Celebrating Fall

If you would have told me when I was 10 years old and saw pictures of fall colors that one day I would be able to see it for 9 years of my life and it not just be in book.  I probably would not have believed you. Growing up in a desert doesn't really lend itself to fall colors like it does in the New England area or right here in Michigan. We saw trees in people's yards, but they really can't compare. I moved here in October of 2005. My first Sunday driving to church I was in awe. It was straight out of a picture book with maples hanging over the road in all their fall glory. Since then I have looked forward to fall every year. It is just beautiful. Then of course there is the cider and donuts. I am not sure if any other state does it like Michigan, but I do know Michigan does it well. That is always a highlight. Although these days I have enjoyed a little less cider and donuts. I am losing inches and weight so I am ok with that.


This year has been a little bit harder for me to enjoy the fall. I have been very busy with school lessons and sessions. I also have not wanted it to come in all honesty. While I love fall, winter follows and I am dreading this winter. The past two weeks, I have taken the time to enjoy the colors and all things fall. It hasn't disappointed. 

Last week we went to the Cider Mill. I took probably some of my favorite photos of the kids there. Every year they grow and every year my work grows. This by far is my strongest year. I really love these. 

I didn't take many inside the mill, but this one. It may be a new favorite of Eli. I really do adore it.

They of course had to play and loved that the big jumping sac was open and free. 

Last night as it was nearly dark, the cars on the streets had their lights on. We ventured out to do the annual leaf photos. I may have waited a little too long to do these this year. The leafs are now flying off today, but I do think they turned out great. 

 

Fall is so beautiful! If only it lasted a little longer. Have a great weekend!

Weekend Away

Two weekends ago Anthony and I took a much needed weekend away. We were celebrating our being together for 7 years. We had been dating 7 years to that date. I had also moved to Michigan 9 years ago. That is so hard to believe. We also wanted to enjoy the fall colors.

We rented this cheap cabin. I won't give it any rave reviews at all in fact the only thing nice about it was the lake it was by and the paddle boat that we were able to use. We made the best of it though and set off late Friday afternoon.

The colors on the way up were beautiful. (Some of these are a mix of cell and DSLR pictures)

WE grabbed pizza and settled in for a rainy weekend. We had rented a couple of movies and enjoyed those.

Saturday we got up and drove to see some color. Unfortunately the area we were in, the colors were not great. We figured they would be better at that time, but probably this past weekend was the weekend to be there. It was still a nice drive. 

This is torch lake

Then we drove out to Mission Pointe. This was where we went one night when we brought the kids with us. It was beautiful although rainy. There were so many fruit stands with apples it was wonderful. It was cold though. I stood out in my coat and gloves taking these photos. The wind coming off the Lake was bitter cold. 

This is a panorama taken with my cell phone. 

We then enjoyed lunch out and some antiquing. We didn't buy anything, but it was fun to look.

We headed back to our cabin for another night of movies.

Sunday morning we got up early and even though it was freezing we headed out in the paddle boat on the lake. We saw some swans and a couple loons. It was nice and we really enjoyed ourselves. 

We left the dreadful cabin and headed out for a breakfast at a diner. It was good.

Then we stopped at a market for some Michigan apples. It smelled AMAZING! We got out of car and all we smelled was apples. 

On the way home the trees were once again wonderful. I made Anthony turn around for this spot. He wasn't thrilled with the idea as we were ready to be home, but I wanted some color. Thankfully he was a good sport.

We arrived home and adopted a cat. Meet James......

He was the neighborhood stray fostered by the neighbor. We are trying to get him in before it is cold. He was named after James Bond because of his coat colors. He has been a great cat and the kids LOVE him. He doesn't use a litter box so for me that is a plus. He is warming up to us and has been a great addition. I can't say I needed a cat, but it works.

We are thankful for the weekend away. It was wonderful. 

Family Visit

Believe it or not it has almost been a month since we had family visit. Grandma Nicole, Aunt Holli, and Cousin Berkeley (aka Broccoli according to Lilliana). We had so much fun with them. The kids even had a sleepover in the hotel with them.

We had a girls day and went shopping. I needed to get winter clothes, shoes, and coats for all the kids. We had a blast and took the two girls. They like to shop!

They went swimming

We took a trip to the zoo. It was a bit chilly. 

Since we don't see them as often as we like I insisted we go take some nice photos. I loved how these turned out. 

We were so sad to see them go and can't wait for our next visit.