Day 3

Biltmore house visit:
This is the Biltmore house built by the Vanderbilt family back in 1895. This photo was not taken by me (obviously), but because it was raining almost the entire time that we were there, I could not get a great shot of the front of the estate.

The property was amazing! Just to get to the house, the driveway alone was 3 miles of beautiful green scenery:

We took the tour of the house, among the many interesting things we learned, we found out that the man who designed Central Park in New York City, also designed the Biltmore house backyard:

After the tour, and a wonderful gourmet lunch, we toured the grounds as the rain was letting up. We took a few pictures of the front of the house, and the walkway from the winery. We had fun partaking in an afternoon wine tasting, sampling the Biltmore Wine collection from their own vineyards.

Overall, we had a fantastic time and enjoyed the whole Biltmore "experience." The estate is absolutely stunning!

After we said our farewells to Jess, we headed south (passed through South Carolina) and finally entered Georgia this evening. We went out to Tybee Island late this evening to walk out on the pier and listen to the waves crash against the beach. Afterwards, we ate at a quaint beach side pub, then headed into Savannah for the night.

Tomorrow we're planning on going out again to Tybee Island (hopefully the weather will hold up), then visit the River Street marketplace in Savannah, as well as eat at Paula Deen's "The Lady and Son's" restaurant. We would also like to see a few of the mossy green parks and unique fountains in Savannah weather permiting. Hoping for a wonderful day!

Day 2

We left Memphis this morning and headed out eastward. Arriving in Nashville for lunch, we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe (how could we resist?). The weather held up as we lingered in the city and checked out the big "strip" and stadium where the Tennessee Titans play.

The kids are doing really well! They've been so good in the car and we've been fortunate enough to have minimal meltdowns (crossing our fingers).

The drive has been very pretty. Today we said a lot of "oooo's" and "aaaaaah's", driving through Tennessee and into North Carolina. We had a lot of fun with all the turns and mountain elevations. Another thing we've been noticing that is very different from home-all of the trees! Along the highway I started getting claustrophobic because they were surrounding us and you couldn't see miles of flat farmland like Kansas. Then you start to get used to it and appreciate the beauty of it all!

We were very excited to arrive in Asheville, NC this evening and took the kids to the hotel pool and out to dinner. Jess arrived late this evening, she will be staying with us tonight and will go with us to the Biltmore house tomorrow. For all those who aren't familiar, here is a link that tells you all about the Biltmore Estate and all it has to offer: http://http//www.biltmore.com/our_story/stories/default.asp

For all those counting, we saw an additional 5 different state license plates today, for a grand total of 33 so far! Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore!

Beautiful North Carolina!!

Tomorrow will be a fun and busy day at the Biltmore house, then a 4hr drive to Savannah, GA (Tybee Island). We have a 50% chance of rain throughout the next 2 days, so we're hoping and praying that the weather will cooperate so we can take advantage of our time here! Signing off for the night...

Day 1

And so our journey has begun...

We left the comfort of our home at an early 8:15 this morning and started our travel southward. Then, suddenly, a parent's worst nightmare (with having children in a moving vehicle): vomit. Katelynn had a series of incidents in which she emptied the entire contents of her stomach. Without going into much detail, we had to make a stop to clean off the carseat, air out the van, etc etc. Fortunately, she quit after that. We're hoping (say a prayer) that this is an isolated incident and we won't have any other misfortunes. She doesn't have a fever, and she ate okay at lunch and dinner, otherwise she has been in good spirits. Caleb did a great job entertaining her in the car.

Going into Arkansas...

Going into Tennessee...and a view of Memphis.

We did a little sightseeing while in Memphis. We went by Graceland and took a few pictures!

Then we had some of the best BBQ that we have ever tasted! It's well known around these parts and was showcased on the Foodnetwork show "Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives." Wonderful food!!

So far we have had a good trip! The 8.5hr drive went by surprisingly fast and we had fun tallying up driver's liscense plates from different states. Just today we counted cars from 28 different states while on our drive here to Memphis. Also, when we thought gas prices and police officers would be in abundance, we were quite surprised that gas never reached over $2.60 a gallon, and we saw a total of 10 police cars out on the highway. Pretty good for Memorial Day Weekend!

We are starting to learn more about the South since we've been here. So far this is what we've learned...and I'm sure the list will be growing:

1) Sweet tea down here is really sweet!

2) Portions come large *gulp*

(my figure is already expanding)

3) When you order a meal, you must either a) finish it or b) get a to-go bag, otherwise it's not good manners.

