will be busy with a few camps of their own and hopefully, before we know it, Jack will be back!

Coca-Cola Coaster

Yet another post that should have taken about 20 minutes has turned into over an hour due to computer issues.  If this continues, you may not be hearing a lot from me this summer.

I decided to take all my pictures on my phone {gasp} in hopes of alleviating the uploading issue.  Better, but not great.  All that aside here is another summer list knock off...World Of Coke.

I'd like to name this day the "Coca-Cola Coaster" namely because there were a lot of ups and a lot of downs, if you get my drift.  Kind of like the Sky View Ferris Wheel we rode as a culmination of our afternoon.  Irony at its best.

I refuse to name names, but one child was perfect and an absolute joy, the other two made up for it ten-fold.  Just keeping it real.

We arrived to the World of Coke after lunch.  I love not having to contend with naps {although Lucy did ask for one on the way home...eek}.

We grabbed our tickets at the gate for what turned out to be a very quiet day in the land of Coke.  That's always a nice plus in my book.

Of course, these three could not wait to get their hands on a can of Coke.  Lucy took one sip and declared it "too spicy".  Jack drank about half of his and Maggie downed hers.  Ever since last summer's visit Maggie has been a true fan.

And I suppose this would be a good time to note, that I have decided to choose my battles when it comes to Maggie's attire.  Her "style" has done a complete 180 to my demise and I'm trying my best to embrace it.  And although I say that with clinched teeth, I assure you, I seriously am.

We toured the downstairs and upstairs of the museum and hit all of our favorite stops.

I was completely enamored with my name on the wall of the "Coke Stories" exhibit.  I'm telling you that NEVER happens to me.

But, per usual the Taste Testing Room was the winner among the kiddos.

Word of warning...that Beverly might be the most gosh awful tasting drink in the world.

Before we headed home, we decided to knock one more activity of our summer bucket list.  I have been dying to do this, so I was thrilled when the "majority" of kids were on board.  The Sky View Ferris Wheel arrived to the city quite a while ago and this was our first opportunity to give it a whirl.

I imagine you can deduce who was in the minority.  I'll give you a hint, it's the only child clinging on to me for dear life.

Luckily, she survived just fine and actually enjoyed it.  My little scaredy cat turned brave.

Happily, we ended our "Coca-Cola Coaster" day on the up and up.  My little sweet rotten kids...wouldn't change having them home for the summer for anything!

We Scream For Ice Cream

Oh dear, I am missing so many blogging opportunities.  I'm having major issues with my computer and trying my hardest to remedy it.  However, I'm thinking the inevitable is on the horizon...a new computer.  Ugh!

So this post is about half complete.  I've finally given up and decide to publish it as is....missing photos and all.  Although, you won't miss what you can't see, right?

Here I am with our first summer outing-a day trip to Mayfield Dairy.  The visit was fun, but the company is what made it AMAZING! We had 11 kids and 4 adults.  We bombed Waffle House with our crew for a pre-dairy tour lunch.

From there we were off to Mayfield.  The giant cow at the entrance was a dead give away.  We are here...Ice cream please!

If a giant cow doesn't scream photo-op, I don't know what does!

While we waited for the next tour to begin, we all enjoyed ice cream in the cafe.  One free cone with each tour ticket.  And the flavor list was near endless, yet somehow this little one chose vanilla.

After a little ice cream licking and gift shop browsing it was tour time.  If I'm being honest, the tour was pretty lack luster.  Although, we did get to sport these incredible hair nets.

And this is just about where my pictures stop uploading.  Ugh!  Because what happens next is epic.

Okay, maybe not epic, but pretty fun.  Because we were on a "day trip" several miles from home, it called for Dollar General hopping.  Surely, you remember my love for the General.  Call me crazy, but Alison and I have found some great birthday party finds in those places.

We found it only appropriate to introduce Ginny and Rachel, our other mommy friends, to the tradition.  It's fair to say they are sold on our secret treasure hunt.

We ended our day with dinner on the road, which if you are calculating, that is a full day of road tripping, ice cream, meals, shopping, and good times.

Not a bad way to kick off summer!  {Now if I could only get this computer to cooperate to share more fun.}

Bus Stop Bombing

Today makes it official.... all three kids are out of school!  SUMMER BREAK!

I have spent the week bouncing from end of year party to party.  Jack's got rained out so we improvised with a hallway party.  Talk about rolling with the punches. And Maggie's resembled that of hurricane force winds, but at least we were able to use the outdoors.  The best laid plans....

Regardless, they all had an amazing time celebrating with friends and their awesome teachers.  More bittersweet goodbyes topped with an overwhelming anticipation for a BREAK!

Finally, by weeks end the weather was cooperating.  Us neighbor moms decided that called for a last day of school Bus Stop Bombing.  We loaded up wagons and buckets with water balloons and sweet ice cream treat.  And as that bus rolled up to our stop, the celebration began.

Run for your life!  Water balloons!

I'm not sure who had more fun the parents or the kids.  Definitely a new tradition that must live on!

We topped it of with the Walk Of Fame in our front yard.  Hard to believe how much these kiddos have accomplished in a year.

 How is it possible that I have a rising 4th grader and 2nd grader?!?!?

My littles wasted not time in preparing their Summer List.  I must admit, thankfully they are quite reasonable for the most part.  I'm off to fill up our calendar...we've got a lot to do in a few short months.

Hello SUMMER! 😎