Fall Break

Zara had fall break this week which meant a whole week off of school even though they just started. Makes sense to me! In any case, we decided to make this fall break fun so Zara and I sat down last Sunday and made a list of all the things we wanted to do for the week and I'm happy to report that we checked off a huge portion of our list. With my pregnancy and Benjamin's arrival, we haven't gotten to get out and do much lately so I really wanted to take the opportunity to enjoy the very last vestiges of summer and welcome in autumn. So here's a rundown of our week's adventures: 

Monday

Monday was a beautiful day. Warm, but not too hot, overcast but with hints of sun and no signs of rain. We packed a lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and enjoyed a picnic at the park and then played for several hours. 

Tuesday

Tuesday was a low-key day which saw us enjoying a play date at a friend's house. My friend (who has three children of very similar ages to my three) was even kind enough to let me leave the girls at her house for an hour so I could run to the grocery store with just Benjamin. If you've ever shopped with three kids, you know what a luxury this is. My kids do a pretty good job when shopping. I just hate how long it takes to get in and out of all the car seats, especially if I need to make more than one stop. 

Wednesday

I needed a lot of time to prepare myself for Wednesday's planned outing: the zoo. It was supposed to be a sunny day, the hottest of the week which I thought would be best for our zoo day. Zoo Atlanta is not terribly big so it's easy to see most of the animals pretty quickly. The real highlight is the kid zone which features a splash pad, playground, petting zoo, and rides. I was quite happy to discover that my new double jogging stroller just barely fits into the trunk of my Accord. Without it, I don't think I could have survived the zoo with three kids by myself. 

After visiting most of the animals we wanted to see (the big attraction are the pandas), we went to the kid's area to eat our packed lunch. Zara was distraught to see that the splash pad was not on. Suddenly, the whole day was ruined (Oh, the emotional rollercoaster of being 5.) Thankfully, as we were eating our lunch, a zoo worker came and turned the water on.

Adelaide and Zara had a blast running through the splash pad. It was hard to get them to leave. But then poor Adelaide scraped her toe and knee and that was the end of that. We then peaked in on a few more animals and then headed home before downtown traffic got too bad. 

I wore those girls right out. They both fell asleep on their way home. But we had a great time and now I have a zoo membership so we can go back anytime we want. 

Thursday

I was pretty worn out on Thursday from all the zoo excitement so Thursday was going to be another low key day. I woke up late and had to rush to get us all packed into the stroller to take a walk to the local library where we enjoyed their preschool storytime. 

After reading books about fall, they broke out the parachute (always a big hit) and then did a fall craft. We came home for lunch and naps and then watched Cars. 

Friday

Friday we went to Champion Kids, a gymnastics center, that holds open play time on the weekdays to play on their trampolines, ropes, and bouncing equipment. I've never been able to take Zara since they don't do open time on Saturdays so I wanted to let the kids play. They had a pretty good time although Zara definitely enjoyed it more than Adelaide. 

On our way home, we stopped at Gigi's Cupcakes for a cupcake treat. I've been trying to find a good cupcake place and have tried several okay places but I think Gigi's is my new favorite. We came home for lunch and then we all took naps. Zara doesn't like to nap so this was a big deal. Part of the reason could be because Zara came home with a fever. Delightful. 

After our naps, we did our own art projects. Zara loves to create and paint and she's gotten very good with her art supplies. Adelaide, on the other hand, just makes big blobs of paint. But they both enjoyed themselves. 

Saturday we went to the High Museum of Art but since I took lots of photos, I'll make that it's own post. In any case, we had a great week but I'm looking forward to school starting again on Monday. I need a break from our fall break. 

Amicalola Falls

David took some time off work during the third week of September and so we checked a few things off our to-do and to-go list. First up was a trip into the mountains of northern Georgia and a day of hiking at Amicalola Falls State Park. It was a crisp, clear, beautiful fall day and we had a wonderful time. 

 It took a little over an hour to drive to the State Park and it was nearing lunch time by the time we arrived. We found a nice picnic table next to a little playground along one of the trails and ate the lunch that I had packed for us while David and I discussed which route to take to the Falls.

Most of the trails lead to the Falls, but they vary in difficulty and length. We didn't want anything too steep or difficult since Zara would be making the climb herself and David would have Adelaide in the carrier.

The hike was perfect. Not too steep or too long, well maintained and sufficiently shady. We did pass at least two snakes on our way though.

But the Falls were gorgeous.

I let Zara eat a sucker as a prize for making it to the Falls on her own.

You could climb about 400 steps from the base of the Falls to the top. Zara wasn't too keen on that but the view was amazing.

Of course, Adelaide conked out in her carrier but not until the very end.

After our hike was over, we headed just down the street to Burt's Pumpkin Farm where they had a large assortment of every type of pumpkin and gourd and some of the largest pumpkins I have ever seen.

These pumpkins were as big as Adelaide and ranged in prize from $40 to $80. We decided to try for something in a more manageable size and prize range.

After the pumpkin patch, we ducked in Ellijay, a small town nearby that is famous for its apple orchards. We stopped at BJ Reece's apple orchard where we purchased fresh apple turnovers, apple cider and a few pecks of apples which I then made into applesauce and apple butter.

