Apple Picking

Since the kids didn't have school yesterday, a friend and I decided to take a field trip to Carter Mountain to go apple picking. We had never been there before but I had always wanted to go. The view from the farm on the mountaintop was breathtaking and all we could see around us were apple trees. Different apple varieties are ready for picking at different times - we had our choice of Golden Delicious (which were nearing the end of their picking time), Granny Smith, and Fuji. None of those particularly interested me (Honeycrisp are my fave) but I knew that Matt and the kids liked Granny Smith so we were in luck! I really didn't go for the apples anyway, more for the experience so...

We wandered through the rows of Golden Delicious and had a touch time spotting any. There were a few stranglers left behind way up high but we weren't lucky enough to have snatched an apple picker (they were in short supply) so they were out of the question. Slightly disappointed, we decided to stop for a bit and enjoy lunch. Once our bellies were full, we'd tackle the Granny Smith - hopefully with more success!

We had brought lunch with us so we had a nice picnic next to our car in the parking lot - which was one of the only places we could find any shade (since it was a balmy 85-90 degrees).

With full bellies, we gathered the troops, and began the trek through the Granny Smiths. The kids had a great time searching for, and collecting, them. We ended up with way more apples than I planned on but it was fun. Some snapshots of our day...

Pumpkin Patch

Today I went with Carly and her preschool class to the Pumpkin Patch. Although the weather was a bit chilly, it was perfect weather for enjoying such a fun Fall activity. It was also nice that Carly's sweet friends (and mine too!) were part of it. See for yourself...
Our last trip to the Pumpkin with North Run Preschool...so sad!

Carly's First Day of Preschool

She has been waiting for this day since preschool ended last year! Her sweet teacher sent this to each parent...look how adorable they are!

2nd Annual Back 2 School Bash

The weather yesterday was the perfect backdrop for our 2nd annual Back 2 School Bash. A great group of school-agers and their parents were able to join us for some back to school fun. The schedule was similar to last year...

After the School Supply Scavenger Hunt,

the kids participated in the Morning Routine Relay. This event always provides a few laughs!

"Lunch" followed...

Then, in Art, we made Shrinky Dinks backpack tags.

During Recess, the kids bobbed for apples (and got soaked!).

DISMISSAL! Hopefully a good time was had by all. We wish all of the school-agers a great year!

First Day of 1st Grade

Doesn't look too bad after a long day of 1st Grade!

Camping at Claytor Lake

Last weekend was our first experience at camping, or "glamping" as a sweet friend calls it. Our camp-out in the backyard went so well, we decided to give the real thing a try. We decided that we'd transition our way into "roughing-it" by renting a cabin.

The accomodations were rustic but adequate. We had running water, electricity, beds, linens, a refrigerator, microwave, etc... It was situated on a beautiful picturesque piece of property right on the lake surrounded by a large grassy area. The screened-in porch equipped with two rocking chairs was my favorte feature.


We got there fairly late Friday evening so Saturday was our first day. We leisurely woke up, ate breakfast, and decided that we'd go fishing on the nearby dock. Connor was lucky enough to catch two fish (Carly was too impatient) so he was pretty excited. After our 1 mile hike, we decided to hit the beach. It was part of the Park and included a nice sandy beach and a floating dock with a diving board. The kids loved that and spent a great deal of time taking their turn jumping off it into the lake. I insisted that we roast hot dogs over the campfire so we enjoyed those along with some other typical camping fare and then roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. Connor really wanted to sleep in the tent so Matt set that up and I (yep, me!) chose to sleep outside with him. It was delightful and I enjoyed every minute of it!


Sunday we decided quite spontaneously to rent a boat and spend a few hours riding around the lake. Both C&C each took turns driving the boat with Daddy and loved anchoring the boat and jumping in repeatedly.


It was a great first experience for us all and I know we'll go again! Heck! Why go hard-core when you can go "glamping!"


Check out some of our pictures...

Llamas, Zebras, and Camels Oh My!

So it's been just over a month since I blogged, not because I've had nothing to blog about, I've just had a lack of time because I've been doing other things with my time...like reading. Yep...reading. Those of you who know me know that I do. not. read. Unless I am reading a parenting book that I'm hoping will help me through the latest phase/behavior problem, etc... Other than that I've just never had an interest in reading. In an attempt to get to spend some extra girly time with some great women whom I deeply admire, trust, and care for I agreed to join their Book Club. More on that later but, needless to say, I have become obsessed with reading and spend most of my free time doing that. So...hopefully it won't be another month until I blog again. There is so much I've missed - I need to get caught up.


Anyway...the kids were super naughty today and are spending the evening in their bedrooms so I have some extra time. I thought I'd share a little about the field trip we took yesterday.


If you've never been to the Safari Park in western Virginia, you have to go! It has been on my "to do" list for about two years and I wasn't going to let this summer end before going this year. Our admission price included unlimited drive-throughs the 180-acre park, so the first time we went through we opened the windows, kept the feed buckets (which we purchased 4 for $10) close to us (in the car) and realized that we were too eager too feed because we ran out of food before the end. We brought lunch with us so we enjoyed that and then walked through the Safari Village which reminded me a lot of a smaller version of the Richmond Zoo - similar animals, layout, etc... Then we headed back into the car for trip #2 through the Park. This time we opened the sunroof, windows, AND the sliding side doors. We went through (with 4 more buckets of food) and had the best time getting up close and personal with the animals. We laughed so much and learned a thing or two...


Camels are sloppy eaters and will snatch the food bucket right of a willing hand
Deer really don't care to eat from humans
Ostrich are ferocious "peckers" when trying to get food
Animals in the wild are smelly, smelly, smelly (we tried to encourage them to brush their teeth)
Watusi have really BIG "horns"
Zebra are slightly stubborn
and, last but not least
Hold the feed bucket outside of the car! (I think we ended up with an entire bucket of food spread all over the floor of the van)

We would highly recommend this day trip and may just go again someday!

Camping with Connor

Saturday night, Carly spent the night with Nonnie so Matt and I got to spend some good one-on-one time with Connor. We decided to go camping with him. We pulled out a tent we've had for 2+ years (still in the box), an air mattress, sheets, sleeping bags, pillows, and flashlights as well as all the fixins for roasting hot dogs and s'mores over the fire and headed out to find the perfect spot to camp for the night.
Once we found it, Matt set up the tent and I prepared the sleeping quarters and then we enjoyed a good 'ole campfire dinner topped off with s'mores. Afterwards, Connor and I had a fun time catching fireflies. Just before bed, Matt and Connor played their guitars as we all sang a collection of campfire songs.

The weather was perfect that night - not too hot, and not too chilly so we all slept comfortably. We awoke to the sounds of birds chirping and a beautiful sunrise. Who would've thought camping would be so much fun...all in our own backyard!