We were so happy to be able to keep up this tradition. Carters Mountain switched to a timed ticket system this year to maintain social distancing, so we eagerly trekked up their Monday afternoon and were rewarded with zero crowds (there were no other families picking apples at all and only a couple on the grounds):
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| We picked one peck of apples (you had to pre-pay and they told us that was about 25 apples) |
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| Cider doughnuts with peach ice cream |
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| A look at how deserted it was |
Abby's been driving us around on our errands. On our last trip, we had to make an unanticipated stop:
Been meaning to put this up for a while, but I hadn't had a chance to snap a picture of the new bed. Abby asked for a new bed for her birthday, and after some delays it arrived at the end of August. We donated her old bed to a refugee family with a 6-year old girl who was soooooo excited to get it:
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| Taking apart the old bed |
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| New bed (and newly organized room) |
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| Bonus shot of Abby picking out her first big girl bed |
We decided to have a real bbq, with all the fixings, to send off summer. This is the first year since we've moved to Virginia that Labor Day really felt like the end of summer, with the kids and Kevin starting school the next day. We had corn, fresh caprese salad, new potato salad, and a peach crisp:
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| Happy kids with peach crisp |
The weather was in the low 80s (cooler int he shade) and we had no other plans, so we decided to head out for a hike around Ragged Mountain Reservoir. We chose the reservoir because it was close (and Abby would not be joining us -- she had some last minute stuff she wanted to settle for school), although the hike was 7 miles long and took us two and a half hours, so it may have been a wash on time:
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| We stopped at this pretty inlet for a quick lunch.The sun made the picture washed out, but it was very vibrant in person. |
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| Benji spotted a teeny tiny brown hopping frog. While we were searching for it, we spotted this larger toad hiding out under a log |
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| More nature. Still trying to figure out what this giant slug needs that tiny snail shell for |
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| Pretty views |
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| From the floating bridge |
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| Benji, conquering a cool rock formation |
Since Abby's school day does not start until 12:30p (she will have morning office hours, but they did not start today), we decided to do first day pictures at lunch time. Benji's day is 8:30-3:30 so much more regular, but both kids have an hour for lunch mid-day:
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| First day of 7th and 11th at Buford and CHS |
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| Also marking the start of Kevin's 20th year teaching |
