Corn Maze

corn maze in the dark
way out in the country
flashlights and glow sticks
1.7 miles of twists and turns

cousins, grandparents, and great-grandparents
haven't we been this way before?
be careful....don't fall
can somebody else hold Canaan?

I bet this would make 150-200 bushels of corn

they're making a killing off this thing

I think I see the lights of the barn over that way
I am getting so dizzy
when I lay down tonight, I am still going to be going in circles

didn't we just come to this checkpoint?
what's the answer to the riddle?
two rights and a left SHOULD get us out of here

who's going to scare us next?
giggles, giggles, and more giggles

hidin' in the corn
a-maze-ing memories

Jackson's Orchard

The day after we got back from Gatlinburg, we headed to quite possibly our very favorite fall activity:  Jackson's Orchard.  Not only are there super fun activities for the kiddos, but the tasty food is not a bit bad either. 

The Cider Slider was what Hadley was most looking forward to.  It was nice that she was willing to go down by herself this year.  That way, Justin and I could take turns going down with Canaan, too.  Hadley wanted to race and said that she won every time; she doesn't like to lose.  We might need to work on that.

The petting zoo was what we couldn't get Hadley away from though.  These poor fattened animals get fed all day long.  I think we spent $.75 on them ourselves.  But Hadley's squeals and laughs when the goats licked her fingers were so cute.  And when the goat jumped on the fence and got right in Canaan's face, his shock and awe was hysterical, too.  I found out that my fearless little fella does have some fears!  Whew...thank goodness.

 

 





The duck slides and tires were sure hits with our girlie.  Although, she did want her daddy beside her the entire time.  Or maybe he just thinks he needs to be beside her all the time.  Whichever it is, I don't think he minds a bit.

Fried apple pies with ice cream were the perfect mid-afternoon snack for everyone.  We can't leave Jackson's Orchard without partaking of their delicious seasonal goodies.



 

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day for our favorite Fall activity of all.  I've told Justin that, when I retire, I want to either run an orchard or a General Store. Who knows....maybe kids in future generations will visit Stinson's Orchard.  Maybe I should know something about growing fruit first, though.  I love that he appreciates, or rather tolerates, my cheesiness ;)



Loving Fall

I absolutely love traditions with my family; we are having so much fun this fall.  I am so thankful for God's blessings and being able to spend quality time with one another. My craft project doesn't cover all of our fall celebrations, but it does hit some of the high spots.  We are enjoying checking each activity off as we go. 

As the Christmas season keeps getting more and more commercialized in the stores, I am holding on to fall for as long as I can.  I refuse to celebrate Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving.  Although this super cold weather is seriously making me want to break out my James Taylor Christmas CD.  Until then, though, it's still fall in the Stinson house.  Happy Fall Y'all!!

Gatlinburg 2013

Fall Break has to be one of the most highly anticipated times of the year for teachers.  By this point, teachers and students alike are ready for a slight pause from the everyday routine.  Our vehicle was completely packed the night before, so that when the school bell sounded, all we had to do was swing by daycare to pick up the kids and off to Gatlinburg we were!

This year, my parents decided to try out a cabin for our entire gang.  I have to admit that it's fun to wake up with my siblings and their families.  We had breakfast together each morning and my mom cooked delicious night time meals, two of the nights we were there.  The only down side to the close-ness of the cabin, was the NASTY stomach bug that swept through, knocking out 9 of the 14 of us.  I have to say that it was hysterical, though.  Well, I can say that because no one in my family got sick.

 You can imagine that there is never a dull moment when our entire crew is together.  Just figuring out sleeping arrangements when the girl cousins want to sleep together, is challenging in itself.  Canaan slept in the pack-and-play right beside our bed.  Because I'm not used to him sleeping in the same room as us, I found myself listening to him and worrying that every time one of us rolled over, we would wake him up.  So I didn't sleep the best on the trip.

  One of the nights, my mom had gotten the stomach bug, so my dad slept in another room.  Hadley and Addison made a pallet on the floor, and Ava was going to sleep in the bed with Daddy.  When I went back up a few minutes later to check on them, all three of the girls were in bed with my dad.  So I stayed in the room with them, for the longest time, telling the girls to be quiet and go to sleep.  My poor dad.

We still enjoyed our usual walks up and down the strip.  Justin and I even got to enjoy a kid-free lunch at Bubba Gump's one afternoon, thanks to my parents and grandparents.  We really didn't get our chilly Gatlinburg weather, that I so look forward to, though.  It was really warm!

The arcade game, pool table, and hot tub were a fan favorite for the adults, back at the cabin.  My dad ended up being quite the pool shark.  The kids got a kick out of watching the men play pool.

Hadley and Addison watched a lot of cartoons on this trip.  In fact, they watched The Lorax, several times.  Uncle Bradley is such the fun uncle; all the kids just adore him.

We had an exciting new beginning to celebrate on this trip, as well.  My sister, Tiffany, got married in a sweet chapel in Gatlinburg.  We are so excited for her and just rejoice in how God has blessed these last couple of years of her life.  God is so faithful.  I am so thankful for Jamey, and his willingness to love my two nieces as his own.

