Virginia Creepers

We took a somewhat last minute trip this weekend to Virginia.  Biking the Virginia Creeper Trail has been on my to do list for a while and we finally had the time to do it.  We drove to Damascus, took a shuttle bus up the mountain and rode our bikes seventeen miles down.  It was awesome!  The kids rode in little buggies behind our bikes.  It was definitely a bumpy trip for them.  They each had snacks and a halloween bag full of fun surprises.  We spent the night in Abingdon just twenty minutes away from Damascus.  We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at The Martha Washington Inn.  It was a gorgeous, historic home from the 1830s.  The Martha was at one point a women's college and at another a hospital for Civil War soldiers.  We loved the pool, hot tub, fireplaces and trampoline.  We went for a quick hike on Sunday at Grayson Highlands State Park.  We were able to spot one of the wild ponies!  It was a lovely fall weekend.

     

There were many beautiful bridges along the Creeper Trail.

   

    

There were places to stop and look at the beautiful scenery. 

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

  

Enjoying the porch at The Martha!

   

   

   

Our room!

   

    

Exploring the Inn

   

   

   

   

We walked downtown for dinner.

    

And went straight to the pool afterwards!

   

The hot tub was the biggest, most colorful and lovely hot tub I have ever seen!

    

The pool was indoors and heated.

    

We had it all to ourselves! 

  

   

   

   

    

    

Grayson Highlands State Park

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Our first sight of a pony!

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

    

Fall Activities

We had amazing weather this weekend and were able to do a couple fall-like activities.  Alex, the kids and I went hiking on Saturday at the Latta Plantation.  They had a new education center that we stopped to check out.  The hike was nice and pretty.  Sunday, Alex's parents and I took the kids to Windy Hill Apple Orchard for some apple cider and donuts.  We walked away with pumpkins too!

  

Harper (re) learned about the water cycle.

   

   

  

We bought a new book!

   

   

   

Sleepy hiker

  

I'm sure we will be back to Windy Hill Apple Orchard this year.  I just love their apple cider!

  

The kids like to drink their apple cider from cute little apple cups.

    

We didn't pick any apples this year, but we bought a few to take home.

   

I love to watch them make fresh donuts.

  

Little man was very excited about his pumpkins.

   

   

   

   

  

Harper's loose tooth was hanging on by a thread after taking a bite of her candy apple and sandwich. 

   

She got it out!

Afternoon Tea

Michele and I made tea sandwiches last weekend for an afternoon tea.  It was fun and the sandwiches were delicious!

   

   

   

The Time the Goats Jumped the Fence

The kids and I walked to Camp North End last weekend.  We were happy to see the goats were still there.  They were in their fenced area when we entered Camp North End, but had escaped and were on the loose when we were leaving.  The goats loved to sniff Harper, but wanted to head-butt Ethan!

   

Contained goats

   

We got chocolate treats at Wentworth and Fenn then had a swing in the nice breeze.

  

   

   

   

Escaped goats!

   

Peppers

Work has been super busy and I have been super stressed the past several months.  I decided we could all use a pepper laugh.  We cut peppers in half and added googly eyes.  They were cute and a much needed laugh!

  

  

  

First Day of School 2021

Harper had her first day of school at the end of August.  After the disaster that was last year, I was super nervous for Harper to actually get out of the car and go into the school.  We started the day with her Schultute, the German cone of treats for the first day of school.  She loved her candy and Raya toys.  We had a yummy breakfast and wore a cute outfit from Gigi.  Surprisingly, she hopped right out of the car and walked herself into the school.  She didn't know where her classroom was so she asked an adult.  So big!  She had a great day and actually likes school this year.  We are so excited!

    

First day of 1st grade!

   

  

What a big girlie!

  

I have been super busy at work and actually didn't know it was Ethan's first day of school until the night prior.  Needless to say, he did not get a Schultute.  We also did not get a first day picture because I had to be at work several hours before he woke up.  #secondchildsyndrome