Grandfather Mountain

Today we went to Grandfather Mountain with our friends the Frady's. Grandfather Mountain is about an hour away near Boone, NC. It was a gorgeous fall day and a cool and brisk 60 degrees up in the mountains - I love the fall. This was our first time adventuring up the mountain to not only enjoy the amazing fall color, but also to brave walking across the mile high sky bridge that takes you from one peak to the next of Grandfather Mountain. I have to admit I was a little scared to cross the bridge, but the views were absolutely breathtaking and I knew I was going to regret it if I didn't do it. The park is a privately owned reserve complete with not only the view from the peak, but also an environmental habitat that had bears, cougars, deer, otters, and a nature museum. It took us about two hours to get through everything and then we traveled into Boone where we had a late lunch and enjoyed the scenic ride back home.

Amanda, Jim, Emma, Allen and Emma before crossing the bridge...

Family shot

The sign explains it all

Fall color

The Frady's in front of us crossing the bridge...

We made it!

Family picture from the other peak

Mile High Bridge

Goofing around in the gift shop, and no, we did not buy her that hat!

Looking at the bears

Cougar enjoying a nice deer leg for lunch

Some Emma Randomness...

We enjoy so much taking pictures of Emma when she is doing the most random things...like playing with the blinds on the back door...the simplest things entertain her. Also, for your entertainment there are four clips below of her playing with Kalea and then experimenting with her walker....it won't be long before she'll be walking on her own!

Hi Dad!

Eating big chunks of banana for breakfast - what's with that face?

"Tug of War with Kalea"

"Emma with Walker, Part I"

"Emma with Walker, Part II"

"Emma with Walker, Part III"

Grandma Time

Grandma Sherry came to see us on her way home from seeing Great Grandma in South Carolina. It was fun to see them spend time together playing with some of the toys she brought with her for Emma. On Saturday while it was raining cats and dogs outside, we did a little shopping in Hickory and we added a new member to our family - Winnie the Pooh, he's bigger than the dog! Emma loves him...Thanks Grandma!

Pumpkin Picking

One of my favorite things to do in preparation for fall is to go pumpkin and apple picking. Allen's mom was in town last weekend and although it rained and poured all day on Saturday, we were blessed with a beautiful day on Sunday. We piled into the car along with our good friends the Frady's and headed out to an orchard and pumpkin patch that is a few miles outside of Asheville in a town called Fairview. We had never tried this place before, but it turned out to be perfect for the kids to see some farm animals and to go hunting for a pumpkin in their pumpkin patch. Of course, as always, it takes forever to find the perfect pumpkin (can't wait to go cut down our own Christmas tree this year!), but we ended up finding two that we think will be great for carving! Don't you just love the fall?!

Hickory Nut Gap Farms, Fairview, NC

I want to touch the baby calf...

Apple Cider Popsicle, yummmm

this one looks good

Grandma found a winner!

Allen and Jim searching for the perfect pumpkin