What a blessed fall we’ve had! We’ve enjoyed the company of family from back home to carry us through summer into winter. In October (just in time for Niki’s birthday!) Grami Tami and Papa Ray arrived in St. Joe… they literally sneaked in the back door! And the fun, squealing, snuggling, apple picking, and playing began (and didn’t really slow down)!
The apple picking started right off the bat and didn’t stop until the suitcases (and cooler) were packed!
Jollay Orchards
(yes that is a farris wheel in the background and the girls and I got to ride it last week!)
Taking a hayride back into the apple orchards. Our precious friends, the Jackson family joined us on this adventure (on the left)
Nya, Elli and Hannah checkin out the tractor
Forgive me for commenting about this in almost every post, but seriously how cute are Ben & Nya!?
Little miss Hollywood eating her 2nd or 3rd apple of the night
Still so in love…
What does “Indian Summer” mean?… I guess it’s when you get two weeks of fantasticly sunny 70-80* temps in the fall! So, we took full advantage…
Silver Beach
Playing frisbee
Off to the park for a picnic and a little exploring…
A little mud never hurt anyone 🙂
Then it was time to take a little road-trip up north to see more family in Mikado, Michigan, with a few pit stops along the way.
A gorgeous rest-stop just perfect for a picnic lunch in 80-degrees!
“Sometimes you just need to re-fuel” 🙂
Crossing a little stream ~ yes, I was a little sweaty nervous…
There was a rope swing, so of course the boys had to try it out ~ and the girls got their first rope swing ride as well! (and LOVED it!)
We stopped off in Kalkaska, MI to see dear friends Ron & Jennifer Janiszewski and their three precious children. This family is such a blessing!
We stayed for 4 days in Mikado at Uncle George and Aunt Terri’s house and they’ve got really cool toys!
(I was surprised this thing had any battery left after Nya and Elli 🙂
Elli raking leaves for Uncle George 🙂
Tami and her sister, Terri.
We took a little trip to Amish country to visit some great stores… they make the best knives!
Taking a little rest on the drive to Amish-ville 🙂
Jaja (Ty’s grandpa) lives near the Taits, so we got to spend some time playing on the farm!
Mom and Dad have lots of memories together on this farm 🙂
Jaja, Elli, Nya, and Ray eating apples ~ this is Dad’s childhood home.
Niki and Mom getting a little exercise
Papa and the girls exploring the farm, picking apples to feed the cows
Playing by the pond on the farm
The girls spending time with Uncle Paul
Jaja taking Nya for a ride in the big tractor
I love this picture! So precious to see Jaja leaned over talking to Nya, with the silo in the background and the sun setting…
Enjoying a fantastic dinner outside (in October!) at Jaja’s
(Left to right: Terri, George, Niki, Nya, Ray, Jaja, Tami, Elli, Paul)
We enjoyed attending George & Terri’s church, Calvary Baptist, on Sunday morning.
We had some extra time before church so we enjoyed the beautiful morning sunshine and got a family photo!
Elli and Papa relaxing back home!
One of the funnest parts about having family come and stay was getting to introduce our family back home to our friends here and vice versa!
We had our neighbors over for dinner and had a blast as always!
(Around the table starting with Ty: Ty, Heather, Ryan, Hunter, Alyssa, Nya, Ashley, Elli, Tami, & Ray)
Back home and back to apple picking!
This was just one trip’s worth!
This was a typical scene during these two weeks! Dehydrating apples, baking, cooking, and cleaning together 🙂 … so fun!!
Mom and Dad got us all set up for making apple sauce!!
It cooled off in the last couple days of our time together but that didn’t stop us from making one last trip to a park!
And that’s all folks!
Mom & Dad, thank you so much for making the trip down here. We had a blast getting to share our lives with you and getting to show you off to everyone here! These pictures only capture a small portion of our memories together ~ the best parts weren’t captured on film but in our hearts…
thanks for the bestest trip ever !!!