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This weekend Mike and I ventured to Virginia for a family reunion on his side -- it's all of his great-grandmother's children and their families! It was super cool for me because I got to meet a lot of family that I've never had the chance to meet before. And, if you know me, you know that I LOVE genealogy - I've been working on the McCraw family tree for a few years, so I'm pumped to be able to work on Mike's side with some first hand knowledge of these people. (:

We traveled down on Saturday, making the 4+ hour drive after I threw a wedding shower for my cousin Courtney who is getting married in October. We arrived at Betsy's - you'll remember her from our time in Pearisburg, VA while we were on the trail. She was so sweet to open up her home to us yet again, taking on the whole Martin clan [all 7 of us under one roof..what a treat!] and Brock Loophole. More on Loop in a minute. We hung out 'til the wee hours of the morning, then Mel, Mike, Me and Brock camped out in her living room - throwing sleeping bags and therm-a-rests everywhere. Good stuff! This morning, we woke up to a "Betsy breakfast" consisting of eggs, bacon, gourmet garlic grits, homemade biscuits served with homemade apple butter & peach preserves. YUM! Who needs lunch after all that? Our morning was spent around Betsy's round dining room table - all 10 of us. Her friend Larry, whom we LOVE came to visit for a bit before we zipped off to the park for lunch and the reunion. What a treat. I can't think of a better way to spend one of our first fall weekends of 2011! [Another happy note - OUR Tigers WON! I will admit that I am very much a fair-weather fan..but I'm happy with Clemson's domination on Saturday!]

And now, I'm gonna do it. Talk about fall that is (: I would bet that fall is the favorite season of most of you who partake in reading my blog. I'm on your page. For those of you who could care less if it's a sweltering 100+ degrees outside or a frigid 32, just bare with me. Betsy calls fall "the most sense-teasing of the four seasons." Amen. I think for me that's why I love it so. I love the smells. You know you can smell the first hint of fall in the air, and you already have. The leaves are starting to change. How fun it is to stomp those suckers once they've hit the sidewalk! Porches are soon to be littered with pumpkins and sidewalks with bright red, yellow, and orange leaves, and of course acorns. Last year I took advantage of the acorns & created nut wreaths for Christmas gifts. I love them & can't wait to put ours up on our new front door! (: OOhhh baby, I know you've felt the chill in the air lately too. It was so nice to be able to throw on jeans with a long-sleeve tee, my favorite pullover and cowboy boots at the reunion this weekend. I showed Mike's family that there is some country in this girl. Don't judge. (: I'm looking forward to more of those weekends, hopefully some apple picking, day light savings - I like it to get dark early for a while, chilly evening walks around our new block once we get moved in, apple cider, pie baking, Aunt Het and the 9th annual Laurens Hope 5K [you should totally come out (: ], our 2 year anniversary, lazy saturdays, weekends by the fire at the lake with our dear friends, and my cowboy boots. Bring it on!

**Side note on Loop -- he's southbounding from the Lexington, VA area where he started with us. It worked out where he was going to be coming through Pearisburg this weekend when we were there, so we scooped him up and fed him lots and let him sleep in a warm house for the night. You'd be surprised by this because when we were all on the trail it was pretty populated with people - but he's not seen very many people...a few section hikers and ONE other southbounder. That means he's been by himself a lot. And, it's gotten really cold! Poor guy. I tried to bring him home with us, but he wanted to head back out, so after stuffing him silly at the reunion we sent him on his way. Mrs. Pam, he's healthy and somewhat happy (: