Indian Springs State Park, GA

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

On Thursday, Rachel lost tooth #2. She was so excited that the tooth fairy was going to come and visit her again. Anna is now trying to find a loose tooth so she can get a tooth fairy visit. I wouldn't be surprised to find her with pliers working on a tooth just to get some money.

Friday was a busy day. Both Rachel and Anna had Thanksgiving feasts at school so I took the day off from work and joined them for those activities. It was nice having the day to spend some time with them at school.

Rachel's Class
Rachel

Anna's Class

Anna and Me

I also did some work around the house as well. Jeff and I have started some remodeling work in our house. We are replacing the flooring in several rooms. Our first job was the hallway bath. It had carpet in it and horrible wallpaper. We removed the wallpaper and have now painted it. Jeff removed the carpet and has now installed ceramic tile. I'll post some pictures when the job is complete. In addition to that job, we are putting tile in the kitchen and laundry room. And, we are putting wood laminate flooring in the living room, hallways, and dining room. In a nutshell, we will never be done!

We joined our friends Larry & Cindy with their children; Trinity and Hannah, and John & Denise with daughter Alecia for the weekend at Indian Springs State Park.

It was quite cold on Friday evening and still a bit cool on Saturday; but more tolerable. Sunday morning was absolutely perfect fall weather. The trees looked beautiful too with all of the fall colors.

Larry and Cindy and Jeff and I arrived at the park just before dark on Friday evening. Jeff and I learned a long time ago that we never want to arrive somewhere after dark. It was the best recipe for an argument before we had an RV. Now, that we have an RV, the stress is even higher as there is nothing more nerve racking than trying to back up a 40 foot RV in complete darkness to an camp site that neither of us are familiar with. But, John and Darlene got a late start so they arrived after dark. Add to that the fact that it was their first trip towing their new camper. Needless to say, they've probably had more enjoyable experiences.

On Saturday, we brought the children and dogs to High Falls State Park to walk around for a while. As I mentioned before, Anna and Rachel love to hike there. The kids and the dogs had a blast. While we were there, we were speaking with a man from Maine who was walking his dog. At one point in the conversation he asked if Darlene was my daughter. I couldn't believe it! I'm 37 and Darlene is 32. Of course, Darlene said people commonly mistake her for a teenager so I shouldn't take it so hard but I have to feel a bit slighted. Then, I had to deal with Grandma jokes all weekend long from Jeff.

Me and Darlene

(Left-Right) Trinity, Rachel, Hannah, Alecia, and Anna at High Falls State Park

We went back to our campers to have lunch and then we drove to Juliette for the afternoon. No one had visited Juliette and the Whistlestop Cafe other than my family so it was a nice, relaxing afternoon visiting the quaint shops and enjoying some fried green tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe.

The girls at the counter at the Whistle Stop Cafe

The gang in the front of the Whistlestop Cafe

We grilled out on Saturday evening. Trinity's birthday is coming up soon so this was a party for her. Larry & Cindy hosted a wonderful cookout complete with hot dogs, chili, and drinks for all. The fire was nice too. Happy Birthday Trinity!

Trinity

On Sunday, Jeff, Rachel, Anna and I stopped in Indian Springs for a quick lunch at Pinky's Parlor and Cafe. The food was yummy. The atmosphere was pleasant. And, the service was excellent. I definitely recommend a stop there if you are visiting Indian Springs. And, Indian Springs is a beautiful state park. I'd like to visit there again in the summer as well. It's a great central location to many activities in the local area so it is a great place to camp.

After much debate we have decided to cancel our December camping trips. With the work we are doing at our home and the business of the holiday season, we decided it would be best to stick around our home for December. We did have plans to go to Unicoi State Park the first weekend in December and to FDR State Park later in December. We have reconsidered our original plans and have decided to get caught up on things at home.

And before I forget.....

It's hard to see in the pictures above but Jeff has blisters at the outer corner areas of his eyes right above his cheeks. He decided to make himself look like a monster while playing with Rachel & Anna last Thursday night. He tried some of my red lipstick...he put it on his face to make it look like blood and really play up the scary part. Little did he know that he put on the long wearing lip color that takes quite a bit of effort to remove. It's made to not come off easily. When it came time to remove it, he wasn't sure how to do it so he used a wet wash cloth and kept scrubbing it until he removed it. The result was something that looked like burns on his face. Needless to say, he won't be touching my makeup anymore. His face is doing much better but he had do endure a pretty painful night on Thursday after scrubbing that stuff off. Now, it just looks like he's been in a fight.

We wish our friends and family a blessed Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action. ~W.J. Cameron