Halloween.....

So despite the rain and complete thrashing that UGA took yesterday, we made the best of the day and had some good times with friends and little ones.

I set up our tent and in true (Redneck or devoted fan) style....pulled the TV out to the road and set up our mini tailgate / Halloween candy station.

Everything was fine until the rain came around 6pm but we still served up some Beef Brisket that had been cooking all day, twice baked potatoes, Buffalo chicken dip, topped off with plenty of candy and beer....I'm working out today to offset the sin of eating.

Reese was adorable as always and she introduced her "wear it once and done" Pea Pod outfit for Trick or Treating...

We didn't take her around to houses just because it seemed a little cheesy to take her out for candy that she can't even eat...and she doesn't have an older brother or sister that would eat it so we opted out.

Instead, we handed out candy and braved the elements with Lance and Celeste, Ryan and Jenni, and Jon, Sarah and little Claire.

We had a great day even with Kim feeling a little under the weather....she was a trooper and did more than she should have but if you know Kim, she will power through most anything. Our little tradition is growing into a cool little deal so I'm actually starting to like Halloween again...It sort of lost its meaning when I couldn't go out for free candy. Anyway, hope everyone had a safe evening and got up nice and early like we did this morning....Reese hasn't grasped the concept of sleeping in on the FALL back portion of time change but she will soon enough.

Meaty goodness.....

I think Kim and I have talked about going to Fogo de Chao (pronounced Fo-go de Shoun...not Chow so we found out) for the better part of 5 years. I had some food catered from there once and it was phenomenal so I knew that Kim and I were in for an awesome meal. We finally decided this fall that we were making it happen this year for our anniversary. I had actually kicked around some other places but we thought why put it off anymore...let's just do this.

Oh. My. GAWD......this is a meat eaters paradise. It strikes a nerve that is embedded from the cave man era that man should eat meat cooked over a fire. Taking a chance that some readers may be vegetarian, you would pass out seeing all of the critters cooked on a spear. It was amazing. Everything was seasoned to perfection and cooked to specs. If you want rare, you can get it. If you want well done....you can get that too...and it not chew like shoe leather! Pork, chicken, beef, lamb, sausages, different cuts of steak - top sirloin, bottom sirloin, ribs, roast, filet. It was so good. We ate and ate and ate...and then had some dessert.

After that, we went to the movies. It's easily been three years since we've been to a movie simply because we're cheap. Even years before Reese was thought about, we just didn't go to that many shows. An overriding fear would be that one of us would fall asleep (more than likely Kim), the movie might bite so let's just wait for the rental, and again...we're cheap. But despite it all, neither fell asleep, "Couples Retreat" was worth it....but we're still cheap because I grimmaced swiping the card for $20 just for the two of us.

We enjoyed the date and got in around 11:30p to find Nana chilling on the couch. Nan watched Reese while we were out and she stayed with us Friday night and Saturday night. I think Reese was plenty comfortable with Nana Saturday afternoon because we came down from showers to find this cute sight....

Its been a great weekend and Reese really enjoyed spending some time with her Nana. My parents took a weekend trip to the mountains so we didn't get a double Grandparent whammy this weekend. Instead, I put some final touches on the bathroom today and we'll probably be sharing pics of a NEARLY complete master bath renovation this week. Thank God.

More posts coming later plus a new little post trend I plan to start. Later guys....

Apple Festival and Burt's Pumpkin Farm...

Several years ago Kim and I were out driving with the intent (I believe) of simply driving and finding some fall color and possibly heading up to the Cherohala Skyway....a SUPER cool drive this time of year. Anyway, we crossed over from Cartersville to Canton and started the trek north and once we got into Ellijay we saw all of this mess (traffic) for the Apple Festival that was going on that Saturday. Having always heard about it and having never been --that we recalled, we decided what the hell...let's burn an hour checking this out. What happened after that was a day that Kim and I will always remember for some reason. We had the best time that Saturday. We ate, we laughed at the cheesy craft booths, we drove forever, and we saw some of the most amazing autumn color that day. It was perfect.

