Going stir crazy!

 What have we been up to lately? Well, we have been stuck inside! At the beginning of last week Morgan had a bit of a fever and was complaining about her mouth hurting. I could see that she is getting some new teeth so I just assumed that is what the problem was. Well...you know what they say about assuming? :) Turns out she had something called hand,foot,mouth. The problem is I found this out AFTER we had a play date with some of our friends. The only reason I even found out she had anything at all is because she started getting a rash on her legs and arms. Apparently, hand,foot,mouth is SUPER contagious so...I had to call my friend and let her know I exposed her children to something really unpleasant-BOO :( I was so scared of making that call, but luckily my friend is so easy going and was just like "hey, kids get sick". I was grateful for that :). 

So like I said we have been hanging out inside for a while and after watching a billion Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Yo Gabba Gabba episodes we were both getting a little stir crazy. 

To entertain myself I made Morgan some hair bows using my friend, Elizabeth's tutorial . 

 

I thought they turned out pretty cute and they are so easy to make.  I made five bows and the cost was under $5! 

Here are the rest of them on her board. (I made this a while ago. I just painted a canvas and added ribbon. Another super easy project)

Now that Morgan is feeling better we are able to get out more, but with it being over 100 degrees outside we want to stick to places with air conditioning :)

I am FINALLY getting around to posting the last pictures from my trip. I feel like eventhough I took quite a few pictures, I didn't take as many as I would have liked. 

You know how people joke that you don't need to buy kids expensive toys because more than likely they would rather just play with the box?

I can see the truth in that :)

I am so thankful for these boys. They were so sweet to Morgan and really helped watch her for me so I could relax and visit with everyone.

I love my family so much! I don't get to see them nearly enough.

The Biltmore

Before this trip I didn't know what the Biltmore Estate was, but I'm glad I got a chance to check it out. It was the home of one of America's wealthiest families, the Vanderbilts. It sits on 8,000 acres of land, and besides having a house the size of a castle, it also has beautiful gardens, a petting zoo, a winery, and a separate Inn for people to stay in. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside the house, which was a shame. Each room had a different "theme". They also had a bowling ally and indoor swimming pool in the basement. Here are some of the pictures I was able take that day.

To be honest, I probably would have taken A LOT more pictures if Morgan weren't with me. She got really cranky during the tour and Melissa's stayed with her while my mom and I went to the basement. She got a little bit of a nap in while the rest of us ate lunch, but when she woke up it wasn't fair to keep her strapped in.  So, when we got to the gardens I let her run free. You can tell from her face she was super happy about that.

After the gardens, we stopped by the petting zoo area so Morgan could see the animals. She really liked the goats and sheep, but can't say either yet so she just points and says "Baa, Baa"!

 

Checking out the Biltmore was a really neat experience. We didn't see EVERYTHING and it still took up our whole day. Man we felt like we got quite a workout that day. :)

Lake James

After a week in Tennessee, Kevin had to fly home for work, but Morgan and I hitched a ride with my parents to the Brother's household in North Carolina. While we were there they borrowed a boat from their friends and we took it out on Lake James.

Ted and Melissa

 

The nephews...Collin and Blaine

 

Mom, Morgan, me and my dad

My parents aren't too into swimming and Melissa has a "thing" with lake water, but the rest of us, including Morgan were ready to jump right in!

She even had her turn at driving : )

 

Baby got back? haha I kept laughing because I didn't put her in a swim diaper and her regular one blew up like this. 

What a nice family outing. Except for the part when Morgan was exhausted and seemed to have a bottomless pit of a stomach. That wasn't as fun, but all in all it was a really fun time. Thanks guys!

Fun and games

The rest of our visit in Tennessee was spent mostly just relaxing and enjoying my family. It had been a year since our last visit, and Morgan was so little then. I have to admit it made me sad to see her have to get to know everyone all over again.  Of course she wanted to hang out with her cousins right away. She definitely thinks she is a lot older than she is.

 

She LOVED jumping on the trampoline with the big kids.

 

And playing the the wading pool.

These are my brother's kids, Hannah, Adam, and Rebekah

One thing I look forward to when I see my family is playing games together. This time we played "Don't forget the lyrics" and "Clue".

Like I said in the beginning of our visit, Morgan had to get to know everyone all over again, but by the last night she was running around giving everyone hugs.

 

She especially made a friend in Adam. After he got over having to share his toys, he and Morgan were good pals the rest of the trip.