bed and breakfast getaway

Rodney and I gave ourselves an early Christmas/anniversary present last week and went away to Asheville, NC for 2 days. Adjusting to 2 kids has not been super easy, and Rodney wanted to give me a treat.

We have been to Asheville many times, for day trips and overnight trips, but we always stay at a regular hotel. Rodney wanted to mix it up this time and stay at a bed & breakfast. I was hesitant, because I never pictured myself to be the B&B type, but we really enjoyed it. We chose the Beaufort House Inn based on many wonderful online reviews and it was fantastic. The innkeepers were so warm and welcoming and breakfast was awesome. Our room instantly felt like our home away from home. We would love to go back.

Asheville is a great city with an awesome downtown, but we didn't spend any time there on this trip. On Thursday night, the first night we were there, we went to the Biltmore House for their Candlelight Christmas event. We have visited the house many times and I'm just as fascinated every time, but this was special. It is beautifully decorated at Christmas and you go at night. We have always talked about doing this but just now got around to it. No photography is allowed inside the house, which really stinks, but pictures don't do it justice anyway.

We spent the rest of our time either finishing up some Christmas shopping (taking advantage of no kids), resting at the B&B (daily afternoon naps), or eating.

Isaac stayed with Rodney's parents and Levi stayed with my parents. It just worked out better that way. Isaac was thrilled to see Levi again on Saturday! I knew Isaac would be fine, but I felt so guilty leaving Levi. He's going through a fussy phase and still doesn't do great at night, so I felt bad putting that on my mom. She was so encouraging and said she could do anything for 2 days. In the end it was fine, other than him giving her a hard time with the first 2 bottles. They all survived and we jumped right back into it when we got home on Saturday.

I used to hear that the first year of marriage is the hardest. That was certainly not the case for us. By far, the hardest year of our marriage (almost 6 years now) was Isaac's first year of life. Levi's first year is challenging us again, but we're doing what we can to survive, no matter how guilty I feel for taking time for us.