October 2014...the busiest month it seems
October is always such a busy month, and once again we have got to enjoy many fall experiences.
I don't recall loving Fall so much when I was growing up - holidays and summertime stand out to me most in my memories - but as I am ah hem, getting older, I love the Fall season more and more each year. I enjoy the colors, the weather, the activities, the pumpkin-spice everything, the candy, and especially pumpkin patch trips!
Highlights include:
Burts Pumpkin Farm
We have been going to Ellijay, GA since Izzy was 18 months old. Sometimes it's with my in-laws, sometimes with my siblings, and sometimes - like this year - just our family of 4. The north Georgia mountains are a beautiful, hidden gem of the southeast and we were blessed to stumble across it a few years ago. Visiting Burt's pumpkin farm is the best. They have every color and shape of pumpkin it seems. The kids go nuts there - and it's a great way to talk to them about the pilgrims and introduce all the produce that is harvested in the fall. We also get to enjoy some fabulous apple cider and apple pie here! (Somehow I talked Robert into driving 6 hours to do this annual trip of ours). The adventurere in me makes me want continue visiting annually - even though it is now a 6+ hour drive to our favorite Fall location.
Hillcrest Apple Orchard
Also in Elijay, GA is this fabulous Apple Orchard that has a wonderful set up for kids each fall. We rode a tractor in and around the farm, got to bounce on the biggest blob-thing ever, ride mini-tractors, go to a petting zoo, play at the park, ride a cow, slide really long slides, do a zip-line, hear local folk artists play live music, and enjoy more yummy foods! They have more activities, but those were the ones we did in a few hours before we all got too worn out. The kids had the best time there.
Bma & Poppy's Lake Cottage
The Stewart clan all got together to visit Bma and Poppy one Sunday afternoon after Bma was scheduled for a lobectomy. Prayers appreciated for her as she is battling lung cancer. Bma is a wonderful grandmother and great-grand. We have really enjoyed spending time with them, and since one of Bma's favorite past-times is fishing, the kids are learning a lot about fishing. It's hard to have the 2 2-yr old boys on the docks though as they seem to want to jump into the dark water! We had to take them on a boat ride to occupy them, but even then, they couldn't just sit and wanted to hang over the edge. Levi really likes being co-captain with Poppy.
Mason's Birthday Party
A church friend, Mason turned 2. Most of the Kids friends include siblings sets with older sister and younger brothers - which has been awesome for us to get to spend more time with our friends. We celebrated Mason's big day at Tom Brown Park, which is a favorite for the kids - they ran wild and had the best time climbing things and chasing each other. Izzy was proud for climbing to the top of a 30 foot jungle gym tower. Levi's legs are too short for this, but he was trying to go up too!
Izzy's Elemetary School Fall Festival
The 4 of us and Meme & Papa all went over to Izzy's school festival one Saturday for the kids to enjoy the festivities there. I had volunteered for Izzy's class and ended up stock at the booth most of the day, but the grandparents were dragged around by the kids and they had a good time (maybe too much fun actually, but it was special for Izzy to see her friends from school on a Saturday).
Local Pumpkin Patch with the Great Grands
When we got back to Tallahassee, the kids had a day off school so I took them to a local pumpkin patch. Meme, Poppy and Bma got to come with us. The kids' favorite display was the Elsa and Olaf pumpkin one. There were more funky shaped pumpkins to add to our growing collection. I was especially excited to go with the great-grands because Bma recently started chemo treatments and I want to do as much with her as we can (when we are not sick at least). As Bma says though, she can't live in a bubble while on chemo, she'd rather hang out with my kids when she can! We enjoyed Firehouse subs afterward where Izzy talked Bma's ear off. Those two are kindred spirits and have the best little chats. I like to sit and eaves-drop on their conversations. Meanwhile Levi usually impresses Poppy with his big appetite and funny faces.
