This weekend was extra special for us. Bill and Cindy, Matt’s parents, decided to come down and spend Memorial Day weekend with us. They live all the way up in Indiana, so it was quite the drive! Everyone spent the entire week in anticipation, waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to finally arrive.
Matt was fortunate enough to receive an amazing job offer, which meant he had to visit the doctor’s office for a physical and a few other tests. While we were there, my youngest daughter looked at me and asked, “Are they here yet?”
At that point, they were still on the road, but they were expected to arrive in the area around 12:30 p.m. We still had about four hours to wait.
Every hour, like a repeating alarm, she would sound off:
“Are they here yet?”
And then, a little while later:
“Now are they here??”
Until finally, they were.
We met them at Tellus Science Museum.
Matt and I have family passes because we love the place so much, and we wanted to share a little piece of our normal with them. I’m so glad they came. The children absolutely loved showing Grandma and Grandpa around, proudly leading them from exhibit to exhibit.
The children and their grandparents in front of the Megalodon jaws in the paleontology exhibit.
The next day, we decided to visit an orchard in anticipation of our favorite fall activities. Every year, we visit an orchard around Bella’s birthday to celebrate another year of her growing up.
Here is a half-peck of apples we got at the orchard, last year.
While we loved the orchard we visited last year, and absolutely recommend it, Red Apple Barn for anyone interested, it’s our goal to visit as many orchards in the area as possible. We love pumpkin patches, apple orchards, and all the little traditions that come with them.
This orchard was a little more low-key when it came to events and activities, but it was FULL of apples. There were quite a few more apple-picking options than we had at Red Apple Barn, and the views were absolutely breathtaking.
R&A Orchards, everyone:
We came home with a full peck of apples. Although, if I’d gotten my way, I would have gotten a full bushel. That might have been a little difficult to tote around, though, eh?
As it was, the children filled my bag. Then they filled Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Bill’s bag. And, because apparently we hadn’t picked enough apples already, they filled their pockets to the absolute brim.
Did I mention how hot it was this weekend? The heat index climbed above 100°, so we did all of this with sweat dripping down practically every possible surface.
I have no complaints, though.
We finished the day with ice cream at The Hyde Out, which I personally love. It’s a small business on the outskirts of Red Top Mountain on New Hope Church Road at 6674 Allatoona Gtwy in Acworth. They have an incredible selection of ice cream, but you can also grab a meal if you’re hungry.
I highly recommend them. Their food and ice cream are both absolutely delicious.
And then came the day we had all been expecting, and, admittedly, weren’t really looking forward to. Monday. The day Grandma and Grandpa had to head home. Before leaving the South, Bill and Cindy wanted to visit Waffle House. According to them, they hadn’t had it in about 50 years, and they wanted to experience it again for nostalgia’s sake. They asked us to join them, and I’m really glad we did.
I had only eaten at Waffle House once since moving to Georgia, and I wasn’t particularly impressed with my experience. This time, though, the atmosphere and food were so much better than what I remembered. I keep hearing that you have to know which Waffle House to visit and what time of day to go. I guess there really is some truth to that. It was good food, but more importantly, it was good food with good company. 🙂
All in all, it was an absolutely wonderful weekend spent with a couple of people we love so very much. We made some wonderful memories, had a few great experiences, and came home with a whole lot of apples.
And I can’t wait to start digging into them and trying out a few recipes!
Stay tuned.
Grandma and Grandpa had a special birthday treat sent to Bella after lunch at Longhorn Steakhouse. She was very excited, as you can tell.
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