Back on the Wagon

Well, I fell off the blogging wagon but I'm going to try and jump back on again. I will not try to update on everything that has happened since my last post but I will do the last two big things we've done as a family.

Over Labor Day weekend we got to go to Hendersonville, NC for their annual Apple Festival. We heard about the event from some Brett's family's friends the Williams when they came to visit. Susan and Greg were so gracious to help us make plans to stay there at Greg's parents' house next door to them, right in the middle of their apple orchard! This was definitely a time I was so thankful that we get to do homeschool because we were able to spend the whole week learning about apples and then got to top the week off with a weekend spent in an apple orchard and at the Apple Festival (or "Vestival" according to Ella). So here are a few pictures of the weekend:

The second big family thing we've done was this past weekend. Our good friends Mikie and Naomi invited our family to go with them to Dollywood. They could get 3 of us in for free so we would only have to pay for one child ($42) and since we had never been before and we are heading into a busy weekend season for Brett we thought it would be a great way to spend our last full weekend together. However, when we got there and were ready to go inside a lady approached us and said she could get one more person in with her family so we ended up not having to pay anything at all - how cool is God?

It was a perfect day! The weather was overcast so it wasn't too hot but it wasn't cold either. And I don't know if people stayed away for fear of rain but it was a pretty quiet day at ol' Dollywood so we really only had to wait in line for one ride all day long. For the most part as soon as we got in line we were on the ride. I couldn't believe how much Madeline LOVED all the rides. That girl is fearless! Thankfully her daddy likes that stuff too and was willing to go with her on all of them, and thankfully I had the excuse of being pregnant to where I couldn't go on a lot of them. Madeline could have gone on the "log ride" all day if we had let her, the girl just couldn't get enough of it. Ella enjoyed the rides too, at least that's what she said but her face rarely matched those words. She did quite a few of the rides but wasn't as exuberant about them as Madeline was. We all had such a great time and as always had a blast with Mikie, Naomi, Nathan and Ethan. They are such a great family and I am so thankful for them in our lives! Thanks again Neidich's for such a fun weekend! Here are some pictures: