Monday, September 19, 2011

Apple time 2011

'Tis the season for apples!  Today Karen and I took our kids and made our annual pilgrimage to North Georgia to get our apples for this year.  I never did take any pictures of our apples, but I have some of the kids...and they're more fun to look at anyway!
The kids watched fried pies being made...
 ...and then enjoyed one for dessert after our picnic lunch.  Noah had blueberry -- can you see his purple goatee?! :)
 Karen and I got to sit in the sun and chat while the kids ran around being busy.
 Look at that kissable face!!!
Noah likes the fact that he can now keep up with "Dadid" and Abigail.
I think we wore him out!
 Stay tuned for applesaucing day, coming soon!
And just for a memory-lane moment, here are my two babies back in 2008.  They've grown up soooo much in three years...

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Fall Folklife Festival 2011

Today we went on our first family field trip of this school year...we especially love these field trips because Bruce (Daddy!) comes along and that always makes it even more special!  We went to the Atlanta History Center's Fall Folklife Festival and had a wonderful day.  Here are some of the highlights...
The kids LOVED the petting zoo.
 
 

 
 
 Just as I snapped this picture (below), this Scottish Highlander cow leaned into David's hug and squashed his arm against the bench.  I had to include this picture because of David's expression of surprise and "ow"!
 We thoroughly enjoyed listening to a very talented bluegrass band.  They sang folk songs and played their instruments with such talent that we couldn't help but smile and sit transfixed...and clap a bit, too.  All three of us violin newbies dreamed of being able to play like that someday...!
 
 On the way out, we had to stop and visit the Civil War cannon (it's a tradition).
 Although most of us were tired and dragging a bit by this point, David was still running around in circles...and he doesn't stop until we put him to bed!
We had a wonderful together-day...

September school days

Wow, how are we into September already?!  We just completed our sixth week of school and are very much enjoying our days full of learning.  In history, we are studying the early-mid 1800s, so for a hands-on project, the kids built log cabins like the pioneers...
 
...and in some not-so-pleasant history, we have also been learning about the Trail of Tears.  The county we live in here in Georgia is named Cherokee County; about 15,000 Cherokee Indians were removed from this area back in 1838 and thereabouts.  This week, we visited a small local museum to learn some more 'personal' history from that time period.  Although the subject matter was solemn, we enjoyed the museum and the time together.
 On Mondays we always have a special clothing assignment.  The kids love to check the school table all weekend long, waiting to see what they're supposed to wear to school on Monday morning.  This week was a special treat -- it was "wear your pajamas to school" day!  The rule is that we come to school dressed and ready to go, so for my pj-loving kids, this was cause for celebration.  It came in handy for some unexpected lounging around we had to do Monday afternoon when Tropical Storm Lee hurled off some tornadoes in our area!  We headed down to the basement, where we laid around playing cards, cutting up old wallpaper sample books, eating treats, and sharing laughs.
We started the week off with weather-related excitement, and we ended the week with excitement of a much more positive sort -- both kids and I started violin lessons!  We are super-excited about this new adventure.  The kids have asked for years (and I have wanted to try for as long as I can remember), so when this great opportunity came up right down the road from us, we jumped on it.  Hopefully we will be playing well enough to share a video in the next few months!
 The days, as always, are flying by!