VA Apple Festival Time!

Last year's trip to the apple festival was a disaster for the most part (read about it here), but since I am a glutton for punishment and just a little crazy, we just had to try it again! Thankfully this year was quite a bit more successful. I attribute that success to both the fact that Daddy and our wonderful neighbors were all with us... which took Iraq just enough out of her comfort zone to deter a royal melt down (like the one we had last year).

We loaded up the 'burban bright and early this morning (11:00 a.m.) and headed up into the hills for a picnic. Apparently a few hundred-thousand other people did too, for we found that all the picnic areas were teaming with foliage worshipers, their significant others, their cameras, their children and their dogs. If you've read my blog long enough, you know that I'm not all about perfection or sticking with some sort of set-in-stone plan, and therefore it will come as no surprise to you that we continued driving and upon seeing a beautiful view, we stopped the truck just at the side of the road and had our picnic right there!

I think food just tastes better when you're eating whilst looking at something like this:

(And it's a good thing that beauty makes food taste better because I'm not sure I could have choked down the luke-warm diet fare I had packed for the hubby and myself if we'd been looking at anything else.)

After we were done eating, we headed to the festival. Aside from the fact that it's just a really cool festival, one of the main reasons we return each year is because the festival is totally free! We can totally afford free.

To get there you go just past Suck Mountain Trail, and then it's on the right. I kid you not!

(Place token Fall pumpkin & straw photos here.)

(Iraq stirring Apple Butter. She was behaving so well I never even thought about tossing her in to the cauldron... um... not that I would ever think something like that... )

I always enjoy walking through the arts & crafts displays. Iraq and The Skink do too... so they can find things to beg for. I think they must really enjoy the sound of my voice repeating "No!" over and over and over...

The one thing The Skink really, really, really wanted to do was try out the bounce house, so after a nice mosey through the neat displays and exhibits, we made our way to the giant inflatable (and very colorful) bounce house. Of course this was the one thing every other kid between the ages of 2 and too-big wanted to play in, also. Not only did this particular bounce house provide a place to... well... bounce, but it also had a slide. The only problem was that the rungs to climb up to the slide were spaced fairly far apart. To make matters more difficult for one as small in stature as The Skink, the whole shebang was undulating like a drunk belly dancer with every bounce.

After numerous failed attempts, The Skink sat down right in the middle of the bounce house and had a good, old fashioned melt down. That's when Iraq stepped in to save the day. She took the flailing, screeching Skink and pushed her right up that writhing ladder of horrors...

...right to the very top of the slide.

For a moment they sat together upon that high peak - next to some poor faceless girl whose image I didn't get permission to use and therefore had to have her face unceremoniously removed before she could be published into this blog... reveling in their sweet climbing success.

And then, woooosssshhhhh, down the slide in gales of girlish giggles!

 Once we were all appled out, we collectively decided to make a stop at a car show that we had passed on our way up to the festival.

This baby caught my eye just as the loudspeakers started playing a great Beach Boys tune! Wipeout!!

And then I saw this...

Yeah - I wiped the drool off the Camaro when I was done admiring it :) All the cars at the show were amazing, but Camaros have a special place in my heart... nothing against my 'burban... heck - can you see me trying to stuff my family of 5 in a fire engine red Camaro?  That would sure make for an interesting road trip! (But dang that car would look good on me!!) Perhaps after all my children grow up and leave home...

...Aaaaaaaahaaahaahaahahahaaaaa! Like that will ever happen!

Thanks for visiting my blog! Hope you'll share your thoughts before you go :o)

*

Back To Back... I'm Baaaaaaack

The girls are playing nicely together outside... which makes me worry that Iraq is coming down with something... something that I hope lasts, like, forever...

At any rate, they are giving me a little time to pump a couple blog posts out. I haven't had a chance lately as The Skink has been home all week with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease - which is actually a virus and not a disease per-sea. But whatever. She had spots. They were on her mouth and on her tootie. Didn't have any on her hands or her feet, so I guess it means she had mouth and butt disease?

When my girls are playing quietly for long periods of time, it makes me inexplicably nervous and I must go out and check on them. When I did, I found they were happily painting.

Rocks. Rocks from the driveway. And painting themselves too for good measure.

 A few more sunny weekends and we'll have the most colorful driveway in all of Virginia!