Here was our haul from the day. It was a gorgeous day, beautiful weather, an absolutely delightful way to spend a fall day.

Cottonwood Canyon with the Cottrells

Ahh, fall.
It's my absolute favorite season. It didn't used to be. Growing up in San Diego, with its subtle shift of seasons, I never knew what seasons were all about. But having lived in some places with phenomenal autumns (Virginia, Korea, Utah), I've come to relish the fall season. The trees, the colors, the crisp air, the pumpkin cookies! Oh, if only it could be fall year-round.

Fall also bought another very sweet treat with it this year: our friends from Korea, the Cottrells. They're in America for a month before they'll head back to Korea. They'll be living there for another two years and we miss them tremendously. They spent two weeks in New Mexico with Amber's family and now they're in Sandy, Utah, where Spencer's family lives. They invited us to join their family for a campfire in Cottonwood Canyon. The Cottrells beckoned and so we went.

Zara didn't know what to make of the fire. It scared her a little bit. But she did like the river and the rocks and the McDonald's chicken nugget Amber gave her. I don't think she's ever had a chicken nugget before.

It was just gorgeous up in the canyon. I'd never been to Cottonwood Canyon but I've been trying to get David to go up to Provo Canyon with me some weekend to see the changing leaves.

Maybe we can go soon. I loved being up in the canyon. It was beautiful and peaceful and just the right amount of cold. But the fire was warm enough to keep us content and happy.

We ate dinner, roasted marshmellows and Starbursts, feasted on S'mores and hot chocolate. We talked around the campfire and then Spencer and his father broke out their guitars and treated us to some music and singing. It was a wonderful evening. We had to leave early so that we could get Zara to bed and we came home smelling of smoke and burnt sugar but it was so worth it. We had a great time. I hope we'll get to see the Cottrells a few more times before they return to Korea.

Jaker's Pumpkin Patch

David has the week off from school. There are several business conferences this time of year so rather than have students miss a bunch of school, they just started giving them the time off instead. David decided not to attend any this week (he's going to one in November) so we've just been hanging out at home, enjoying the time off. On Monday, we decided to visit Jaker's Pumpkin Patch out in Springville (a little south of Provo).

I'd never been to a pumpkin patch before so it wasn't quite what I expected but it was still a lot of fun for the family, especially because it was free (except for the super awesome pumpkin we bought which we still need to carve). The pumpkin patch had a small petting zoo area, several mazes, a corn crib, and a hayride.

We started out at the petting area. Zara did inherit one thing from me and that is her love of animals. She freaks out when she sees a non-human creature (in a totally excited, my head might explode from sheer joy kinda freak-out) and she was totally fascinated by the strange assortment of animals present at the petting zoo.

I'm totally freaking out here, Mom! Sheep! Goats! Llamas! Donkeys! Pigs! A Kangaroo!?!?!?!

For reasons I have yet to decipher, they had a young kangaroo there. So random. Zara didn't know what to make of it. They are rather strange creatures up close.

Zara was very excited to feed the sheep though. She kept grabbing hay and trying to shove it near them.

But as soon as they'd get close, she'd get scared or nervous and would drop the hay so David had to help her out a bit.

The most random attraction was the corn crib....like a sandbox but filled with corn. I know we grow a lot of corn in America, but that just seems a bit excessive.

Still, all the kids seemed to really love playing around in there. Zara was no exception.

David even buried her in the corn.

But she didn't really seem to mind.

After a good long romp in the corn, we picked out a beauty of a pumpkin and took it home with us. Hopefully we'll get around to carving it soon. It's been a long time since I carved a pumpkin so I hope it won't look too tragic. I've never had much luck.

We had a great time at the pumpkin patch. Free entertainment is often like that. Plus, we ran into several people from the MBA program (also interested in the free entertainment since we're all poor) including a member of David's group. It was delightful way to spend a fall day. I'm looking forward to Halloween and I'm super excited for our costumes this year.

Fall is Here!

Fall is finally here in Korea. I've always liked fall but I didn't fall in love with the season until I lived in Virginia. A Virginia fall would make anyone fall in love with autumn. Despite the hot summers and frigidly cold winters (a marked difference from the constant balmy weather of Hawaii), I was very excited to move to Korea because it meant that once again, I'd get to have fall.

I love the burst of color before the desolation of winter, the slow switch from hot, humid summers to a cool, refreshing fall. I enjoy the the emergence of warm sweaters, scarves and jackets from their summer hibernation and the bounty of the earth--apples and pumpkins and squashes and corn. I can't wait to make an apple pie or maple pumpkin cheesecake or eat butternut squash soup. I love the flavors and colors and feelings of fall.

Of course, living in a big city, you forget sometimes that you still live on a planet earth that is constantly changing around you. David and I went to Gyeongbokgung palace today (more on that visit later) and I finally got to see physical evidence beyond a milder climate that fall is, indeed, upon us.

And since I couldn't wait to sing my songs of joy for fall, I thought I'd post a few photographs that I took today of the early fall foliage. I need to get out more and find some more trees. Also, I really need to buy a good camera and Photoshop. (And stop trying to manipulate photographs in my pathetic little photo editor program.)

I still had fun playing around with it though.

And the leaves excite me. So glad I get a fall again.

Nope, I sure don't miss Hawaii at all.