Our Fall Road Trip 2020

Even though 2020 may have slowed us down on traveling, I knew I was not going to give up our Fall traditions.  I wanted to see some Fall colors and visit a farm to pick pumpkins or apples and let the kids have some fun.  With Evan's busy sports schedule, our weekends have been pretty jam packed until last weekend.  After watching the weather, we had planned to head towards the mountains on Sunday, but Saturday morning, Eddie checked the weather again, and it looked like the rain that was suppose to show up on Saturday wasn't going to hit until late Saturday night and Sunday.  We quickly changed our plans and jumped in the car for the drive after a quick stop by Chick-fil-a to get our lunch through the drive thru.  We live right beside the interstate that would take us all the way to the best spots for apple and pumpkin farms in North Carolina.  We last visited the area of Hendersonville, NC in 2013 so I was interested to see how much had changed.  We visited the same apple orchards that we last visited.  The area did have some new developments, but the farms were pretty similar.  The pumpkins were pretty picked over and slim, but we did manage to get a bag full of apples and had some good fun too.  We made it through the amazing Chick-fil-a themed corn maze just before the storm arrived, and we headed home in the opposite direction of the storm.  We were very thankful for this wonderful day of memories made.  

The drive isn't too steep as Hendersonville lies just on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  My ears only popped once on the drive coming back down.  

You know you have entered the mountains when you see the exposed granite along the roadside where the mountain was blasted away to make the road.  The road through Hendersonville is lined with farms selling pumpkins and apples and lots of yummy homemade treats. 

The first thing the kids wanted to do upon exiting the car was to get some energy out on this playground.  Grayson wasn't too sure about the horse swing.  The bike merry-go-round was pretty neat although the boys couldn't get it to move.  I tried pushing it, and it was very difficult.  

On the way to pick some yummy apples.  The granny smith trees were the last ones to be picked, but the kids really love those the best.  

Miss Maggie got to ride in the wagon.  

I tried to get Maggie to hold an apple, but she just kept letting it fall to the ground like "I don't want that."  Mattox demonstrated for her. 

Oh my sweet Grayson.  He really steals my heart! 

I can't believe how big my oldest baby is now.  He is way taller than me and just so handsome and grown up.  He really loves his little brothers. 

Just pictures of the old couple. 

Teaching Grayson and Maggie how to pick the best apples off the tree. 

Evan doing his baby Simba pose with Maggie.  Maggie is definitely his favorite now as she looks so much like him. 

Daddy had the brilliant idea to make an apple pyramid for the boys, but the execution of the plan wasn't so easy.  The apples kept rolling away.  Haha!  Brody practiced his "make an apple float" trick.  

Grayson wanted to try to pull everyone.  He's our little Hulk baby.  

Me and my babies

Seeing her walking through the orchard was a dream come true. The last time we were here, we were still in the early stages of grieving her sister. 

My two biggest babies are definitely growing up.  Evan is about 5 1/2 feet tall, and Brody is over 4 feet tall.  

Mattox was about 3 1/2 feet tall, and Maggie was almost 2 1/2 feet.  

I think my Gerber baby is just the cutest.  She could definitely sell some baby food even though her baby food is homemade. 

My little pumpkin heads.  I told them to do a silly picture for the second one, and the silliest thing Mattox could think of was to show his ear.  Haha! 

Maggie and the Great Pumpkin

The cutest pumpkin in the patch

All of my little pumpkins. 

Brody is reading the story of Ivan the gorilla with his class so he had to get a picture with the big gorilla statue.  

And the babies wanted to ride in the wagon.  

We braved the corn maze. 

And the kids lead the way.  

Which way?  

Evan had a lot of fun in the maze.  He wanted to go the long way through it. 

Mommy and Daddy have to take selfies to get a picture together. 

Grayson hiding in the corn.  

I took a photo of the maze map to help us stay on the outer edge of the maze.  If we had gotten into those letters and words, we would never have gotten out.  Haha!  The storm hit right when we finished.  We ran to the car.  

Quarantine Easter at Home {2020 edition}

It was a little sad not being in church on Easter Sunday, but we made memories and celebrated the special day.  Easter was definitely not cancelled as many may have claimed.  Easter is about remembering the sacrifice that our Savior made for us all, and we remembered and celebrated together. 

• John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

• Romans 10:9: "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

• Matthew 28:5-6: "The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.'"

• John 11:25: "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."

The boys each got some special treats in their baskets.  Mostly there was candy filled eggs for the older boys and some books, sidewalk chalk, and bubbles for the little ones. 

Five baskets definitely means I have to be cost conscious.  

The boys were all very appreciative. 

Yes, boys wearing underwear and no pants is a common sight in our house. 

Maggie's special treat was her first peeps which is a tradition I started with Evan.  The soft marshmallow is a safer treat for young toddlers. 

Maggie liked the feel of her sticky, gooey treat. 

Oh Grayson loves his baby sister the best.  

But they all adore her. 

She's a pretty special baby.  I just love her funny faces as she tried her peep.  

Then, Daddy read us all the Easter story. 

We had church in our living room watching our pastor preach from his living room.  Crazy times, but we did have the cutest worship band.  Mattox and Grayson played the guitars while Maggie accompanied on the piano.  Haha! 

Then, Grayson felt more like a drummer, but Maggie took one of his sticks. 

We held two Easter egg hunts.  Mattox and Grayson had their own in the front yard. 

These two do everything together.  Mattox found one on the porch, and Grayson found one in the planter. 

Grayson caught on fast, and I think they found an equal amount of eggs. 

Inseparable brothers. 

Yes, our yard is pretty wild with lots of hiding spots. 

Big brother wanted to help them. 

They found all the eggs! 

The big boys had a separate more challenging hunt in the backyard. Evan found some up high in the tree.  

Still not too big to enjoy an Easter egg hunt.  Of course, he found both prize eggs with money that were meant for each of them.  He found one in a piece of trash, and the rules of the hunt were if you found trash while hunting, you had to pick it up and throw it away.  Haha! 

Brody stayed on the "safer" side of the yard closer to the house.  Haha! Our back yard backs up to a drainage stream that separates it from the woods and is quite wild and natural back there.  We also have a large burn pile that is always full of yard debris and fallen trees and limbs.  We have lost several old or dead trees while living here.  

Happy Easter!  Rejoice!  He is risen!