wordless wednesday: second cousins, part 2

back in march, my cousin kristine, her husband jamie, and their children reilly and laurel came down to visit us and to see UVA play in the first round of the NCAA tournament in raleigh.  the kids had so much fun together -- and did again at the beach this summer -- that we knew we needed to schedule a trip up to their neck of the woods.  after several failed attempts at scheduling, we finally found a time that worked for everyone, and it couldn't have been more perfect.  it was a gorgeous fall weekend with the leaves hitting their peak color, and it also happened to be the end of the kids' fall break.  we drove up to charlottesville on friday, went apple picking and toured the UVA campus, and then hit the road saturday afternoon to visit wintergreen.  it was just the perfect way to kick-start autumn.

the whole crew at our first stop at the apple orchard -- what you can't see are the most scrumptious apple doughnuts that we had just devoured.  up until this point i had been totally gluten-free for 62 days. i sort of fell off the wagon ... but i daresay those treats, warm out of the oven with a light apple glaze on top, were worth it

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after being fortified by doughnuts, we braved the orchard and left with an impressive haul (also impressive: laurel's love of the wolf ears headband we got for free at the great wolf lodge)

things like this always crack me up -- i have no idea what a dilapidated truck with no doors or seat has to do with an apple orchard, but the kids thought it was cool

we took this picture just for UVA alum aunt leslie -- seems thomas jefferson's building is in need of some repairs, but the lawn was still perfect for hide-and-seek

we decided to check out a brewery for dinner on saturday night, thinking we'd beat the crowds by getting there early.  an hour-and-a-half later, we were finally seated.  luckily we had brought cards, books, and there was cornhole to play while we waited

next stop on our weekend tour: the wintergreen ski resort.  it was without snow but still beautiful.  can't beat that view ... what we could beat was the frigid air as our wet bodies hopped in and out of the hot tub

right before departing on sunday afternoon, the eight of us took a rather challenging hike.  chris, who has an issue with heights, confided later that he wasn't at all upset when we cut it short and turned back.  but the kids had no fear ... which actually was sort of worrisome

notice chris's position -- farthest from the side of the cliff :)