Abby Dance

Grove Park Inn

This is Grove Park Inn where we got to stay in Asheville. It is almost 100 years old. Ten U.S. Presidents have stayed here in addition to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Harry Houdini, Will Rogers, George Gershwin, Thomas Edison, Eleanor Roosevelt, Henry Ford, and lots of other celebrities. This photo of the hotel is the view from our room looking up to the main hotel area. The two smaller photos are of the spa (on the hotel property) that I got to spend the entire day in for my birthday. It is ranked the 13th best spa in the U.S. It has 43,000 sq ft of amazing-ness. It has heated mineral pools with underwater music. They also have "therapeutic" waterfalls that you can stand under and it will massage your muscles. My favorite was the outdoor hot tub. It was wonderful to sit in hot tub and breathe the cold mountain air. I also got an 80 minute facial was the most amazing 80 minutes of my life!

My Birthday

Double Decker Coffee Shop

Winter Wonderland

The Biltmore Estate

Grandad's Painting

I was very nervous about this gift for John, because he can be an extremely picky man (meticulous on every detail) and I wasn't sure if this is exactly how he would have wanted this photograph of his Granddad to be represented. I presented the painting to John on Christmas and he immediately became very quiet. Because I was so nervous, and he was so quiet, I began to talk incessantly to fill the silence. I explained how the artist and I discussed cropping it, we discussed giving his eyes a little bit of color, we discussed charcoal, we discussed size, and on and on and on. He nodded every so often and would give an "uh huh". So then I would continue to talk. Finally, I paused to take a breath and asked him what he thought because he was being so overly quiet and it was making me a nervous wreck. He said, "I was just thinking back" and he paused a little bit longer, and then said, "I don't think I have EVER in my life gotten a better gift."

John is NOT the type of man who says things just to say them or give out compliments just because it is the nice thing to do. You have to EARN his compliments. I discussed with him the idea of taking it back to the artist and paying her to put more detail in the background or that we could have the hint of color put in his eyes. But every suggestion I made he said, "No, I love it exactly how it is." He really does feel that it is absolutely perfect. We sat together for almost an hour afterwards just staring at it, with him telling me stories of his Granddad and telling me how wonderful the painting is. I found out that John owns that tackle box of his Granddad's that is in the photo, another reason the photo is so special.

Christmas Tree

Polar Express Party

Marcus's First Gun

Party Like a Rock Star

Marcus and Mrs. Davis

Old Time Christmas

One of the things the kids love most about the holidays is the Christmas lights! So what better place to see Christmas lights than Silver Dollar City’s Old Time Christmas. Kids had a great time. We rode a few rides, toured Marvel Cave, ate some homemade cinnamon rolls, and, of course, watched the light parade!

Ice Skating

Ice skating has become a tradition of ours every holiday season.. The kids get super excited about it, then they skate for about 20 minutes before they are ready to be done. They are getting better and better, but still have a long way to go in their ice skating confidence and endurance.

Thanksgiving Feast

Dogwood Canyon

Dogwood Canyon is a beautiful nature park south of Branson along the Missouri/Arkansas border. We all went on a long bike ride through the park. There were waterfalls and a lot of fun places for the kids to
explore. It was a perfect fall day for this park.

Halloween

Paintball

Fall Fun

Chateau on the Lake