"Medieval Times" in Myrtle Beach

We ended our first day in Myrtle Beach by attending a Medieval Times show. It worked out perfectly because we will be covering medieval times in history this upcoming school year. 

When we got there but before we were allowed into the arena, we decided to get the kids a special treat. George and Liam got swords and Bridget got a wand. Since the show, the boys have gotten good use out of the swords. Most of the time they will play nicely, but boys will be boys and mom will be mom and have to take the swords away. 

If you've never been to see Medieval Times, it is a dinner show. They offer two types of dinners: a chicken dinner or a vegetarian dinner. We always get the vegetarian dinner, which is a delicious three-bean stew served over brown rice. For the appetizer, they bring out hummus, pita, celery, and carrots. The non-vegetarian dinner is a large chicken drumstick, garlic toast, and corn on the cob. The meat-eaters are required to eat only using their hands but us civilized vegetarians are given a spoon.

For the show, they bring out horses and knights. First they participate in contests with the horses. Afterwards, they participate in combat using all sorts of medieval weapons. It is all choreographed, though the kids don't know that so they're always sitting on the edge of their seats with their eyes wide open.

 
One of the knights threw Bridget a flower. She did not know what to think about that. Any attention from boys makes her nervous and a little embarrassed. After the show, Bridget got a picture with the princess.

Apple Picking in Flat Rock, NC

One of the main reasons we chose to go to the mountains for our most recent vacation was to go apple picking. We had never done this before and it looked like a lot of fun for the family. We chose Sky Top Orchard, as it was in very close proximity to Hendersonville where we would be gem mining that morning.

It is called Sky Top Orchard for a reason. The drive up the mountain was stunning. When we reached the top, we were met with a gravel parking lot full of cars, a playground full of happy children, school buses from both North Carolina and South Carolina, and apples trees galore. This was a very large apple picking operation. Not what we were expecting at the top of this very steep and winding road leading to the top of the mountain. The smell of freshly baked apple cider doughnuts won us over, even though we knew they were off limits for our family.

We got out of the van and headed into the "apple stand" to figure out how to begin our quest for apples. An older gentleman gave us a map of the orchard with all apple varieties listed on various different rows and circled the ones which were currently being harvested. These, of course, were at the far end of the orchard. He informed us that it would be a 12 minute walk. We gathered a few baskets and found a wagon and began our apple picking adventure.

After quite a walk up and down various hills, we had finally arrived. Pink Lady apples were currently in picking season. The trees were filled with apples and the ground was covered with just as many apples as there were still left in the trees.

Bridget trying to decide how to conquer the apple trees

George picking his very first apple.

Bridget, George, and Daddy had a great time picking apples. I picked a few, but kept my camera handy while also keeping an eye on Liam who was on the ground.

Super Daddy, with Liam in one arm, helping George pick an apple from high up in the tree

George, proud as can be with another freshly picked apple

The view from under the apple tree

Liam spent most of his time either trying to pull the wagon or playing with the apples. He soon discovered that they were edible. I watched him very carefully as he took his first ever bites of an apple. He did great! I was put at ease by the lovely sound of his new molars crunching on the juicy bits of fresh apple. He loved it and couldn't get enough. He had both baby slobber and apple juice dripping down his chin.

Liam eating his first apple

A mouth full of apple, "crunch, crunch, crunch".

When the special apple picking tool on a stick wasn't enough, Daddy invented a new apple picking gizmo: the George. It requires great strength and the ability to lift approximately 40 pounds up over your head while being hit in the face by apple tree branches and leaves. George was a good sport and made a great apple-picking duo with Daddy.

An apple-picking duo high up in the tree

The walk back to the apple stand to purchase our apples was a long one. We now had a cart of heavy apples and 5 hot individuals. George did a great job helping Daddy pull the wagon up and over the never-ending hills (were there this many on the way in??) while Bridget pushed the wagon from behind. I was amazed at how much energy they had left after picking so many apples. Not once did they complain and want to be carried, not that their complaining could have done much. My hands were already full with Liam and Daddy was pulling the heavy wagon. Half way back up the hills, we stopped for a short rest. The children were rosy cheeked from the hard work (with the exception of Liam who enjoyed his ride on my hip the entire way) but willingly sat for a picture in the orchard with our baskets full of apples.