Addison and Ava were beyond excited to 'go get married,' as they kept telling everyone.  They looked like little fairies.  When Tiffany and her new family returned from the wedding, we surprised her with some fun gifts, celebrating her new "M" monogram.  She was so excited!

 The night after Tiffany and Jamey got married, Jamey got hit with the bug.  Another one bites the dust.  I told Tiffany that he probably had buyer's remorse.  She didn't think that was too funny!  LOL....welcome to the family, Jamey.

We certainly had our ups and downs on this trip, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.  Sweet, sweet memories with my family.  What more could a gal want?  Til next year, Gatlinburg!!

Taco Soup Night

I am a bit of a soup-a-holic.  Soups are just so easy, filling, and soothing on cold nights.  My family particularly loves taco soup, and Hadley loves to help me prepare it.  It takes so many canned goods, that we use her shopping cart to go to the "store" (pantry) and pick everything up at one time.  She has been on a major cooking kick for several months now.  My little helper.

I let her think she was reading the recipe, and then I REALLY read the recipe.  She got all the canned goods and put them in her shopping cart.

 

Our favorite Sunday night meal that Ma (Justin's grandmother) makes, is Soup Night!  She makes potato, vegetable, jambalaya, and chili.  And then there's cornbread, sandwiches, and desserts galore.  She's one amazing woman.

 With every can, I had to give one little push to make sure she was well in the middle of the pot before pouring.  She tends to stay close to the edge, which makes me nervous.  I guess all that is good practice, though.

Mmm, delicious soup from a delicious little helper.  Bring on soup season!

Canaan County Apple Festival

Well, it's no secret that the newest addition to our family is the "apple" of our eye.  We are beyond blessed to have this rambunctious ball of fire in our family.  I really had no idea what we were missing yet, somehow, it feels like he has been with us forever.  We had what truly felt like the first day of Fall, to host the Canaan County Apple Festival.
 

The Giving Tree has a little boy on the cover, hoping to catch an apple as it falls from the tree.  I thought that was appropriate decor for the gift table ;)

I loved this sweet verse that was a prayer of David's, when he felt troubled.  I pray that Canaan will always want God to take of him.

Weldon Park provided a beautiful backdrop for our rustic, Fall-themed party.  The walking trails throughout the woods are so serene.  They kids loved sliding and swinging the most.

I cut out apples and hung them from branches.  On each apple, I wrote a fun fact about Canaan.  It was so sweet thinking about special things about our sweet boy.

I used the apple theme for some of Canaan's newborn photos. Displaying the picture of him in the apple bucket wearing the crocheted apple diaper cover and hat, helped tie our theme together. 

 

It was, especially, bittersweet adding Canaan's 12 month picture into his frame.  Oh, how I love watching him grow, though. 

 

We served apple juice for the kids at the party and apple cider, from Jackson's Orchard, was a refreshing treat with our sweets.

For sweet treats, we had cupcakes, red and brown thumbprint cookies from the local bakery, apple fritters, and apple dip.

I saved Canaan's baby food jars, for a few weeks, to store homemade apple butter.  The house smelled amazing when all those ingredients stewed together in the crock pot.

Individual old fashioned apple pies were the other party favor for guests to take home.

Canaan was not a bit shy about digging in to the icing on his cupcake. I put some on my finger, at first.  But after that, he just dug right in.   At least one of the two whole teeth in his head, is definitely sweet.  He even got icing in his eye at one point. 

 We were so thankful for the sweet family and friends who came to celebrate Canaan's first year of life. We are thankful for Godly people in our lives who will encourage Canaan in the ways he should go.  Canaan, we love you so very much.  Happy 1st Birthday to our sweetest boy!

Laundry Room Makeover

Our laundry room had absolutely no storage in it; not a single cabinet.  And for the family who now makes their own laundry detergent...all ten gallons of it at a time, this is just not acceptable.  So all I had to do was say the magic words to Grandaddy, and he pulled through for me as he always does.  He managed to find me some cabinets stored in his shed (FREE), so I just bought a gallon of black paint and went to town.

 I used part of an old, bi-fold door to cover up the water heater.  I needed to better organize our pool gear, too, and found that hanging the towels, bag, and swimsuits up made them easier to grab and go.

Directly across from the other cabinets, we hung this cabinet that actually came out of the kitchen of my home church, in Auburn.  Grandaddy helped with a small renovation job they did, and got to bring home one of the old cabinets.  Since I was more than happy for any extra storage, I took it off his hands.  It is already working really well for us, just with storing things that otherwise get thrown on the kitchen cabinets or table (which drives me crazy).  I just need to get some new handles for the door.  I hope to add a shelf to the bottom of the arched area to maybe display some knick-knacks, pictures, etc.  Oh, how I love a good project....and just organization, in general! I've been told that www.flylady.com is a super organizational website.  I need to check it out in all my spare time ;)
Maybe NEXT summer?!