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Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Archives for October 27, 2012

Saturday Smiles: Lotsa Fun edition

October 27, 2012

There’s a storm headed our way. A monster storm that totally freaks me out. But we’re not going to talk about that today.

Today it was all about fun. We have family in town. It’s fall. So we took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. And threw in a side trip to get the best apple cider in Pennsylvania (and some apple cider donuts).

Here are some highlights.

The fall colors around here are breathtaking right now. I love the contrast of the trees and the sky and the mountains.

Isabelle has a thing for gourds. We came home with 10 and she picked out at least half of them.

Here she is sizing up her pumpkin.

Not to be outdone, her brother picked his up.

Corban ended up with a 12-pounder. Isabelle’s weighed in at about 17.

Besides taking field trips, another fun thing about having family (and extra hands) around is all the projects you get to do.

We made eyeballs. (This is not quite how we did it, but it’s close if you want to duplicate.)

They’re surprisingly delicious, for eyeballs.

And since great-grandma sent along some new glue sticks, construction paper and markers, we had fun with craft time.

I give you Isabelle the Native American princess.

We ate at Chick-Fil-A. I like the food. My husband will soon be working there. But I don’t want this to be a habit we get into. Or maybe I do. Because today we tried the Chick-Fil-A sauce, and that stuff would be good on anything. Any. Thing.

Phil and I got a breakfast date on Friday, and I’ve had some writing inspiration. The kids got to take their “special guests” to story time.

And tomorrow, we’re sending the kids back with their grandparents while we brace ourselves for the storm. Under different circumstances, I’d welcome the reprieve. It will be less stressful preparing for and recovering from whatever Sandy might bring without the children here, but I don’t expect it to be a relaxing week.

So today we savor the fun. And batten down the hatches. (Anyone know what hatches are?) And thank God for family.

Filed Under: Saturday smiles Tagged With: apple cider, apple cider donuts, fall activities, fall colors, family visit, gourds, Hurricane Sandy, pumpkin patch

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Photo by Rachel Lynn Photography

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Hi. I’m Lisa, and I’m glad you’re here. If we were meeting in real life, I’d offer you something to eat or drink while we sat on the porch letting the conversation wander as it does. That’s a little bit what this space is like. We talk about books and family and travel and food and running, whatever I might encounter in world. I’m looking for the beauty in the midst of it all, even the tough stuff. (You’ll find a lot of that here, too.) Thanks for stopping by. Stay as long as you like.

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