I think I hear a banjo playing...

Two weeks ago Steve and I packed our family of four up and headed off for a long weekend. We went deep into the mountains of northern Georgia.

Can you hear the banjos playing?

Heading north into the mountain ranges is something that we like to do every couple of years. It's nice to get away from our normal. Nice to wake up, look out the windows and see the world laid out in front of you instead of the house across the street. Autumn has made this trip several times, although she doesn't remember. She has seen the mountains covered in colored leaves and covered in snow.

This was Nate's first mountain trip.

The first day of our mini-mountain-vacation was spent at our favorite apple stand and pumpkin patch. Now, I am not talking about a side of the road apple stand, this is the mall of apple stands. Complete with a petting farm and pig races. After dining on apple fritters, apple cider, eyeing cute jars of apple butter and purchasing a pound of apples to take home, we were ready to go!

Next up was the pumpkin patch. I don't know what they are putting in the soil up there in northern Georgia but every year I am amazed at the size of these pumpkins, they are some of the biggest I have ever seen.

We made several desperate attemps to get ONE good family picture. Then it was time to wander through rows and rows of pumpkins, while Steve rolled his eyes because I could not decide on just the right one (or two).

Our next day was spent exploring the town, making a quick stop for ice cream, and then heading out onto the water. Steve's parents rented a pontoon boat and for a few hours in the afternoon we floated around on a giant lake surrounded by mountains.

If you ask any of the kids, their favorite part of the trip was driving the boat.

It was a short getaway but it was perfect.