Note to Self

: do NOT go for a short run right before lunch/nap time.  Child will fall asleep with snack in mouth.  See exhibit A below :)  Sweet boy.

APpLe OrChArD time!

                                  

Oh, I love fall.  Love it.  My absolute favorite time of year!  And we have been blessed thus far to a fantastically beautiful September of amazing temperatures.  Not too hot, not too cold. Chilly in the morning to make runs quite pleasant, yet warming up enough in the afternoon to play outside in shorts and a t-shirt.  I am making sure to take full advantage and the boys and I are enjoying being outside as much as possible.

Last weekend we headed out to Jonamac Apple Orchard with our good friends Jason and Betsy Davis and their two little ones.  Jason and I went to high school and youth group together, and about 5 years ago the moved up to Chicagoland where he pastors an Assembly of God church.  We didn't get together the first couple of years, but once I had Micah and Betsy had Jackson (less than a month later) we made it a point to meet and haven't looked back since.  It's great watching our boys hanging out and becoming friends, and Betsy and I have really clicked as well.  All that to say, we had a great time with them at the Orchard and think it should become a regular tradition.

Many, many pictures are posted below.  I just couldn't help myself, as I'm a fan of these shots and love my family.  Enjoy scrolling through, just know you've been warned on the length, haha.

First up was the petting zoo.  Jackson and Micah were off playing on hay bales and slides and duck races and corn boxes while the littles, Reid and Norah were enamored with the animals.  Behind the fence, of course.

Next up was the jumping pillow.  Reid enjoyed it at times, was not so sure at other times, but Micah thoroughly enjoyed it the entire time!  I love the air Jackson (in the jeans and red pullover) has in the first shot and Micah has in the last shot.  Impressive!

Once we finished the jumping pillow we headed out to the orchard to pick (and eat) our apples.  Yummy!!  All four kids loved picking the apples, and the older boys probably had 2-3 apples each in the midst of the picking.  Reid really took to the apple and carried one around with him the entire time, after nibbling on a couple and putting the down.  Really, great memories with the boys!

Best Buds.  

From babies (see below) to apple orchard buddies!

Just had to throw this one in here - this is when Micah and Jackson were babies!!  Literally taken in September of 2010, and the orchard was in September of 2013.  Fun memories :)  

And of course we had to get a couple of pictures with the infamous rocking chair.  Thanks for a good time, Jonamac!  See you next year!!

My Nose Is Sick.

As Micah would say.  Poor baby has had a runny nose lately and we have gone through quite a bit of tissue:)  One little wipe and the tissues been used, in the mind of a 3 year old.  I will say, however, I'm definitely impressed at Micah's blowing ability.  I think he's better than Christian or myself!!

Sleepover!

Last Friday we watched my friend Laura's two kiddos.  We've done this once before and it was fairly successful, so why not try again?  Well, Christian might have said else wise, but you know... :)

Last time Micah talked to much going to sleep, so this time we were just going to start Alex in our room from the beginning and then move him to Micah's room when we were ready to go to bed.  Micah really wanted Alex to sleep in his room the whole time, so four 4 days straight, every morning, he would wake and say "Momma, I will not talk when Alex is here."  Ok, buddy.  We'll see how that goes.  

To make a long story short, he didn't talk!  I was so proud of him.  But Alex still had to sleep in our room first, because as it turns out, they are two different sleepers :)  Alex likes the door open, lights on; Micah likes the door closed, lights off.  Alex likes it still and quiet; Micah shifts in his bed and talks (though he didn't this night!).  When we had to move Alex, Micah became quite sad and it truly broke my heart a little.  Christian and I reassured Micah as best we could that he didn't do anything wrong and did what he promised he would do, and after 10 minutes of sobbing sadness, he settled and went to sleep.

All's well that ends well, and Micah was no worse for the wear in the morning.  We headed out to a park, hit up a local donut shop and then came home and played outside until Tim and Laura returned.  It was pretty uneventful aside from the older boys sleeping situation, but don't start thinking this means 4 kids 4 and under are in our future, lol.

All good things must come to an end.

Our last full day, and we headed back to the Smokies for a trip to Cades Cove.  While it wasn't my first choice because it involved a longer drive and I wanted to do more of a hike, I know Grandpa really enjoyed the tour and am happy for that.  We made sure to get a picture taken at the entrance sign to document our vacation :)

A boy and his stick.  So fun watching Micah and Reid exploring nature!

One of the houses we explored.  This one held a family of 4 boys and 3 girls (I think) and was quite small compared to today's standards.  

Reid's pretty happy to be on Grandpa's shoulders, haha.

I love Reid's arms and facial expressions in these shot sequences!

Church - and the place we saw a real life bear that we headed back to our car to avoid :)

We made it back home before Reid fell asleep (with much effort on my part to keep him awake, causing much crankiness on his part because he was so tired!) and put him down for his nap.  Christian and I then took Micah up to Ober Gatlinburg while Grandma and Grandpa stayed back with the sleeping Reid.  

What.A.Blast!!  Micah truly enjoyed himself, and I think it might have been the highlight of his vacation.  That, in turn, made it a highlight of my vacation :)  Such fun as a parent watching your child elated - bringing joy to both!

That blue slide is an enclosed water slide that Micah and I went on.  The only ride he was truly scared on.  With the second or third turn, it felt that one wrong move and we would have flipped.  After the 3rd turn, Micah yelled, "I want to get off!"  Thankfully, we were almost done!

If you can zoom in to Micah's face, he's quite scared.

Riding the lift up to the Alpine Slide.  Best part of the mountain fun.

Me and my big boy!

Riding the slide together :)

Riding these cars was Micah's favorite part that he did by himself, for sure.  Such genuine smiles on his face every time he passed us, with a big wave and "HI!"  Love.Him.

Riding the Alpine Slide with Daddy!

And one more time with Mommy, making it a total of 3 rides for the big boy.  Love his smile here and the happiness shown all over his face :)

That night we headed back to Gatlinburg for dinner after we picked up Reid (post 4 hour nap!!) and Grandma and Grandpa.  Then we toured the city a bit more and got ice cream one more time.

The next morning we packed up and headed out of town.  We ate a yummy breakfast before parting ways with Grandma and Grandpa :(  We had a great time on our vacation with them and are glad they joined us!

Micah's BIG leaf.

Waiting outside the restaurant before heading to the car for leg 3 of our 4 part road trip.  We headed to my Aunt and Uncle's house for the night in Louisville to break up our long trip back home.  Time with family and a break from the 10 hour drive - win, win!

Love his little legs crossed here!  

Christian wanted to make a stop halfway through our trip to Louisville to visit Cumberland Falls.  While it added a bit more to the trip than I would have chosen myself, it was pretty to see and a nice break from the car for a few minutes.

Love this family picture!

We spent the night with my mom's brother and family.  While I have no pictures of our time there, we thoroughly enjoyed our time with them.  They were so hospitable, allowing our two young boys to run free in their house, and it was nice for them to be able to meet Reid!  We stayed with them back in April when Christian and I ran the Louisville, but we only had Micah with us.

Micah was up rather early the next morning (4:30 central time!) and since I was in his room at that time trying to sleep, he was too distracted to go back to sleep.  That at least ensured a 45 minute nap for Micah on the journey home (see below).  That brings Micah's cumulative sleeping for the entire 24 hours of driving time over four legs to 54 minutes.  Fantastic!  I'll add, just for fun facts, that Reid slept 2 hours and 35 minutes over the four legs.  Still quite a small amount considering the amount of driving, but better than Micah.

And there it is - our vacation.  We had a great time at all three of our destinations and thank God for traveling mercies while we were on the road.