We made it back to the apple stand and made our purchase. We only picked the Pink Lady apples (which turned out to be 2 "pecks" worth). We bought an additional 1/2 peck of pre-picked Granny Smith apples for homemade apple pie, two gallons of freshly made apple cider, and 3 apple cider slushies to help cool us down.

(While waiting in line, we learned that they only accept cash, so I had to run to the car to get my wallet as my husband thought he may not have enough in his. We're not cash people, but I'm glad we had enough to cover our goods. I felt this is very important to note in case we make another trip to this same orchard in the future.)

Our apples and apple cider. Cider slushies not pictures; they didn't last long.

 

The apple slushies were great and it was Liam's first ever taste of apple juice/cider. He finished almost the entire slushie himself. While Liam was drinking his slushie, Bridget and George played in the playground while Daddy loaded the apples into the van. He confessed to me on the 5 hour drive home that while I was in the playground with the kids, he purchased himself an apple cider doughnut. This was after I had confessed that I was about to buy him one as a surprise but had left my wallet and keys in the van. He's a sneaky one, but I'm glad he was able to get himself a treat. By the way, he did say that it was delicious.

 

I did not get to sample the fresh apple cider until the day after we got home. It is the best apple cider I have ever tasted. Store-bought cider tastes almost fermented and powerful, but this fresh apple cider was amazing and easy to drink. I'm beginning to think that two gallons may not have been enough.

 

Gem Mining in Hendersonville, NC

We love gem mining! When we travelled to western North Carolina in April of 2014, we went gem mining for the first time at Elijah Mountain Gem Mine. We all had a blast. Because we were going back to the same area, why not make another trip to the same gem mine? This time, my husband had discovered that this particular gem mine was started 8 years ago by a homeschooled boy. This was a special project he wanted to start and it has grown a lot since then. I might be a little biased, but I love homeschool families and thought that bit of information was quite interesting.

We ordered a $60 bucket of gem-rich dirt and sat down at the flume. The older kids remembered what to do and got to work immediately.

 

I tried to get Liam into the gem mining fun, but just moments into it he attempted to put a rock in his mouth. He was then handed over to my husband to hold for a bit while I helped the other two kids. Liam didn't seem to mind this. He's too young to really know what he was missing out on.

George didn't look up at me very much for me to snap his picture. I got him to show me what he was doing, but of course him showing off his rock covered his sweet face. He was a busy boy.

George showing off one of his rocks

Bridget had a particularly good experience. On our last visit, we had purchased a rock chart to be able to identify the rocks and gems we had collected. Bridget had fallen in love with a particular rock called "peacock copper". It's a shiny rock with pink, purple, gold, and other metallic colors. I casually asked the woman who was helping us get set up how common it is to find this particular rock and if we even had a chance to uncover one, as my daughter so badly wanted to find one (I wanted to explain to Bridget that if it was a rare stone that she probably will not find one). The woman, while giving me a wink, said that she thinks Bridget has a very good chance of finding some peacock copper today.

 

As we were nearing the bottom of our bucket of dirt, the woman returned and very carefully snuck a special surprise into the remaining dirt in our bucket. After some small talk with Bridget about the rocks and gems she had already uncovered, she scooped up another bit of dirt for Bridget's sifting box. Bridget put it into the flume and seconds later saw the rock. Bridget, being an extremely shy girl, cracked only a small smile. But being her mother, I knew she was beaming on the inside. Finally a bigger smile appeared on her face. This made her entire trip. Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of any of this because I was too busy living in the moment.

 

I did, however, get a picture of Bridget with another one of her discoveries: a geode! After telling Bridget what it was and how Bridget would be the first person to ever see what was on the inside of the rock, the nice woman took us inside and cracked it open for us. Here is a picture of the kids with the geode cracker (with geode already in place):

 

 

Once cracked open, we took it back to the flume to rinse it out and see it sparkle. Bridget and George were both very impressed. This all made for a very enjoyable gem mining adventure.

 

I love a family-oriented business (especially when started by a homeschool, as mentioned earlier), but what I love more is when someone goes above and beyond to do something nice for my children. It wins them major points with me. The gem mine was great to begin with but with the outstanding customer service, it's become our favorite gem mine. I'm already planning on another trip here in late 2016 or early 2017 when we are officially studying rocks gems in earth science.

