Rolling up October

The last few weeks have flown by.  I can't believe we are almost halfway through October.  It is finally a little less humid in our neck of the woods.  We have been spending a little more time outdoors.  A couple of weeks ago we went to a Blues concert in the Botanical Gardens.  The next day we helped out with a Kudzu cleanup in Greenville.  For those of you that don't know what Kudzu is...consider yourself lucky.  Some people call it "the vine that ate the South" and I would have to agree.  Here is a picture of what it looks like.

After the cleanup we ate at our favorite Mexican place in Greenville...they have a pumpkin salsa that is to die for.  Then we made our monthly trip to Costco :)

On Conference Sunday we met some friends at a park for Brunch.  The food was great and the company was even better.  Seth took along our Croquet set and read the rules...he found out that you are actually supposed to play in teams.  He said it was a lot more fun to play that way...so if you have a set lying around google the rules and give it a try.  

Did you know that Seth has taken up carving?  Here is a picture of his latest project.

His mom bought him a carving kit for Christmas several years ago and he decided to pull it out and get started.  On our trip to Atlanta in August we spent an eternity browsing at a wood store.  Seth was looking for bass wood because it is hard wood but it is soft with a fine texture.  When we went camping a couple of weeks ago he brought along his project.  He seemed to have a little difficulty keeping all of his tools together...so I decided to make him a little tool roll.  He ended up having me make one for his wrench set too. 

This past weekend was perfect.  Friday night we rented X-Men First Class.  If you haven't seen it yet you are missing out.  Saturday we headed to the Clemson vs. Boston College game.  We took the scooter...in the picture below you can see a reflection of me in Seth's helmet.  We braved College Avenue which is the Main Street in Clemson.

This week was homecoming so all the sororities and fraternities had decorated on the field in front of Tillman Hall.

We also visited one of the main tailgating fields.  It was more like a tent city...I have never seen this many orange and purple tents in once place.  If you thought you knew what tailgating is all about...you have no idea.  The game started at 3:00 pm and people were already tailgating at 8:00 am.  They pay hundreds/thousands of dollars for a tailgating spot.  Most tailgaters don't even go to the real game...they watch it from the satellite televisions that they set up in the back of their trucks.   Honestly going to a Clemson game is a cultural experience.

Clemson won the game.  Our Quarterback was injured in the third quarter but it looks like he will be back at practice tomorrow.  Clemson is currently 6-0 and ranked #8 on both polls.  GO TIGERS!

Happy Birthday Hyrum!

Happy Birthday to the handsome guy hanging out on top.  We miss you!

Happy Birthday Ayrith!

You have grown so much since our wedding day.  We love your long locks and little giggle.  Sorry our wishes come a day late...we hope you still had a wonderful day.

Paddle-Boating

Friday night we loaded our car up with camping gear and headed out to a local state park.  We met up with four other families from our ward.  We enjoyed sitting around the campfire savoring s'mores, banana boats, peach cobbler and popcorn.  The picture below is slightly dark...just imagine Seth using his campfire popcorn popper.

Our tent was set up on slightly slopped ground.  Every couple hours I found myself near the bottom of the tent and had to scoot back up to the top.  Surprisingly we slept into almost 9:30 am.  After breakfast we explored the campground lake.  Then we played a round of putt putt...I'm not much of a putt putter...I would much rather drive the ball.  Nevertheless, Seth scored a hole-in-one and I scored two.  

We also rented a paddle boat and enjoyed our picnic out on the lake.  It was the first time I had attempted a paddle boat since my sister and I got stuck in the little lake around Lagoon...this time around was a little more successful and much more romantic.

Our next stop was the fish hatchery...but we drove a little too far and ended up at the North Carolina and South Carolina border.  We took advantage of the opportunity to stop for picture.

The best part of the fish hatchery was feeding the fish...they definitely fought for their food.

Another fabulous weekend in the South.  I can't help but feel like we are running out of time here...we have so many things on our Southern Bucket list and only 8 months until Seth graduates.

Tiger trivia

It finally cooled down a little bit and we were able to pull out some of sweatshirts and jackets and enjoy being outside this past weekend.  Friday night we headed to the Botanical Gardens for an outdoor concert.  It was heaven to be snuggled up under a blanket listening to music.  The concert was free and they will continue every Friday night through October...next time we plan to take a picnic. 

Saturday, Seth scored some tickets to the Clemson vs. Auburn game for us.  It's hard to tell in the picture below but the pond was dyed orange...it really just looked muddy but still festive.

A little ACC trivia...

1. Which team has a mascot of a tiger? (A) Clemson (B) Auburn
2. For which team is orange a color? (A) Clemson (B) Auburn
3. Which state is Auburn located in? (A) Tennessee (B) Texas (C) Alabama (D) Arizona
4. When was the last time Clemson beat Auburn? (A) 2007 (B) Never (C) 1989 (D) 1951

The stadium was absolutely filled with tigers...Auburn apparently has the same mascot as Clemson.  Auburn also shares the color of orange and blue...which from a distant looks exactly like Clemson's colors of orange and purple.  We thought they were based out of Tennessee...but it turns out they are from Alabama.  The last time Clemson beat Auburn was 1951.  Prior to the game the series record stood at 33-11 with Auburn leading.    

Well we witnessed one historic game...Clemson pulled off a victory with a score of 38-24.  Auburn were the National Champions last year...our victory ended their 17 game winning streak.  After the game we tried to rush the field...most of the rushing was complete by the time we got down there...we did touch Howard's famous rock.

We ended the night watching the Cougars give the Utes the game on a silver platter...at least Sarah and Joe got to sit behind "The Jimmer."  GO UTES! 

Brasstown Falls

 

Saturday we headed to Westminster, SC for the Annual Apple Festival.  We enjoyed all of the booths and the fried apple pie that we sampled.  The festival also included a car show.  We picked out two of our favorites.  This 1940 truck was stunning..I think my brother Jeff would love this one too.

We also liked this 1970 VW Beetle.  It brought back some great memories and I think my sister Sarah wouldn't mind cruising around in this one too.  

 
Our next stop was Brasstown Falls.  It took just five minutes to walk to these falls from where we parked our car.  We spotted a  few campers on our way down to the falls and we may just have to head back for a night of camping.  Here is a shot of the upper falls.  

And here is a shot of the lower falls.  The mist coming off the falls was amazing.

I tried to get Seth to pull an Ariel on this rock but it was a little to slimy for his taste.  Just after this shot he spotted the largest worm he had ever seen.  He said he would have thrown it at me had he not been afraid of it himself.

After Brasstown Falls we headed to an apple orchard.  We picked half a bushel and also bought fresh apple cider as well.  Tonight we are going to make apple fritters...my mouth is already watering.

dodgy [ˈdɒdʒɪ]

Seth came home one night this week and told me he was playing in a dodge ball tournament...I thought he was joking...but he apparently wasn't.  He and five other guys from his program had signed up to play in a tournament on campus Friday night.  I went as a "dodge ball mom."  Seth's team played in three whole three minute games before being eliminated.  I had a blast watching all nine minutes.