Moving: Phase 1

The first of our things and family are off to Kentucky! David left Monday morning about 5:45 AM for his new duty station. He arrived around 10:15 AM {4.5 hours ... not bad although he wouldn't tell me how fast he drove :) }, and headed straight for his new office AFTER stopping at a gas station to shave. Thank goodness he pulls off being homeless well! :)

Bye!

Loaded to the MAX!!

The guys he has met at the office seem nice {one even invited him over for dinner ... unfortunately he is moving soon himself}, and he says the area is very rural -- there is a Kroger, Walmart, and Starbucks right off the interstate, but not much else. He has seen some massive houses {one with 5 - 6 garages} and lots of farms with a few horses scattered in there.

He has gotten right to work setting up his new office, which is bigger than he was expecting. And even has a nice TV with cable! Besides a brief break for dinner on Monday night at McDonalds {his options are limited so it is a good thing he likes Micky D's}, he worked until 4 AM on Tuesday morning. All I can say is he likes things set up the way he wants them! :)

The new station from the front entrance ... David's office
is at the back through the glass window.

David's desk and some of his awards.

Looking out through the window in David's office.
And, yes, all those plaques on the wall are his :)

For those wondering where David slept his first night in Kentucky ... at his office on the air mattress. I tried to talk him into going to a hotel {especially since we don't have to pay for it for the next 9 nights}, but he wanted to keep working in his office and didn't want to leave to search for a place. He has stayed in a hotel every night since though :)

Tuesday, he drove to Nashville and back in his new-to-him government car -- a Ford Fusion Hybrid -- to get his brand new computer {he is very excited about this!}. And yesterday and today have been filled with more organizing of his office {he admits he is OCD!}, meeting some more of the guys he will be working with, getting a gym membership, going to several of the local high schools, finding a storage unit for all of our belongings to go into for a few months, and familiarizing himself with the area to determine where we are going to live.

Nothing like hitting the ground running! Good luck on this new adventure, Babe! See you soon!

A Wordless Wednesday: Great Friends and Neighbors

Ryan, Ellie, and Baby Gavin :)

My favorite one! {although it is a little out of focus}

Snack time under the tree :)

Home Sweet Home

This past weekend, we spent our last weekend together in our home of the last 5 years :(

Since we bought this house before Ryan, for some time now, we have wished we had a bigger backyard for a swing set, a playroom for all Ryan's toys, and just an actual house {rather than a townhouse}; however, this did not make us any more ready or excited for this weekend to come and go, thanks to the multitude of WONDERFUL MEMORIES and GOOD TIMES we have shared here ... like bringing our sweet baby boy home from the hospital :)


This truly has been our first real HOME, as a married couple {we had no real attachment to our house in Fayetteville and although our time there together was great, it was brief} AND as a family of 3. We are definitely going to miss it!!

A Yearly Tradition

Since October of 2007 {long before Ryan was even born}, we have enjoyed many a trips up to the North Georgia mountains in the fall to go to Amicalola Falls and Burt's Farm {aka, the best pumpkin patch ever!}.

David and I went on a romantic fall weekend getaway that year to a place called Forrest Hills Mountain Resort. We enjoyed the fall mountain scenery, hiked Amicalola Falls, and happened upon Burt's Farm {it is only about 2 miles from the falls although we never knew it existed}. It was certainly the beginning of many great memories to come for our family in the quiet foothills of the Appalachian Mountains :)

Our first trip to Amicalola Falls {in 2007}.

As well as our first trip to Burt's Farm :)

Each year since {although we may have missed 2008 because I can't find any pictures :0 ... that was a crazy month with weddings, baby showers, and trips to Austin, Texas for work}, it has become a one day fall vacation for our family {we agreed after our first trip that there was no reason to spend the night since it is only about 45 minutes from home}.

So on Friday we continued the tradition ... MAYBE for the last time for a few years {unless we plan a visit to Georgia each fall that includes a day trip to Burt's Farm and Amicalola Falls ... only time will tell}.

We got up leisurely, had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and headed out the door about 11:30 AM. Our first stop was Amicalola -- we drove to the top of the falls for a view, and then hiked up to the base of the falls.






Then we headed over to pumpkin heaven :) Ryan enjoyed running around the pumpkins with some other kids, riding in the wheelbarrow, picking out pumpkins to bring home, going on a hayride, and getting popcorn and apple cider. He fell asleep very quickly upon returning to the car :)







And for fun, a look back a few years ago ...

