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. :)