That image has burned into our minds now as a tradition of sorts. This little outing had such an impact that a couple years ago when Kim and I were struggling through some issues in life, the Apple Festival ---- of all things ---- was one of the things that we both talked about. That day, that little trip to North Ga.....Well, all things worked the way God wanted them to and we've been Apple Festivus-ing it up on an annual basis since then. Last year we went up there with Lance and Celeste and made the drive to the Cherohala as well. Kim was pregnant with Reese and we had a blast. This year, little Pooka made her first visit to the Apple Festival and we did it one better, we all went to Burt's Pumpkin Farm for the first time.

Let's also set the stage that the typical Autumn weather pattern is for cooler mornings and reasonable afternoons....mid-60's to low 70's. Ummmm yeah, the high today was barely 50....yeah Fifty...like Sally O'Mally....Fifty! 5 - 0. FIVE.....OOOOOOOOOOOw. Fifty.....

So, Pooks needed winter wear and she flat looked adorable.












Reese saw about 15 minutes of her first trip to a Fall festival and then decided that it was just too much for her to handle...
So...with Reese out for the count, we decided to do what we do best at this deal...EAT. Don't judge us. Especially me because I came to dance by dammit....

















































So some explanations by line include me woofing down an Italian brat with some phenomenal sauce. Lance and Celeste approving of something and then....maybe not so much. Me eating fresh corn and Celeste eating an fried apple thingy and Lance looking "pretty"....The little white, powdery puff looking thing is a fried Twinkie...Honey hush! That was the best thing I've ever set my lips to. Delicious. Kim is overseeing the making of her chicken and steak wrap and Celeste is in deep thought while salting her curly fries. Lance is a little too excited about the chow and finally Lance, Kim, and Celeste doing the touchy face pose that a friend of ours does all the time. It gets worse believe me....the touchy face thing lasted all day.

See....Oddly enough we didn't get any crazy looks because the word on the street is that Ellijay has more gays per capita than any city in Georgia....so we fit right in.

We felt like we had consumed enough festival food for a while decided that it was time to go further. Reese did wake up about two seconds after our first family portrait at the Apple Festival so we took a few more pics to commemorate.












A friend of mine that works at my offices told me to get on over to Burt's Pumpkin Farm early but we just knew that wasn't going to happen...She told me it would be busy...Wow - she was right.

We rolled up to the Pumpkin Farm and commenced to Pumpkin patching it. I have never seen the like of pumpkins in my entire life. I swear this place was packed with 1. pumpkins and 2. people. It was a freaking ZOO! But it was worth it all to net some great pics of Reese...and us.




















































So again...explanations by line. Me and Kimmy taking turns with Reese for pumpkin pics. Kim and Reese exploring the patch. Wedging Reese between pumpkins for a standup pumpkin sammich pic. My precious daughter just soaking it in for the next two lines. Lance looking all happy for his pic and Celeste looking like a Mommy wannabe? Kim trying to get the wheelbarrow shot without flipping our girl...it was happening left and right to poor kids. Reese calls it a touchdown and gets attacked by gords and squash. And finally a general pic of the crowd.

Mom and Dad also happened to be in the area and they stopped at Burt's to see Reese in all her pumpkin glory...
And in honor of our face touchy picture friend...we touched faces for pics again.



















Don't be jealous...just touch faces with your camera mates, that's all.

In all seriousness though, this was another great day. These days are the ones you'll remember all your life and the ones I'll yearn to recreate with Reese as she grows older. These days are about making memories and starting traditions with her that will last for years. One day she'll ask when the Pumpkin patch opens up and can we get the biggest pumpkin out there....one day she'll ask about going to the Apple festival and playing the silly games because its not all that silly to her. She's nearly seven months old and we pushed her pretty hard today and she was just fantastic. A little grumpy here and there but all in all, she was a little trooper. Thanks for a great, great day Lance, Celeste, Mom, Dad, Kimmy, and especially Reese. "Just wait" 'til next year. :)