Elmo visits Learning Express

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Elmo made a appearance at Learning Express in Huntersville on Saturday.  Small had a blast building up the courage to get close, then finally going in for 100 hugs and giggles.  It was really the cutest thing ever.  :)

While we were there we used the $5 off bonus card in the 2012 Entertainment book and grabbed some math flash cards for Medium.

Mama loves a coupon!

To stay in the know, you can Like the Huntersville Learning Express on Facebook.

We heart apples…

For the third year in a row, we headed to Morganton to Apple Hill Orchard & Cider Mill on Saturday.

Of all the pick-your-own experiences out there, apples are my favorite.  Climbing on each others shoulders, kids in wagons, filling baskets, deliciousness of a fresh picked apple covered with morning dew…and possibly best of all, the apple cider slushies at the end.

We got our wagons, baskets and because I gave them no choice, we stopped for these pictures:

      

They groan about them every year, but I love them.  Mostly because I now have the ability to do this:

    

and this:

    

Crazy, right?  The changes in three years are astounding.  Sorry…trips down memory lane are inevitable once I start playing around in iPhoto.

ANYway, back on track.  We took off into the orchard toward our favorite apple trees, the Jonagolds.

And got to work….

   

Some worked harder than others…

Working together, it didn’t take long to fill our baskets and head back to the cider mill.

  

We went back to the store where we weighed and paid for our apples. (58 cents/pound!!)  Plus, I can’t leave without a few gallons of their award winning cider and some apple treats for the ride back.  This is Medium’s favorite part….

As CLT Dad & I loaded up the car, the kids took a seat to rest and I quickly abandoned CLT Dad to snap more pictures….

As if it couldn’t get any better.  On Sunday, we turned this:

into this….

That’s 80 pints of apple butter….which the CLT kids eat daily all year long.  They take apple butter and peanut butter sandwiches to school for lunch.  :)

If you’re in need of a a fun outing and some delicious apples, check out the apple picking calendar or see what’s up on facebook.

Snow Tubing!!!

CLT Dad took this week off work so we could have a staycation with the kids. But instead of exploring our city, I spent a lot of time cleaning closets and we all played with our new Christmas toys. Probably not the best use of our time. But, it was nice to relax.

Eventually though, CLT Dad did threaten to go back to work if we didn’t get out of the house. So we explored Discovery Place Thursday…and went snow tubing Friday.  Since we’ve already done a big Discovery Place blog (as part of Operation Summer Sanity), I’m all about snow tubing today.

It was soooo fun. We did this for the first time a few years ago, and have been meaning to go back. But it’s not cheap…and it’s quite a drive, so it’s taken two years to make it happen.  Let me say this: SOOOO worth it. The kids had the BEST time. And it was really a confidence builder for Medium.

Last time we went, we picked Jonas Ridge and we were really happy with it. There is another, more commercial snow tubing park up there…but we’re more Mom & Pop folks. The prices are better, the environment is better…it’s a win/win.  We decided to go on New Year’s Eve because we didn’t have any other plans, and why not?

Why not?  The packing, that’s why not.  OMG.  Brutal. But once you’re past that part, it’s all downhill.

About half way up the mountain we (I) needed a break from the curvy mountain roads, so we stopped at an overlook and took a break.

 

It doesn’t look like there’s a big drop off right behind those rocks….but there is.

“We’re not going to fall off the mountain!”

“I’m sure that’s the last thing people think right before they fall off a mountain.  Get off of there!”

The overlook made Small super drooly.

Everyone back in the car!  We’re almost there.

When we arrived, the tubers (the kids & I) put on snow pants and got ready for the fun.

We made our way inside to pay ($25/person for a 2 hour pass) and to get CLT Dad & Small settled in.

How rockin’ is CLT Dad, by the way?  He could’ve stayed home with Small, but I’m not a mountain or snow driver so he came along to drive and watch Small.  Pretty awesome.

Once we were all paid up and got our passes, the kids and I headed outside to get the lay of the land .

 

The kids quickly got their tubes and went up the lift.

There are six lanes to choose from, ranging from slower to way fast.

Sadly this is where the pictures get light.  Most of them are blurry….

or they just don’t exist.  I was tubing too….so it was up to CLT Dad (who was watching Small) or CLT BFF (my friend, and Medium’s friend’s Mom) to take pictures.  I handed CLT BFF our new camera and wished her well.  It was a fabulous gift from my brother-in-law, but we have no clue how to work  a big professional camera.  Pictures either come out so clear you can see the drool falling from Small’s chin….or a blurry mess.  All regardless of the subject and whether or not they’re moving.  I need a class or something.  But, back to the main point, there aren’t many pictures and it’s not my fault.

You’re blame-shifting?!?  BLAME SHIFTER!!!

(name that movie)

That said, CLT BFF did get a super cute one of the girls….

They rock.

And I bought some very cool and very reasonably priced professional photos of Large rocking the super fast lane…

And another one….

A note about Medium.  When the day began, she was pretty scared.  She got on the lift, but only with help.  She required lots of help to get off the lift too.  (Some perspective: Getting on and off the lift requires walking and pulling your tube.)  She would only go down the first a.k.a. slowest lane.  And had to be part of a chain.  When her friend got a little more brave and was ready to move on to the faster lanes, Medium was in a pickle.  I had gone inside for a break, but CLT BFF alerted me that I was NOT off duty because Medium needed a buddy.

Easy enough.  As we headed up the lift, I asked which lane she wanted to go down (by now she was comfy on lanes 1-3…and her friend was going down #4 with Large).  She said, “the first one” and I thought we were regressing until she added, “and I want to go by myself!”

“Whoa?!  Really, Medium?”

“Yep.”  ~Nose rises into the air.  Chest puffs out.~ “I can do it by myself!”

“You SURE CAN!  I’ll go down right behind you.”

And that was that.  She wasn’t going down the super fast lanes….but she found a way to be a big girl on the slower lanes.  SOOO proud of her.  We spent the next 20 minutes or so going down side by side.  She’d go down lane 1, I’d go down lane 2….then we’d switch.  And when I went into the lodge for a break, she kept going.  All.  by.  herself.  On the lift, by herself.  Off the lift, by herself.  Down the lane, by herself.  A-maz-ing.

Was she a tad snotty about it at time?  Perhaps.

She totally gets that from me.  Not proud, just honest.

But we forgive her that.  She was super brave and that’s much more important at this point.

Here she it getting on the lift…

 

And both kids on separate lanes…

 

While the kids were living it up, the grownups all relaxed inside with Small.  The lodge is nice and cozy with a roaring fire and comfy chairs…. (the pictures are for sale over in that corner)

The bathrooms are big and clean & they also have a great variety of snacks & hot or cold drinks for sale (also reasonably priced snow gloves).

Overall, the lodge isn’t a bad place to hang out.  Just ask CLT Dad & Small.  They were in there for two hours plus.

CLT Dad went a LITTLE stir-crazy by the end….

But that just added to our enjoyment.   We made sure to get a family pic by the fire before heading down the mountain…

Awesome trip.  Not sure how we’re going to top it.  But our staycation isn’t over, so we’re going to have to figure something out.