Mom and Dad Visit

My parents came the end of March.  It was so fun to have them.  Isak and Kira warmed right up to them.  Kira kept giving them her toys and Isak just wanted to snuggle with them.

My mom took most of the pictures you will see.  But I snapped a few too.  :)

They both just wanted to be sitting on laps.

One morning we tried a new recipe with baked oatmeal and individual toppings.  They were pretty good.

We headed to the park on the nicest day they were here.  It was still pretty chilly.
I am not used to seeing myself in pictures because I am the one taking them.  Thanks for taking some mom.

The kids LOVE the park.  They get better and better at climbing and sliding every time we go.

Kira loves the slides.

Races.

Isak discovered the car steering wheel.  He thought it was pretty sweet.

Grandparents with the grandkids.

My mom even got to ride the cool motorcycle with Kira.

And of course swinging is a favorite.

Just look at those grins.

Fun to tease them.

Kira had grandma and grandpa wrapped around her fingers. :)

I look nervous and Isak looks ecstatic!  Going down the big swirly slide.

Phew, I made it. :)

We met up with Nels for some fantastic bbq at Jim n Nicks.

We spent lots of time just holding the babies, playing with them and relaxing.

Love this picture.  Beautiful mom/grandma and Kira.

More of our adventures to come.

Last day.

We took these last few pictures before we dropped them off at the airport.  I hate last days. :(  It was so good and fun to have them here.

Melissa, Kari and me.

Michael with the twins.

Michael with Kira.

Quick family pic.

Thanks for coming Michael, Melissa and Kari!!!

The Biltmore

We  planned to go to the Biltmore in Ashville, NC about 2 hours away on day 2 of my families visit.  But sadly, Kari became very sick.  It actually turned out for the best because it was super rainy and the next day was nice and sunny.  So day 3 we headed to Ashville, NC.  

The Biltmore was amazing.  We weren't allowed to take pictures of the inside.  I was kind of sad about that, but then I realized I would have taken way too many pictures.  So here are the outdoor photos and what I remember from the audio tour of the Biltmore Mansion.

This was the view from one of the balconies.  The Smoky Mountains are those dark blue hills in the distance.

We purchased umbrella strollers for the twins to ride in instead of taking our huge double stroller.  We had to carry them up and down stairs so this worked out great.

Here's the crew.

The Biltmore is just huge.  I remember it had an indoor pool that took 3 days to fill and warm up.  They would swim in it for a day and then drain it.

There was a two lane bowling alley, fitness room, a huge library that looked like the one from Beauty and the Beast.  It even had the spiral staircase!

One room was King Louis the 14th or something...anyways it was decorated in reds and velvets.  It was where Mrs. Vanderbilt gave birth to her babies and it had a bassinet in the room too.  There was a balcony that looked over the gardens.

There were separate changing rooms for men and women and secret doors.
Back of the bus picture.

Kira and Kari hanging out.

The architecture is just amazing.

Cheese.

The four of us.  Kari, Melissa, Me and Michael.

Me and Melissa

After the tour we left the estate so we didn't have to pay $20 for a burger.  We ate at Zoe's Kitchen.  Mmmm good.

I got the steak sandwich with caramelized onions.

Nels bought the kids a frosty and fries from Wendy's across the street.  Isak thought it was fun to feed Nels the fries.

Then we headed back to the estate to look at the conservatory and grounds.

So Michael was absolutely wonderful with the babies.  He was always pushing one of them in the stroller or carrying them when they got fussy.  Wow!  I don't know what we would have done without him.  Thanks Michael!!

Pretty flowers.

The boys and the babies.

Kari, Melissa and Me.

We noticed this plant named St. Anthony's Rick Rack and we thought of our home town St. Anthony, Idaho.

There was a lot of walking.  I am glad we went when it was sunny instead of rainy!

Nels remembers the elevator in the mansion.  It was an Otis and still ran on the original motor!  Also, the stone was from a quarry in Indiana and the foundation had stones 19 feet thick...or something like that.

Melissa up on the balcony.

Nels, Melissa, Michael and Kari.

Me and Isak.

The babies were troopers.  They were pretty happy for the most part.

Holding both babies is pretty hard!  I need some more muscles!  :)

The end of the trip Melissa and I took some goofy pictures...

And there's our ride.  Nels did a great job driving us all over the place!

It was a fun trip and I am happy I got to go with my sisters and Michael!