Fun Fall Weekend

Earlier in October, my parents came down for a long weekend visit over Fall Break! They had tons of fun entertaining Lily and Bear on Friday while Josh and I were at work! As a treat, we headed to North Georgia for a fun Saturday day trip.

Our first stop was Hillcrest Orchards for some apple picking and farm fun! This was such a fun place to visit and we will definitely come back again next year! There were lots of play areas for the kids, a wagon ride, apple picking, and lots of yummy (and bad for you) festival food!

Welcome to Hillcrest Orchards

Riding the trikes, with a little help from Granddaddy

Lily loved bouncing on the huge jumping pillow...Bear did not :(

On the wagon ride

We picked some delicious apples - the pickings were slim on the trees since it was late in the season. We were able to buy many more in the apple store!

After spending the morning at the orchard, we headed down the road to Burt's Pumpkin Patch. I've never been to Burt's but have always heard a lot about it. Since we were so close, we decided to stop and look around! The pumpkins were huge - and there were sooo many of them! We took a few pictures and had a snack and then continued down the mountain road!

Our last stop was Amicola Falls...everyone else seemed to have the same idea as us as it was so crowded! We drove to the top of the falls and could hardly find a place to park. It was a beautiful fall day and we spent some time playing outdoors and enjoying our surroundings!

This little boy is becoming "all boy" right before my very eyes! He loves to play in the dirt, throw rocks in the water, and find sticks to use as tools. I'm sure the day is fast approaching when I'm going to find frogs or bugs in his pockets from his outdoor adventures!

Such a fun way to spend a fall weekend!

Kindergarten Bible Presentation

Each year, our church presents the kindergarten students with their very own Bible. I just love the preschool and children's ministry in our church. They do such a good job showing our kids the importance of learning and knowing God's word. Last Sunday morning, Lily and her friends were brought into the sanctuary and presented with their Bibles.

Pretty Smiles!

Love that there are sooo many kindergarteners in our church and love getting to see the friendships Lily is developing with so many of them! I know this foundation will be so important as she gets further in her school years and faces temptations and obstacles in her faith!

Getting her Bible from are wonderful children's minister, Mrs. Lisa

Lily and Mallory checking out each others new Bibles

Roll Tide and Fall Festival

It is finally starting to feel a bit like fall in Georgia - football is on tv, my pumpkins and mums are on the front porch, and festivals are in full swing!

Last Saturday, Lily's school held their annual fall festival! We of course had to support our Crimson Tide since it was a big football Saturday!

The festival is a big fundraiser for the school and it always so much fun. Lily and Bear had their faces painted, played lots of games, and went on a hay ride. Each class decorates a pumpkin and puts together a basket which are then bid on during the festival. We didn't win a basket, but did get to bring home Lily's class pumpkin!

Bear wanted his face painted like a rabbit - he looked soo cute!

Cake Walk

Fishing for treats

Emma, Lily and Bear at the BINGO table

We left the festival and headed to a birthday party and home to watch football! What a great fall Saturday!

Fire Department Field Trip

Bear's class had their annual trip to the Cartersville Fire Department a few weeks ago. The field trip was the day we returned from SC and Granddaddy's funeral, so we were excited that we were able to make it back in time. Bear loves fire trucks and often times will say that he wants to be a fireman when he grows up - this trip is always a great time for him!

The firemen do a great job trying to get the kids comfortable with them, in the event they are ever involved in a fire. They dress up in full uniform and let the kids come up to see that they are really the same person, just with big protective clothes on. Bear loved getting to give the fireman high fives as hard as he could!

They got to climb through the truck and Bear even climbed up into the driver's seat! He was in heaven, pretending to drive the big red engine.

Each child got a fireman's hat and badge to wear - they even had pink hats for the girls!

Bear's precious 3 year old preschool class - it's impossible to get 10 kids to smile all at once for a picture. This is as good as it gets!

Soccer

This fall, Bear is getting his first chance to play an "organized" sport - soccer! He's playing in a Under 4 league that meets each Friday evening for about a hour. They aren't really on a team, but rather break into groups and learn basic skills and fundamentals. It has been the cutest thing ever! Some of the kids are really good - they look like they've been dribbling a soccer ball since they were in the womb. Others are trying so hard to learn, but still don't quite have the motor development to put it all together! And the rest - my sweet Bear included - think it is playtime and love to goof off and see how much attention they can get from the instructors :)

Notice the 5 kids listening well - and Bear doing his own thing!

Sweet boy - he spends more time on the ground than on his feet! His favorite thing to do is stop the ball with his foot and then topple over on the ground.