 

Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC (Fall 2015)

My husband and I both love the city of Asheville (and surrounding areas... you can't go wrong with the Blue Ridge Mountains), and we have been to the Biltmore Estate four or five times in our ten years of marriage. This was our very first time going in the Fall, (our last trip was made in Spring of 2014) so I was very excited to see the changing colors. Typically brown, orange, and red would not be my favorite colors, but put them in nature and call it a season and it becomes one of the most breathtakingly beautiful sights ever.

 

We left our house in the morning for the 5 hour drive to Asheville and arrived at the Biltmore Estate at about 1 o'clock in the afternoon. We like to park in the Garden Shop parking lot and walk through the gardens to the house, then come back down to the gardens to explore. The house was about the same as it has always been. I think they have opened a couple more guest bedrooms to the public, but we didn't see those because we never made it to the third floor. We only toured the first and second floors and by that time, Liam was done. We did tour the overpriced shops after walking through the house, but did not buy anything. Then we made our walk back down to the gardens. Each season, they have a different type of flower growing (in the Spring, it was a tulip-lovers paradise). This season, it was decorated with chrysanthemums! It was so beautiful, which is to be expected at Biltmore. I was able to take a few pictures of the kids with the mums, although Bridget was the only one who cared to pose for the camera. George was more preoccupied with kicking up the gravel on the pathways.

 

Bridget and the mums at the Biltmore Estate

For our tulip pictures, the kids were able to stand in the tulip beds, but the mums were a different story. Not only are they much fuller than tulips, they also had a bunch of bees collecting their last bits of nectar for the year. It's always a neat thing to see nature at work so I watched them for a few minutes while explaining the process to Bridget (an impromptu science lesson) and took a couple of pictures.

Busy as... bees.

Normally, I am the one behind the camera but my husband grabbed the camera from me and handed me the baby. He was able to capture this shot (and many more) of me and the kids. I had Liam in my arms (trying to get down to hug George) and George giving me a great big squeeze of a hug, and of course sweet Bridget standing with me also giving me a hug. I have some pretty awesome kids. I hope we can always be this loving towards one another.

After getting the camera back from my husband, I managed to get a few of the three kids together. I always think that Liam is getting to so big, but then I see him standing in the middle of his big brother and sister and he looks so little again.

This next picture may be a strange one, but it comes with a valuable lesson learned by my dear husband. Before we entered through the front gate of the Biltmore Estate after a 5 hour drive, the van told us we had a 43 mile range left before we ran out of gas. There was a gas station across the street from the main gate which I told my husband to stop at. Being the smart man that he is, he reminded me that the van says we have 43 miles left that we can drive and that the roads going around the Biltmore are not 43 miles long, so we'd still have plenty of gas for our visit to the estate.

I rolled my eyes at my husband's "I'm the man and I know what's best" mentality and he proceeded through the main gate. Our tickets were scanned and we were on our way to the house. Just moments after getting on the road up to the house (which includes a lot of uphill driving), the van now tells us that we now only have a 31 mile range. My husband, now looking a little worried, says, "Wow, that dropped fast". Keep in mind that we had only been driving not even a mile into the estate and our range dropped by 12 miles. My husband then says that 31 miles is still a lot and we'd be fine. We finally reach the house, pass through the gates at the front of the house, and the van then gives us a nice loud 'ding' sound and reads "LO FUEL'.



That's not even a range. I give my husband the look that all wives have given their overly confident husbands. By this point, my husband is apologizing all over himself. We don't know what to do. We know the estate well and know it is a longer drive back down the mountain, through Deer Park and the Antler Hill Village, and back out through the main gate to get to the gas station, which need I remind you, was right there across from the main gate. We're both stressing out (he was stressing out because he was trying to figure out when and how I'd be killing him) and I was stressing out because I didn't know if the van would start up again if he turned it off.  Because all of the odds seemed to be stacked against us either way, we went ahead and parked the car and toured the house and gardens. Once we finished in the gardens, I told my husband that I hoped he had been praying for the van to start up and get us back down through the estate and out the main gate.

