Tim's Fall Break=Research Road Trip

Tim had a grant for more research, and Berry College had a two day Fall Break, so we headed off on a romantic getaway to exotic Mississippi. Haha! We looked at prison records in the Archives in Jackson for two days then searched for county court records in a few smaller towns on our third day.   One night, we caught up with Amelia and Jon at the state fair where we relived some 90's music with Boyz II Men!

On the drive home, Tim stopped at a place called Cypress Swamp. It was so pretty! I felt like I was in a magical fairyland.

Grandpa Rod and Grandma Diney were so kind to extend their trip to the cabin a few days longer to watch the kids while we were gone. We are extremely grateful, but I don't think they minded either.

Fall Break: Copper Creek Farm

 To really get us in Fall-mode, we finished our Fall Break with a trip to Copper Creek Farm. It was a really fun farm with train rides, hay rides, a corn maze, and more. The corn maze was fun because we got a little Clue-like mystery book that we had to search for signs in the corn to solve. Ty was really in to it.

 There was also a super fun barn slide.

  Oh, and don't forget the pumpkin cannon!

After the hay ride, the driver let the kids get on the tractor simply because Ty was wearing his John Deer hat. We're ready for Fall. Especially for these October 80+ degree days to cool off.

 

Family Snapshots

 Tim's parents have a cabin about an hour away from us, and while his aunts and uncles were there, they drove down the mountain to Rome to visit. We took them to Berry campus where I snapped a few "sisters pictures" and more. These are a few.

Fall Break Zoo Atlanta Trip

The next day, the kids and I headed down to Atlanta to meet my friend Jen, from BYU. A lot of the animals were pretty close to where we could see them, so we loved seeing the Pandas (though one walked up to the glass right after this picture was taken and Lucy screamed and started crying), Tigers, Elephants, and Giraffes.

Fall Break Aquarium Trip

 Ty had a whole week off for Fall break, so we made the most of it by exploring cities near Rome. Our first trip was 90 minutes north to Chattanooga, TN where we had a blast at the Tennessee Aquarium. Caroline, Tate, and Joise came too!

 Ty has some scuba diver Legos and was stoked to get to talk to the diver and ask him questions! We were there for a Q&A session and he actually talked and interacted with the audience while underwater! Ty asked what it is like to be a scuba diver and he said it's a lot of fun, especially because fish have different personalities and you get to know the fish.

Ty and Tate laughed and laughed at the penguin in the picture below.

 The museum wasn't crowded at all, and we just took our time in the fun areas and didn't stress about seeing everything in the "boring" areas, so it was a lot of fun!

Growing Kids

We're certainly making the most of Rome. Here are a few random pictures from the past few weeks.

Below: We went to a BBQ cook off and got to try several yummy options!

I've been focusing a lot more on yoga the past month and Lucy, apparently, is too. She's the cutest! In fact, we finally made it to her 18 month appointment and she weights 20 pounds, and is right on target. She has just barely started stringing two words together, but when she does, she pauses extra long between words and even between syllables. It's adorable.

Also in the past few weeks, Ty has suddenly become an artist. He's drawing "people" and cars and coloring on any papers he finds. It's a fun (and often mess-creating) development.

I went to Nashville one day and Atlanta another. Tim had some fun on his own with the kids. Here they are at the Home Depot craft:

And shakes before dinner:

We've been to the Rome Eco Center three times now. Our favorite time was when the volunteer (a Berry Student!) let us pet the turtle!

Berry Buddies

Rather than having a Homecoming, Berry does Mountain Day (Weekend) which involves a parade, games, and a carnival. Last Friday, we went up to campus to get in on the action, but the parade only lasted about 5 minutes and the kids weren't interested in watching the college students play any of their games. Instead, I snapped a few pictures of these cuties.

Mid-jump!