Trunk or Treat at Timberlane Church
The kids have a dozen dressup costumes each so Robert and I dug through our storage unit until we found them - the kids decided to be the orange Plane from Planes and Izzy was a Pirate girl. They were pretty excited to dress up with their church buddies and run around with them. It has been really nice to have the kids make such good friends already and know they will all grow up going to church together. Lots of history there as Robert was raised at this church and now all of his friends have kids who are our kids' friends.
Decorating Pumpkins
Robert, Izzy and Papa were the main pumpkin carvers this year. We had a few smiley pumpkins, 1 spooky and 1 Mrs. Pototo Head pumpkin this year. Meme and Papa got to see the kids reaction to pumpkin seeds and had cool lights to put in the pumpkins that the kids loved.
School parties!
The Preschool where Levi attends is awesome in that they do a ton of hands-on crafts. The families were invited to their Halloween party where the kids enjoyed snacks and we got to see all of their fun creations they made. My favorite was a spider hand-print Levi created.
Izzy had a school party too, but I didn't get to go (have to sleep sometime!) and she came home with a fun spider hat she made that was a big highlight for her.
Halloween Night Trick or Treating!
Some church friends invited us to trick or treat with them, so we had a yummy meal before hand, then headed out on a hayride with 4 families & 8 of the cutest kids. We went around their neighborhood until the kids got tired. Izzy and Kate (the 5 year olds) lasted the longest, but we only went our for 1-1/2 hours. Towards the end, all the kids got freaked out by the "eye house" where there was projected images of eyes in the window. There were about 5 houses in a row who went a bit overboard on the spooky-scary factor and the kids didn't really like that, so then we went back to the Evers' house where the kids chowed down on more candy and had a good time hanging out together.
Fall Festival at Church.
Timberlane held a fun festival at the church property where we got to have good fellowship, eat lunch and visit while the kids did face painting, bouncy houses, arts and crafts, and games - all on the first cold day in Tallahassee! I had to work so we didn't stay all day, but it was still fun to get out and spend time with our friends. Making good memories, for sure!
I don't recall loving Fall so much when I was growing up - holidays and summertime stand out to me most in my memories - but as I am ah hem, getting older, I love the Fall season more and more each year. I enjoy the colors, the weather, the activities, the pumpkin-spice everything, the candy, and especially pumpkin patch trips!
Highlights include:
Burts Pumpkin Farm
We have been going to Ellijay, GA since Izzy was 18 months old. Sometimes it's with my in-laws, sometimes with my siblings, and sometimes - like this year - just our family of 4. The north Georgia mountains are a beautiful, hidden gem of the southeast and we were blessed to stumble across it a few years ago. Visiting Burt's pumpkin farm is the best. They have every color and shape of pumpkin it seems. The kids go nuts there - and it's a great way to talk to them about the pilgrims and introduce all the produce that is harvested in the fall. We also get to enjoy some fabulous apple cider and apple pie here! (Somehow I talked Robert into driving 6 hours to do this annual trip of ours). The adventurere in me makes me want continue visiting annually - even though it is now a 6+ hour drive to our favorite Fall location.
Hillcrest Apple Orchard
Also in Elijay, GA is this fabulous Apple Orchard that has a wonderful set up for kids each fall. We rode a tractor in and around the farm, got to bounce on the biggest blob-thing ever, ride mini-tractors, go to a petting zoo, play at the park, ride a cow, slide really long slides, do a zip-line, hear local folk artists play live music, and enjoy more yummy foods! They have more activities, but those were the ones we did in a few hours before we all got too worn out. The kids had the best time there.
Bma & Poppy's Lake Cottage
The Stewart clan all got together to visit Bma and Poppy one Sunday afternoon after Bma was scheduled for a lobectomy. Prayers appreciated for her as she is battling lung cancer. Bma is a wonderful grandmother and great-grand. We have really enjoyed spending time with them, and since one of Bma's favorite past-times is fishing, the kids are learning a lot about fishing. It's hard to have the 2 2-yr old boys on the docks though as they seem to want to jump into the dark water! We had to take them on a boat ride to occupy them, but even then, they couldn't just sit and wanted to hang over the edge. Levi really likes being co-captain with Poppy.