Well, we're calling it a night so we can start our trek to Asheville tomorrow. We'll be stopping by Nashville at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch tomorrow before we get into North Carolina. We're looking forward to the scenery as well-we've already seen beautiful (non-flat) terrain!

We'll see what tomorrow brings...

Schoooool's out for summer

And so this school year has concluded. Our big boy *sniff* is growing up and is moving on to 1st grade. Here are his photos for the beginnning and end of his Kindergarten school year:

First day of school

Last day of school

We are so excited that summer is finally here! Bring on the baseball, swimming, zoo, and best of all-our vacation in just 2 days!!

Here we go...Almost!

We are starting to get excited about our vacation to Georgia. For all those interested in keeping up we will be uploading pictures as we go right here on our blog. This is our travel itinerary:

Saturday: Wichita, KS to Memphis, TN
Sunday: Memphis, TN to Asheville, NC
Monday: Asheville, NC to Savannah, GA (Tybee Island)
Tuesday: Savannah, GA to Roswell, GA
Wednesday-Thursday Roswell, GA (20 min North of Atlanta)
Friday: Amicalola Falls, GA (Blue Ridge Mountains)
Saturday: Amicalola Falls, GA to St. Louis, MO
Sunday: St. Louis, MO to Wichita, KS

We are hoping for great weather and safe travels =)

May the Force be with you...

Today Caleb went to 'Star Wars: In concert' with Grandma Hain and Mommy at the new Intrust Bank arena. What an exciting performance! A full orchestra and choir performed while images of the 6 Star Wars movies were displayed on an overhead screen. We had a lot of fun and Caleb was thrilled to have his picture taken with several characters.

Katelynn waking up from her nap after we got back. She loves to take pictures when we are taking her picture =)

Fun and Games

We've been having a great week here at the Hain house. This week brought a lot of rain, but we finally saw some sunshine today and 80 degree weather. Dare we say summer is approaching??
This week, Caleb wrapped up another week of school-he has 3 days left of Kindergarten. (1st day/last day school pictures will be coming soon). We are also on the vacation countdown (8 days and counting...) when we will be leaving for Georgia. Also, for some odd reason this week brought strange ailments my way with a heavy episode of heartburn/reflux and a head cold/sore throat. Apparently, the stress of the semester has worn off and my immune system is checking out-hopefully temporarily. In any case, bring on summer and all the fun!!!

Caleb quote of the week:

Mommy: (In a teasing tone) "Caleb, what am I going to do with you?"

Caleb: "I don't know-figure it out!"

River-festivities

This week we enjoyed many of the Riverfestival events (when it wasn't raining). The kids really enjoyed getting out and about. We went to the pancake breakfast, art/book fair, cajunfest, children's inflatables, paddle boats on the river, and of course the fireworks! We are proud to report Caleb did wonderful this year and actually watched them from Papa's apartment with headphones on ;~) A big step!!



The kids had fun for "Cajun" night. Katelynn also liked the food court choices, and Caleb ran into a few Star Wars characters!!

Let Summer Begin!!

This week Mark and I finished our semester and we can officially start summer! Caleb goes through until May 26th (he wants to start summer so badly). We are excited for the break and to have more family time and enjoy each other again. When you're in the middle of chaos it's easy to forget about the little (but important) things in life such as eating dinner together and being with family and friends. Thank you for everyone that has been supportive to our family during this time in our lives. We have so many people to thank, helping us keep our head above water. We have a wonderful vacation planned this summer to the South, that we all are looking forward to. Caleb and Katelynn will be in swim lessons at the YMCA; Caleb will be playing baseball and Katelynn will be in gymnastics as well. This summer we're going to enjoy each and every day!!

Finals and are we there yet?!

The kids (and us) have really been enjoying this beautiful weather Kansas has been giving us. We've been outside almost everyday, on the playground or out to walk (we really enjoy being able to walk to pick up Caleb from school). We haven't been the only ones enjoying this sun-Nikki has been outside a lot lately. Her newest "ism" is sitting on the back lawn, scoping out squirrels. She's really fast, but just hasn't caught one yet, to her dismay. One of these days...

Mark and I are getting into finals mode. This week will prove to be a challenge as I have a full schedule of tests/practicals/clinicals. But I couldn't be happier to have this semester over and done with. Summer is looking very appealing right now. So appealing I have to bribe myself to study =) Mark has been busy in the yard, now that mowing season is in full bloom. We're all trying to keep our allergies at bay.

This week Riverfest will begin. We're excited about the outdoor fun! Look for pictures coming soon.

And I'll leave on a Caleb quote that made me laugh today: "Mom, if a gingerbread man threw up it would be chocolate. I would eat his throw up-get it, because it's chocolate." That's our boy!!