Who Do You Think R Looks Like??

In the process of packing, David and I have come across some old pictures of ourselves. It has been fun to look back at each other 20 + years ago! :) However, it has stirred up a question as well ... who does Ryan most resemble as a child? We both have our own differing answers {we are too biased!} so we need your help and opinions! Leave us a comment below and let us know your vote :)

David as a child {the little boy on the left, wearing navy pants}

Melissa as a child

Our Boy :)

Now get commenting, pretty please :) We're looking forward to seeing the results!!

Apple Picking

What better way to ring in the fall then a trip to the apple orchard!?!? None in my opinion :) So yesterday, we headed up to the "Apple Capital of Georgia" for some apple picking and family fun. Last year, we went to the Apple Festival in Ellijay, but had never been to an actual apple orchard before {by the way, I preferred the orchard much better!}

There were several different orchards in town so our first task was figuring out which one to go to ... we decided on B.J. Reece Orchards. It was a good choice!


The orchards were all U-pick meaning we got to go into the orchards and pick our own apples with our very own hands :) We just had to decide what size bag we wanted to take home, pay for it {which is much cheaper than the grocery store}, and start picking. They had a huge selection -- Rome Beauty, Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Red Delicious, Stayman Winesay, Arkansas Black, and others.

Ryan was a great little picker!!

Pull!!

There was also lots of other fun stuff to do at the orchards besides picking apples! We went on a hayride, had some goodies to eat from the bakery -- apple fritters and apple cider {Ryan probably had 4 glasses!}, and visited the petting farm.

Hayride!

Lunch time/Playtime :)

There were 8 week old puppies that R adored!

A calf ... it still drank out of a bottle :)

Just for kicks, I did a quick Google search to see if there are any apple orchards near our soon-to-be new home, and I am happy to report that there are ... one that looks very impressive actually! :) I will be looking forward to checking it out this time next year!

Weekend Road Trip

This past weekend, we took a road trip up to Charlotte, North Carolina to visit Aunt Ray-Ray and Joe, and to see their new house. It proved a little difficult to find a free weekend for BOTH of us {before we move}, but this weekend ended up working out {after Rachel decided not to go to the Clemson vs. Auburn football game -- thanks Rach!}, and we are sure glad it did because we had a lovely time!!

Joe and Rachel's new house is nice and has a great backyard, which the dog and Ryan enjoyed playing in. There is a hummingbird feeder back there too that attracts hummingbirds constantly -- it was so cool! I think we may have to get one when we move :) We even saw several deer wandering around {behind the fence} on Saturday morning!

Ryan and Boomer the Dog

A hummingbird -- they flap their little wings SO fast!

It was a little chilly and rainy on Saturday, but we were still able to enjoy the outdoors a little. We went to a nice playground at the McDowell Nature Preserve {not far from their house} after breakfast on Saturday morning, and then took a stroll down to Lake Wylie.

Boo!

Then we went to lunch at Fuji Japanese Steakhouse, and picked up some ice cream from Coldstone {or a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte if your name starts with an M} for an after dinner treat. Yum!

Throwing pennies in the fountain before lunch :)

The gang at lunch!

We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening relaxing, napping, watching football, eating pizza and ice cream and cookie dough :), and watching football some more. There was some playing and movie watching in there as well, for the 2 year old in the group :)

The cookie dough girls :)

We headed home on Sunday -- in time to stop by and see Aunt Laura and Daniel's new apartment, unpack, get something to eat for dinner, and go to the Falcons vs. Eagles game that night {what a game to watch!!}

It was certainly another GREAT weekend!!

A FarmTastic Friday

Our schedule this fall is jam packed with play group, preschool, speech, sport tykes, and MOPS. We are soaking it all in while we can!! :) Today, however, we had nothing scheduled, not to mention that it is an absolutely gorgeous day, so the little guy and I ventured to TheArtBarn at Morning Glory Farm for some fun. It was FarmTastic!!


The theme at the farm today was chickens so everything centered around them -- we started off in the hay barn petting chickens and reading a story about a hen and her eggs {Dora's Eggs}. R was a little antsy during this part. He had no desire to pet the chickens {I think he was afraid of them}, and just wanted to go see the "an-mals" already.

R loved hearing the roosters crow and would say, "Mom, what's that?" :)

Checking out The Funky Chicken Coop with Miss Debbie

Ryan got his wish as we headed out to the farm after story time for some hands on time with ALL the animals. We met chickens, ducks, bunnies, lambs, goats, cows, donkeys, horses, and pigs! We got to see a farm FRESH egg, and pet a baby chick {that was only a week old} as well.

Ryan really likes horses ... he will fit in well in Lexington!

The baby chick :)

Holding the fresh egg with Miss Debbie's help

Donkeys,

sheep,

and pigs galore!

Then we painted a picture of a chicken in TheArtBarn, went on a hayride pulled by a '57 Ford tractor named Matilda, and had a picnic under the huge old magnolia trees. And before we left, R chased a beautiful rooster all over the farm :)



It was an egg-citing morning!! And as Farmer Sue would say, hawgsnkisses to you all!!

The Long Weekend

As is typical in the Army way of life {one of the GREAT things}, the big guy of the house had a 4 day weekend for Labor Day :) and we soaked up every minute of it together ...

Bowling for the first time,

Playing at the pool -- with Ellie!,

Shopping for new fall clothes and a Halloween costume for the little guy,
Watching football,

Shooting {if your name starts with a D},

Going to a 30th birthday party for old friends {while R hung out with Aunt Laura},
Packing up some boxes,

Making sensory bottles,

Watching it rain all day while never getting out of our pajamas,
A late night run to Dairy Queen,
Watching a few movies -- the best one being Something Borrowed, and

Having a cookout at Dad's.

It was really enjoyable -- fun and relaxing!! And we are already looking forward to the next one :)