Mason's Birthday Party
A church friend, Mason turned 2. Most of the Kids friends include siblings sets with older sister and younger brothers - which has been awesome for us to get to spend more time with our friends. We celebrated Mason's big day at Tom Brown Park, which is a favorite for the kids - they ran wild and had the best time climbing things and chasing each other. Izzy was proud for climbing to the top of a 30 foot jungle gym tower. Levi's legs are too short for this, but he was trying to go up too!
Izzy's Elemetary School Fall Festival
The 4 of us and Meme & Papa all went over to Izzy's school festival one Saturday for the kids to enjoy the festivities there. I had volunteered for Izzy's class and ended up stock at the booth most of the day, but the grandparents were dragged around by the kids and they had a good time (maybe too much fun actually, but it was special for Izzy to see her friends from school on a Saturday).
Local Pumpkin Patch with the Great Grands
When we got back to Tallahassee, the kids had a day off school so I took them to a local pumpkin patch. Meme, Poppy and Bma got to come with us. The kids' favorite display was the Elsa and Olaf pumpkin one. There were more funky shaped pumpkins to add to our growing collection. I was especially excited to go with the great-grands because Bma recently started chemo treatments and I want to do as much with her as we can (when we are not sick at least). As Bma says though, she can't live in a bubble while on chemo, she'd rather hang out with my kids when she can! We enjoyed Firehouse subs afterward where Izzy talked Bma's ear off. Those two are kindred spirits and have the best little chats. I like to sit and eaves-drop on their conversations. Meanwhile Levi usually impresses Poppy with his big appetite and funny faces.
Trunk or Treat at Timberlane Church
The kids have a dozen dressup costumes each so Robert and I dug through our storage unit until we found them - the kids decided to be the orange Plane from Planes and Izzy was a Pirate girl. They were pretty excited to dress up with their church buddies and run around with them. It has been really nice to have the kids make such good friends already and know they will all grow up going to church together. Lots of history there as Robert was raised at this church and now all of his friends have kids who are our kids' friends.
Decorating Pumpkins
Robert, Izzy and Papa were the main pumpkin carvers this year. We had a few smiley pumpkins, 1 spooky and 1 Mrs. Pototo Head pumpkin this year. Meme and Papa got to see the kids reaction to pumpkin seeds and had cool lights to put in the pumpkins that the kids loved.
School parties!
The Preschool where Levi attends is awesome in that they do a ton of hands-on crafts. The families were invited to their Halloween party where the kids enjoyed snacks and we got to see all of their fun creations they made. My favorite was a spider hand-print Levi created.
Izzy had a school party too, but I didn't get to go (have to sleep sometime!) and she came home with a fun spider hat she made that was a big highlight for her.
Halloween Night Trick or Treating!
Some church friends invited us to trick or treat with them, so we had a yummy meal before hand, then headed out on a hayride with 4 families & 8 of the cutest kids. We went around their neighborhood until the kids got tired. Izzy and Kate (the 5 year olds) lasted the longest, but we only went our for 1-1/2 hours. Towards the end, all the kids got freaked out by the "eye house" where there was projected images of eyes in the window. There were about 5 houses in a row who went a bit overboard on the spooky-scary factor and the kids didn't really like that, so then we went back to the Evers' house where the kids chowed down on more candy and had a good time hanging out together.
Fall Festival at Church.
Timberlane held a fun festival at the church property where we got to have good fellowship, eat lunch and visit while the kids did face painting, bouncy houses, arts and crafts, and games - all on the first cold day in Tallahassee! I had to work so we didn't stay all day, but it was still fun to get out and spend time with our friends. Making good memories, for sure!
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