Thankfully, we made it, and my husband learned a very valuable lesson. A lesson that all men need to learn (sometimes over and over and over again): WIFE KNOWS BEST.

Now back to our trip. After filling up the van at the gas station, we went back onto the estate and went to Antler Hill Village. We first took the kids to the petting zoo to see the.... kids. They have a lot of goats on the estate and these goats were only born this April. They looked full grown to me!

Bridget at the petting zoo at Antler Hill Village on Biltmore Estate

The Biltmore Winery is also located at Antler Hill Village. While my husband took Bridget and George on the winery tour (we don't even drink wine but my husband loves seeing how things work), I did a little bit of window shopping and playing on the lawn with baby Liam. There was some live music playing and Liam was having a great time. He has not figured out how to walk with his shoes on, so he just stood there on the grass, squatting down every so often to pull up the grass and play.

 

We promised the kids before we left that we'd let them play in the playground. George especially had a great time. He loves playgrounds and running around. Hardly ever willing to hold still for a picture, I was still able to get a few of him being his fun-loving self.

 

It was an afternoon well spent at the Biltmore Estate!


There is more to come from our recent trip, so check back for additional posts!

Week in Review 2015: #42

Life

For the past few weeks (since the last day of our Washington, DC trip), Liam has been teething. Some days are better than others, but he's been having a rough time. He is growing four molars, all at the same time. There are days that he is so cranky he screams on the floor until I pick him up, and even then he's still sobbing while holding his ice (thought it's not as bad). This typically happens in the morning, when I am doing school with Bridget, which can complicate things as he always trying to grab at the pages of anything I'm reading or working on.

Here is a picture from one of his worst days this week. One part of his gums where a tooth is coming in is even a little bloody. He was crying so hard with tears streaming down his face, but much to my surprise, he was all smiles when I brought out the camera. You can still see the tears under his eyes but he was having a good time cheesing it up for me.



In other Liam news, he has been sleeping in his crib at night for two weeks now! It took maybe two nights for him to fully adjust and I think it helped that he had already been napping in his crib like a champ. It sure is nice having our king sized bed to ourselves again.

We also went on another mini-vacation this week. We headed up to the Blue Ridge Mountains to see the fall colors. We left early Thursday morning and after a 5 hour drive we were at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville checking out their fall garden. I had never seen so many chrysanthemums in one place before. We spent the night in Asheville and on Friday morning drove down to Hendersonville, where we went gem mining and apple picking. We made it back home at 9:30 Friday night. We all had a great time! I took 217 pictures on our trip so I'll be posting a few of those in later posts, but here are a couple to share now.

Liam and I in the fall garden at the Biltmore Estate



The kids at the apple orchard. We were on top of a mountain, but you can barely see another mountain top on the far left.

 

Homeschool 

 

We only had three days of school this week due to our trip. We were able to complete our writing work for the week and also got close to finishing a math lesson. All that is left to do is to take the test, then we'll be able to move on. We're moving along in other subjects as well.

 

 

Family Movie Night

No movie this week, as we were out of town on Friday night.

 

Next Week's Movie: TBD

 

Linking up to:

 

 

We're back!

It has been an extremely busy couple of weeks for us. We've gone through a few big events like getting ready to move, but then not moving (at least for a little while). I also thought I needed to have a minor surgery but ended up not needing it (huge relief for me, especially since I went in for it the day before we left on our trip). I also had to report to jury duty the same week we were going on vacation, with no chance of getting deferred or excused. It has been a whirlwind for sure.

It feels good to be home with no major plans going on now, other than a very special little girl about to turn 6 years old in just over a week.

I'm taking this day to recover and hopefully clean my messy house. I usually clean the house really well before our vacations so that I can come home and not worry about housework but because of everything else going on, that didn't happen.

We're all pretty tired still. We got home just before 10 o'clock last night. My poor husband headed into work this morning, although I am not sure he will be of much use today. The kids are rather ornery this morning, which might have to do with the huge slurpee from 7-Eleven we got them on the drive home, and the fries which served as their dinner so that we could keep the van moving while they didn't make too big of a mess in the backseat.

I took over 300 pictures during our vacation and have a lot of blogging/journaling to do to document it all, so stay tuned!