Here's one drill where he was trying really hard - he ran hard and kicked the ball in the net! Goal!

I'll add more pictures later - this was their first night and they've gotten cute little jerseys since then. They've also been playing a few "games" and it is classic little kids sporting events - kids playing in the grass, kids picking up the ball instead of kicking, and kids tackling each other (again - Bear is in this category and I'm thinking he might be better suited for football). We've had a great time and I think Bear has really enjoyed this "first" sporting experience!

Disney World - Day 3

Day 3 at Disney started off early again! There is no sleeping in when you are trying to see as much of Disney as you can in 3 days! We went back to the Magic Kingdom on Sunday with plans to spend the majority of the day there, since Mimi and Granddaddy missed our visit there on Friday.
We walked into the park not long after the gates opened and saw that the wait time with the princesses was only 15 minutes! We rushed in to take advantage of the quick line! This experience for Lily was priceless! I didn't think she'd get too excited about the princesses, as she's been much more into Minnie Mouse lately, but she was mesmerized and took in every moment!
First, she met Sleeping Beauty/Princess Aurora. If you ask Lily who her favorite princess is now, it's Sleeping Beauty. I think she must have been extra sweet to Lily when they were chatting with each other!

Next was Belle! You'll notice Bear isn't in any of these pictures! As much as he loved the characters at Disney, he didn't care for the Princesses...I think it's the fact that they were "real" people and not in big costumes. Belle did get a hug from him, but it took some coaxing!

I love Lily's expression here as she is looking at Belle - so sweet!

And last, but not least, Cinderella! Cinderella was so sweet to notice Lily's princess dress and talked with her about it. Lily loved it!

After meeting the princesses we took a few pictures in front of the castle and then headed to the Crystal Palace for a late breakfast.

Bear was less than cooperative in the family pic - I guess that's what you get with an overexcited 3 year old!

Crystal Palace was so much fun. We had a later breakfast time so the restaurant was not very crowded. We got to spend lots of time with each character. The food was great - made to order omelets, lots of fruit and muffins, and tons of other breakfast favorites.

Eeyore came to our table first. Daddy's back was to him and he got a surprise hug from him!

Bear hugs for Winnie the Pooh

We had a lot of fun with Tigger - after pictures and autographs, he bounced up and down with Lily and Bear.

Last, but not least, Piglet

After filling our tummies with breakfast, we headed for Tomorrowland. We had gotten FastPasses (which are the trick to having a productive day at Disney) and rode the Toy Story ride first. It wasn't as good as the one in Hollywood Studios, so we were really glad we didn't have to wait in line to ride! Next up was Bear's pick - the speedway. This little boy was on top of the world - he thought he was a real race car driver!

Bear with Granddaddy taking off

Look at that face!

From Tomorrowland, we headed back towards Fantasyland and rode lots of classics!

Daddy and Lily on the Tea Cups. She loved that Daddy would spin their cup really fast! Mommy and Mimi sat out on this one!

Lily, Mimi and Granddaddy on the Winnie the Pooh ride

Since Lily and Bear loved the Mickey Philarmagic show so much, we went back to show Mimi and Granddaddy! It was a hit again!

More rides on the Carousel

We also got in Peter Pan, Dumbo, and It's a Small World before deciding to head back to the room for a nap before the evening festivities. Mimi and Granddaddy stayed at the park to do the more grown up rides - and even braved through a Florida thunderstorm!

After naps and a quick bite to eat, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom

As we walked in, there was no wait to meet Mickey and Minnie! Mimi and Granddaddy were waiting for us at the gate so we all headed in for pictures and to see Minnie and Mickey one last time up close.

We took a train ride around the park on the steam engine and then noticed Main Street was already filling up for the evening parade. Daddy and Mimi saved front row spots and we dashed off to meet Princess Tiana - the last princess on Lily's wish list to meet. Prince Navarre was with her - Lily asked him about being a frog and he told her he still eats flies from time to time. Lily didn't know what to think about that :)

The Electric Parade was magical and well worth the wait. Lily, and especially Bear, loved every minute!

After the parade, we moved down Main Street to find a good spot to view the fireworks at the castle! Again, words can't describe how magical they were! Definitely the most spectacular fireworks display we have ever seen!

Our night was not over after the fireworks - we had 3 more hours left, thanks the the Extra Magic hours since we were staying in a Disney hotel. We rode the racecars, Snow White, Peter Pan, Dumbo, and more before finally ending out after midnight!

Our last view of Cinderella's castle!

Our Disney vacation was exhausting, but wonderful! We look forward to perhaps going again in several years to see how the additions that are currently under construction and when the kids might enjoy some of the "bigger" rides a bit more!