We had a great family weekend 9/16-17. Usually we have a very difficult time getting up and out the door before 12:30 on Day Sevens, but on this Saturday the twins had a birthday party to go to, so we got going pretty early. The party was a family affair--and all of our kids were invited. Many of my own friends were there, too--so even the adults had fun.
The party was at a park, and the firemen showed up to give the kids a look at a real engine. Just as the firefighters began to demonstrate how they dress for a fire, they got a call for an actual emergency, so we got to see them dress quickly, flick on their lights and horns, and take off.
As the party was dying down, we fellow stragglers got to witness firsthand a dramatic scene from Animal Planet as a hawk hunted a squirrel up and down this big tree right over the kids' playground. The squirrel would duck behind the trunk some 60 feet up, and the hawk would flap up a foot or two and grip the tree with his claws--it was very intense and went on for about 10 minutes or so, before the hawk finally gave up and flew off--the squirrel's nest safe at last. The squirrel actually lay prone on a branch--panting--when it was all done.
Next, we drove to Sonic for lunch and Paula and I gorged out on our
favorite beverages (Strawberry Limeade for me). We spent the early
afternoon driving around the countryside looking at new housing
developments, touring gi-normous homes we can't yet afford. We'd love
to get a 5-bedroom, 3-floor house with a big backyard for the kids...
someday. Then we went to Covington, GA for a stroll around main street.
It's just another instance of my love for the little town with town
center. Covington, like many other small towns in Georgia, has a square
park in the center--which is charming. It's nothing like where we live
now, our town is just a stretch of highway with strip malls on either
side of the road--what kind of character is that?
We had a snack of ice
cream at a great little snack shop called Scoops--and I found a nice
place to put a bookstore, right next store.
Then on Sunday, we went to Sunday School, and left from church, heading north to Elijay, Georgia for the annual apple picking jubilee. We went with some friends--who have three kids of their own. We picked apples, rode the pedal cars, watched pig races, enjoyed the petting zoo, had some fresh cider, slid and swung on the playground, and watched the kids get duped by a talking bull operated by a guy with a microphone behind them. The kids also got to milk a cow teat that had been yanked by other kids all day long--lucky cow.
We ended the weekend with dinner at Cracker Barrel along the way
home--perfect. All week long we've enjoyed delicious apples from our
$10 bag of pickings. The only problem with the day was my allergies.
The kicked in with a sniff when we arrived at the apple farm--but by
the time we left, I couldn't breathe or see. On the drive home, I had
such a headache--with an aching chin, cheeks, and eyes. Oww. I went
straight to bed, and wondered if I'd be able to get up in the morning.
But morning came, and I felt fine. Funny.

hello.
I so haven't had time to blog lately......new job and keeping busy!
anyway, I was reading some of your previous posts, and I LOVE "The Office" too. GREAT SHOW.
I hope this season is good!
Posted by: Tom | September 25, 2006 at 09:35 PM