Of course when I came outside with the camera, they all but forgot the paint and wanted to do a "photo shoot." Hey - nothing like doing a photo shoot of two girls with paint all over them!

And some more of my favorite shots of the week:

Apparently The Skink didn't care for Gunnar's critique of her work. A few seconds after I took this, she goosed him firmly on the toot, sending him skittering off across the yard clucking in surprise. In her defense, The Skink was just in a fowl mood after not being allowed to go to school that day. :)

The spots are fading now, and my lucky little Skink will be back at school tomorrow.

Have a great week, y'all!

* 

Well Dam!

You heard me. Dam!

We have one near us and last weekend we took the girls up to see it.

 

After admiring the dam for a while and talking about the creation of hydroelectricity, we were treated to a show, compliments of The Skink!

While at the visitors' center at the dam, we happened to see a topographical map of the area which led us to wonder how to access a road that winds along the peak of a string of mountains by the dam.

Luckily I inherited a bizarre gift for direction from my mother, and in no time at all we were driving up the side of a mountain. We expected to see Sasquatch... but had to settle with the back-side of some rednecks.

Just for fun we turned on the GPS system which insisted that we drive off the nearest cliff in order to get back onto a real road! It was good for a giggle.

We could tell there was a great view for those with X-Ray vision. For those of us without this talent, all there was to see at the end of the road was trees. I was determined to see that view, though... so I climbed on top of our Suburban...

And saw this:

It would have been nice to see this on a clear day, but I'm well known for taking what I can get and being happy with it :)

Of course then Iraq wanted to follow my example and stand on top of the car on top of the mountain, and being the crazy mother that I am, I let her.

(You know, when they say "Don't try this at home," it just means that you should go someplace else - like the top of a mountain - to do it!)

And that is the story of our Dam fine day!

*

Just Your Average Perfection

'Tis the season to post pictures of pumpkin patch abundance...

But unfortunately I can't afford the admission fees to any of the pumpkin patches within driving distance (nor can I really afford the gas required by my 17-year-old Suburban to get to any pumpkin patches as the closest is apparently about 50 miles away).

But who am I to allow silly little details like those get in my way? On Sunday morning I called my awesome neighbor and asked if she had any cute neutrals to dress her little one in. I showered and dressed my own girls (yeah - for some reason my 17-year-old son wasn't interested in having his yearly pumpkin patch picture done) and we piled into my car to seek out the "perfect," pumpkin-filled backdrop.

And by "perfect," I mean something without too much garbage... or a landfill... 'cause I'm picky like that!

You know - like trading in "The Great Pumpkin" for "The Totally Average Pumpkin That Happens to Be FREE."

But you know what? You don't have to keep up with the Jones' (or anyone else for that matter) to have a lot of fun and get some really cute seasonal photos! I so often hear or read of someone going over the details of finding the perfect pumpkin patch and dressing the children in the perfect clothes and all the perfection that was their day.

Well - that's great. I'm happy for them and all their perfect glory, but you know what? My life isn't perfect, and I'm perfectly fine with that! So we sought out free places and made the most of them.

So these were some of the shots from the day's impromptu shoot: 

(The above were taken at our local Southern States Feed Store where I regularly buy chicken feed. They were closed but had kindly left some pumpkins and flowers out for our use. Yup - Southern States... it's like Macy's... for rednecks.)

(And these pictures... they were taken at an itty-bitty little park between some train tracks and a warehouse at the edge of the old part of town - Just down from the Southern States!)

And lookee here! We found us a real pumpkin patch...

 

 

At WalMart!

Yup - smack dab in the very front of the store. 

Sure, we got some looks from a few people. Most of them were probably thinking what a great idea we had   :D

And then do you know where we went??

Yes - this is the most perfect place of all! It's right on the property where our rental house (and my neighbor's rental cabin) is. We took our WalMart pumpkins and set them up in front of the barn. 

We had a wonderful time, even though The Skink had a melt down and Iraq almost had a melt down. Even though my neighbor's kid tried to escape underneath that old train in the little old park and my neighbor had to crawl under the train to get her... and I was smart-a$$ enough to take pictures the whole time.

We spent a few dollars on cheap pumpkins and that was it.

It's not about having a perfect life and going the perfect place. It's about making the best of what you already have...

But that's just one woman's opinion!

Happy Fall, Y'all!