Leaf festival

We had a quick visit with my parents this weekend but we had a lot of fun in that short time.  There was a fall festival with music, arts festival vendors, kids' activities, food (funnel cakes!).  Anna decided that she wanted to ride a horse while she was there!  I really couldn't believe it because she has really been a chicken lately.  She loved her horse, Smokey Joe, and rode around for about 10 minutes.  The verdict: "that horse is bumpy!"  We (i.e. dad) carved a pumpkin, and then we (i.e. Mama Kae) roasted pumpkin seeds.  Anna drew the original face on the pumpkin, but Papa took some liberties with the carving.  

Visit to the farm

 Fall harvest is in full swing here in Georgia.  We missed summer season of berry picking, so I really wanted to visit a local farm to show Anna around.  The Kinsey family farms are close enough to the city, and they had tons of things to keep us entertained.  The tractor-pulled hayride took us to the pond where we could feed the catfish.  Anna was brave enough to feed a very precocious goat and several cows.  We had fun exploring all of the produce, gourds, plants, and local canned goods for sale.  Yum!

Hilton Head, Labor Day 2011

After a summer without vacation, we took a trip to Hilton Head, SC.  It was awesome.  We had lots of time for relaxing, reading, golfing, sunning . . . Anna loved the beach but thought the waves were too loud.  Consequently, she would not get near the water unless she was in our arms.  We built some great sand castles.

 There is a great children's museum that kept us all entertained one day.  Anna spent a lot of time baking cupcakes.

We visited the famous lighthouse after having lunch at the Salty Dog Cafe.

 Anna finally learned to swim.  She had insisted (before her first swim lesson this summer) that she didn't need lessons because she already knows how to swim.  She prefers to be completely vertical in the water, but at the pool she dove right in and way able to swim between us.

Lankford mini-reunion

Summer photos

(Photos by Danielle Bryson)

Happy #3!

Three parties for three years old. We started in Cashiers and had a party at Mama Kae and Papa's house with the Kerr girls. Anna had a party at school with her friends. On her official birthday, which happened to land on a Saturday this year, we had her Atlanta birthday party. When Anna came downstairs and saw her presents from us (me and Rob), she said, "look what Mama Kae and Papa brought me! :) Anna loves her new sandbox, and yes, 6:30 am is the perfect time to wear a tutu and play in sand. We invited her friends from school to an art studio, and the kids had fun paining and crafting. The strawberry cake turned out great (Paula Deen's Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake). yum! Anna goes to the doctor for her 3 yo check up in the morning. I can't wait to see how much she's grown! Miraculously, she has not been to the doctor since her 2 yo check up!