2009

2010

Happy Fall Y'all! :)

Fun at the Farm

Hi guys,

What doin'? Guess what? Mommy and Daddy took me to another farm this weekend -- Cagle's Family Farm! I loved it ... especially the jumpee pillow, the popcorn, the cows, sheep, goats, and piggies, the herding dogs, and the punkins! :)

I got to ride a pony when we first got there, which scared me a little. Then I played on the jumpee pillows before we went through the corn maze. I found some ears of corn on the ground as we wandered around the maze, which I tried to eat despite Mommy and Daddy telling me not too. It was gross ... I should have listened! Mommy and Daddy are smart!





Towards the end of the maze, I got tired so Mommy and Daddy took turns carrying me the rest of the way. I got a second wind after we got through the maze though, and I immediately headed for the jumpee pillows again :) Then we had a snack. I had popcorn, which I really like! Mommy and Daddy had ears of corn and boiled peanuts, which I didn't like. After I ate all the popcorn I could, we headed for the farm tour. We had to wait a few minutes for it to start so I played in the punkin patch while we waited.





The farm tour was great! We fed some calves, sheep, and pigs in the animal barn, and visited Miss Rosie's Parlor for a dairy cow milking demonstration. Then we went on a hayride around the farm and saw Tib and Oak, the herding dogs, in action. Tib herded some sheep and Oak herded some cows. The cows came right up to our wagon. One even tried to lick me!




After the hayride, we got some food to feed the goats. They were hungry! I also got to pick out a baby punkin to take home with me. I have a whole collection now :)



It was a fun day!! Even Daddy thought so, which is saying a lot {I think} :) Hopefully we can go back sometime!

Love,
Ryan

P.S. Mommy and Daddy are the best!! :)

Playgroup at the Pumpkin Patch :)

Thanks to preschool, we now meetup with our weekly playgroup on Monday mornings. We have grown to love this group over the last year, and Ryan now asks to play with Conall, Evie {Conall's older sister}, Anya, and Alyssa on a regular basis! :) I pray that we can find a similar group when we move!!

Playgroup this morning was a little out of the ordinary though. Rather than getting together at the park or at someone's house as we normally do, we went to the Pumpkin Patch at Berry Patch Farms with some other members of our MOM-A group :)

We took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch, picked out a "baby" pumpkin to take home, had some apple cider, played on the playground, visited with the farm animals, and took lots of pictures :) It was an extra fun Monday morning!!

The group on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch.

Showing Anya the Mellowcreme Pumpkin he is enjoying --
we are going to have to work on his manners :)

"I found one, Mom!"

Alyssa, Anya, and Ryan (unfortunately, Conall was sick)


Ryan LOVED playing with this dog!!

Enjoying the airplane swing :)

Take a Glimpse

Well, October is here ... a month I usually love because of the beautiful fall weather and fun fall activities, but this year, it is also a month full of change for our family. Thus, although the weather will surely be close to perfect as it always is this time of year, and our calendar is chalked full of fun fall activities, I have a strong inclination that October is going to be a bittersweet month this year! More to come on this later :)

This weekend, however, we were able to put everything else going on in our lives aside, and enjoy some special time with David's mom and brother, Joe. It was wonderful to be able to spend time with them both {and we really appreciate them coming to visit}!!!

Here is a glimpse into our weekend together ...

We had a nice dinner together at Greenwood's Restaurant on Friday night, and then headed back to our house for some Graeter's ice cream {Uncle Joe's fave, which you can now buy at Kroger} and a game of Rummikub.

On Saturday morning, we {minus Uncle Joe, who had to study} headed to the Alpharetta Scarecrow Harvest for a little while.

There were arts and crafts for the kids :)

And bounce houses ... Ryan's fave!

And lots of neat scarecrows :)

We then headed home to have lunch, rest/nap, watch football, and visit with each other.

Uncle Joe tried to let Ryan wear his cool helmet {he is a
helicopter pilot}, but Ryan wasn't a fan :(

Later that afternoon we ventured over to Stone Mountain to hike, picnic, and watch the laser show. This has been on our list of things to do all summer so we are glad we were finally able to do it, and enjoyed having Uncle Joe and Nana with us!

{All are welcome for the pictures to come -- just kidding, kind of :) We got about 3/4 of the way up the mountain before I tried to take a picture and realized that we didn't have the camera battery. You see, David has an obsession with charging things, and left the battery in the cup holder in the car on accident. So upon this realization, I ran back down to the car, got the battery, and hiked back up!}

Ryan climbed up the steepest part of the mountain all by himself!

It was very windy!!

Can you see downtown Atlanta in the distance?

In front of the memorial carving on the mountain which depicts three Confederate heroes of the Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and Lt. General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.

Waiting for the laser show to begin :) It was a chilly night!

And there you have a glimpse into our weekend :) -- with the exception of a yummy breakfast together this morning {which included Goetta from Cincinnati for the two grown boys} before saying our goodbyes until next time.