Halloween 2009

Happy Belated Halloween all! We had a eventful Halloween and make the most of it since it was so HUMID outside! What kinda Halloween is that!?! Anyways, we went to a small fall festival, trick-or-treated for about umm 30 minutes, then topped off the evening with a late dinner at Chick-fil-a - all with our friends the Ledfords! I must say though - Ethan looked VERY cute in his monkey outfit. Like I said, we had to get a quick picture with the costume on and then we stripped him down. He was sweating and it was just too much! Maybe next year it'll be cooler!

E making monkey noises
Two peas in a pod - or in a monkey suit shall I say

Run monkey run!

Enjoying his Halloween candy at the end of the night

A Day at the Farm

Saturday afternoon we went to Patterson Farms right outside of Mooresville, NC with the Ledfords to pick pumpkins with the babies. It was quite a hike to get there but well worth the drive. Chris even wants to go back next year! It was such a cool place. They had so many activities for the kiddos like a corn kernel pit (think ball pit, but with corn kernels), a petting zoo, a playground, hayrides and of course a pumpkin patch. The punkins were already picked off the vine which was probably better for the babies since they're so young. The weather was a lot cooler than I expected and we were not prepared. Luckily we did have an extra jacket in the car for Ethan and Carrie had an extra hat, so he had four layers on! His poor hands were frozen solid. But like always, he made the best of it and had a blast! The one thing that Ethan really wanted to do that we didn't get to because it was so cold was ride the hayride. He loved watching it drive by since it was a HUGE John Deere tractor. Maybe next time we'll think to bring a blanket! Check out our pictures!

The Ledfords

Katy Rae

Carayray and KR

My sweet lil' punkin'

My absolute favorite!

I have NO idea why he is licking the stump!

The next GQ cover

Afternoon at the Park

Since the weather was so nice today, the entire family decided to take a nature walk over at Manchester Park. There certainly was enough for Ethan to explore - he especially loved running, picking up twigs for Abbey, watching the creek run underneath the bridge and trying to walk Abbey on her leash. That wasn't so successful.
Afterwards, we took Ethan to the playground for a bit as well. It was a prefect day to be outside!

Blue Ridge Parkway Photography Workshop

I cannot say enough about this wonderful trip we just returned from. As I've mentioned before, this trip was a 30th birthday gift to Chris from Ethan and I. It was a photography workshop held at the Wildacres Retreat at 3,300 feet above elevation in Little Switzerland, North Carolina. I asked him if he wanted me to tag along and he said yes! I was very excited seeing that I wanted this to be his weekend to get away from all the stress of everyday life. It was now mine as well!

The weather was perfect with a few chilly moments in the morning and evening, but it was perfect none the less. I was prepared with my sweaters, boots and cords! While Chris spent his days learning about how to be a better photographer, I spend them breathing in the crisp mountain air, going for a walk around the retreat, marveling at the beauty of the area, hiking to Crabtree Falls, shopping in the adorable town of Little Switzerland, drinking LOTS of coffee, making new friends, Ken and Martha, who were almost twice my age but oh so wonderful, reading New Moon (again) and just being thankful for the time I got to spend up there. Ken and Martha were also tagging along with their spouses who were in the workshop as well. The three of us were invited to view the sunrise along with the the class when they went out to photograph, but we declined and said we'd rather look at the back of our eyelids. We did however decide to join everyone for the sunset on Saturday night and I'm so glad we did. It was neat to see the class in action and to also view the beautiful sunset over the mountains.

Chris really enjoyed getting to know the people in the class, but one guy he was particularly fond of was Joe. He was such a sweetie. He always was sweet to me and such a joy to talk to. Keep in mind, most of these people were twice our age, give or take a few years. I joked with Chris that we must be old souls because we fit right along with everyone and had such a good time getting to know everyone's life stories. Joe even let me borrow his back up camera so I could take pictures of the waterfall I hiked to. When we were leaving Joe gave both of us a hug and told us how blessed he felt to be with us this weekend. Man - I had to choke back the tears. How many people actually say that to you? He was truly a genuine person and a faithful follower of Christ. It's so refreshing to meet people like him and I'm glad we had the opportunity to do so.

Here are just a few of the beautiful shots that Chris captured this weekend:

Yep, that's me taken at sunset

Sunset over the mountains

Cool shot at sunrise

Another beautiful shot at sunrise

Not spectacular, but I shot this one at Crabtree Falls!

Folly Beach Trip 2009: Day Four

Saturday came and we knew it was our last day. I knew I wanted to at least get back on the beach one last time, and so we did. The morning was beautiful and breezy and E had a great time! He really got into the water and played hard.

Bubba after nap trying to wake up.

Then it was one last time on the beach and it was short-lived. I mean like, 30 minutes. At least we got a few good pictures.

Us gals and the babies, before Ethan destroyed Peyton's sand castle.

Ethan was MUCH happier playing in the pool, running around on the deck, and of course, snacking. It's what he does best!

My little surfer boy

Folly Beach Trip 2009: Day Three

Friday was spent very low-key, which was nice for a change. The babies all woke up in weird moods. Ethan in particular literally hit the floor running and didn't stop until we put him down for a nap. I was exhausted just watching him. After naps, we all headed to the South Carolina Aquarium in Downtown Charleston. It was beautiful - and check out the view from the aquarium behind us.

Checking out the turtles

Looking kinda like a turtle himself - OMG - after seeing this picture, I realized how badly he needs yet ANOTHER haircut

Dada signing fish

Ahoy Matey!

Look out! Here comes trouble!

Mama and E checking out the shrimp and crabs

"WOW! Can I touch? No - no!" (Only Liv and Tim will get that inside joke)

Awesome jellyfish picture Mr. Professional Photographer Cassidy took