A few Fridays ago we were eating lunch (Ashley was home early) and talking about what we wanted to do for the weekend. Ashley casually suggested that we go to the mountain house and I agreed. While Mason took his nap, I packed us up. Most of the time when we go on trips, I work myself into a tizzy but this time was different because it was so spontaneous. We left around 4:30 and stopped in Clinton, SC, to eat at the Blue Ocean seafood restaurant for supper. It was Friday night so the place was packed and loud--perfect (I'm serious) for taking in 2 somewhat wild boys and their baby brother because no one seemed to notice if they weren't on their best behavior. We had a great supper and then finished our drive, arriving at the mountain house (in Saluda) around 8:30.
It took a while to get everyone settled in for bedtime (Ashley had to drag an extra mattress into the bedroom where Levi and Mason were sleeping for Mason.--next time we'll try them sleeping in the same queen bed) but we all slept pretty well.
Saturday morning we woke to a beautiful mountain day--crisp air and blue sky. Perfect for apple picking so we loaded everyone up in the van (still loving my Honda!) and drove over to
Sky Top Orchard. Seems like families from all over had the same idea, as the mountain top was packed with people on the quest to pick apples. This was such a fun experience!
Ashley, Mason and Levi heading down to pick apples. It's pick-your-own and you can pick from any tree (unless labeled otherwise). There are tons of varieties to choose from but because there were so many people there, it was actually hard to find trees with apples!
But we finally found some--Jonagolds and Ida Reds.
Ashley used his strong muscles to lift the boys up high to pick the apples. They loved it!
Here they are, looking for apples on their level.
I think these were the Ida Reds--we weren't wild about the taste of these--but they cook up well. I'm from the Brushy Mountain area of NC, another big apple place, so I'm pretty picky about apples (no Red Delicious, Golden Delicious or Gala for me if I can find better apples).
Mason was really proud of this huge one he picked.
And Levi was being his usual joking self.
In the orchard with Daddy...I'm sure these will be good memories.
The boys were cracking themselves up with putting their apples on this sign...funny what makes them laugh!
I love this picture! They're both growing up and this seems to capture that but also their innocence.
Tyler was along for the journey, too, in my new Boba carrier--a soft carrier that I can use to carry him on the front (and when he's older, on my back). I LOVE this carrier and am glad I invested in it.
Another cool thing about Sky Top is they have a playground in the midst of everything--this was a perfect place for Levi and Mason to play while I fed Tyler.
And here's our littlest little man, sitting on the porch of the mountain house. He still makes this face a lot--almost like he's surprised that he's with us. We're really enjoying life as a family of five. I'm tired (of course) and some days go smoother than others, but for the most part, I think I've handled the transition pretty well. More on Tyler later!
