Good morning!
I’m going to add a bunch of exclamation points in this post and pretend to be really peppy in hopes that the fake excitement actually turns into real excitement. It’s just hard to be excited when you’re coming back from a week-long vacation, y’know?
But, anyways, let’s do the ‘exclamation point’ thing and see if that works, yeah?!
HAPPY MONDAY!
This weekend was fantastic and not a bit productive! Ankur’s parents were in town and we got to show them around Harrogate and Cumberland Gap. It was so much fun being with family and it’s always so difficult to say goodbye! There may have been tears involved when we parted ways yesterday, but let’s not relive that part of the weekend. Let’s go through all the fun pictures instead!
Our Weekend:
Since they got in late on Friday night, we all slept in a little bit on Saturday morning. After we woke up and had our coffee/tea, we decided to head out to Cumberland Gap to hike the Fitness Trail. It’s only been a month and a half since I did this trail with my dad, but the green colors we saw back then have changed to oranges, yellows, and reds! Fall is here and we are l-o-v-i-n-g it!
The air was crisp and it was a little chilly when we first started hiking. But once we started walking a bit, we warmed up pretty quickly. The two-mile loop we did wasn’t very strenuous, but it was enough to work up an appetite.
We stopped by the mini Farmer’s Market on the way home to pick up some strawberry jam for breakfast. (Fun fact: the strawberry jam we like is made in Asheville, NC. That’s one of the places we want to visit before we leave the east coast!)
Once our tummies were happy and fed, we went back out to the Cumberland Gap area. We visited the Pineapple Tea Room and the Iron Furnace.
We walked around the Gap for a little bit, but, like most places around here, there wasn’t a lot going on. So, after an hour or so, we decided to head back home.
With the temperatures dropping and the wind blowing, we were all much comfier at home anyways. We pulled out Mexican Train Dominoes and settled in for the evening.
On Sunday, we explored Ankur’s campus in the morning, did some shopping in the afternoon, and played some more Mexican Train Dominoes. (This game never gets old). Around 6PM, we said our goodbyes and I started this blog post, along with some preparation for the week ahead!
It was extra emotional to say goodbye to family on top of my week-long vacation coming to an end. But, I just keep reminding myself that Winter Break is around the corner and it’ll be here before I know it!
I’m sure once I see the kiddos today, I’ll feel much better about going to work.
And, probably, after I have a cup of coffee. Or two.
So, I’ll get to it.
Have a good one!
Questions of the Day:
- How far do you live from your family?
- What did you do this weekend?
- What’s your favorite board game?
It was an amamamamazing weekend here too and ONE HUNDRED PERCENT because fall arrived here as well.
I walked everydamnwhere for the first time since April and didnt melt.
Sounds small 🙂
Felt huge.
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I simply love your photos of the Gap as my family calls it. I miss that place – so many memories!
I’m glad you are getting a chance to enjoy Tennessee’s autumn colors. It is my favorite time of year!
Fall looks absolutely amazing over there!
My weekend was excellent, my younger sister’s birthday is tomorrow so we were all super busy
What a fun weekend! My family all lives far away from us. When they do visit, it’s always a great time to reconnect with laughter, activity and good food!
Looks like you guys had the perfect fall Weekend! We went on a hike as well and it was chilly first, but once we got going, the temps were perfect!
Happy Monday!!!
Looks like you had a wonderful weekend! Isn’t fall the best (:
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I ran a half marathon, my second which was great, but now I’m Loki
G forward to doing some other fitness activities like hiking or biking. I bet that trail is beautiful this time of year we the changing of the leaves!
Wow your weekend is so fun-filled! What amazing colors you see. Keep up the great posts
Looks like you had a busy weekend. We need to take a fall hike b/f it gets too cold.
maria @closeothome recently posted…Top 8 Breakfast Recipes That Kids Will Love
What a great weekend! It’s always fun to get together with family, but also so hard to say goodbye.
Kim Lee recently posted…Easy Single-Serve Apple Crumble Bowls
Looks like you had a great weekend with your awesome parents.
Thanks for sharing the photos.
Have a great week!
I like your exclamation point strategy to up the energy level on a Monday! I hope it worked! 🙂
Sheila Jo recently posted…Clogging Competition BINGO!
What a fab weekend! My parents live in Spain now so I don’t get to see them much but we make the most of our time together when we have it.
Looks like a fun day! I absolutely love hiking and that trail looked so nice!
Sounds like you had fun!
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I know all about teary goodbyes! I live 24 hours away from my family BY PLANE so yeah whenever I visit I cross the international date line! It’s always wonderful when we get together. You guys look like you had an awesome time. I have not played dominoes in forever!
Jolina recently posted…Crunchy Salted Caramel Apple Crumble Bars
I love the outdoors, looks like everyone had an awesome time.When I was researching places to live in the south Asheville came up alot as a great artsy, hippy city.
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My weekend was uneventful but will be making our way around some parks and trails in a few weeks. One day I’m going to get to Asheville and see the Biltmore and the rest of that area!
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Looks like a great weekend filled with many memories.
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Sounds like a great weekend!! My weekend was pretty great I came back home from an international trip!
Looks like a great weekend! The color of the leaves on your walk are beautiful! It is always so nice to enjoy those things with family.
That looks like an amazing weekend! Saying goodbye to family is SO hard- it’s so nice to have a great time, though… gives you all the best things to remember!
Most of my family lives in the same city as me but my parents live two hours away. They visited too this weekend so we had a nice family dinner on Sunday night 🙂
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It looks like you are enjoying some beautiful fall weather! I can’t remember the last time I played dominos. I think I’m going to have to teach my kids how to play.
Looks like such a fun and relaxing time. My family lives close to us but my husbands is about 4 hours away.
Great photos of your fall hike. That is one of my favourite things to do. Cumberland Gap looks lovely!
Beautiful travel story. Thanks for sharing this lovely tale of autumn.
Rose recently posted…Dad and Daughter Find Diamond in Arkansas
Looks like such a lovely time and yes I firmly believe !!!!!!’s help boost the pep. At least for me 😉
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It looks like you had a great time with family! The foliage is beautiful! I’m not for the cooler weather but Fall sure is a pretty season. I live in Atlanta and I have no family here so when I go visit them it is hard to say goodbye (sometimes lol). As far as board games, I like interactive things like Taboo and Pictionary but I also love playing dominoes island style 🙂
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That does sound and look like a fun weekend. II’ve been to Asheville several times and it is absolutely gorgeous! If you make it out that way, visit the Biltmore Estate. I’m glad you all had fun!
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That looks like a great weekend, I hope you’re also having a great week!
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What a wonderful time you must have had in the beautiful fall weather! I miss that kind of weather here in Florida.
Beth || http://www.TheStyleBouquet.com
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Its beautiful there. Reminds me of the pretty leaves when I lived in Colorado. (I miss it) I’m happy to hear you had some family time. My parents get a wild hair about every two years and move to a new state, so they are always hundreds if not thousands of miles from us. I hope the kiddos made your day! As for favorite board game. I would have to say Chinese checkers. My hubby and I really get into it.
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What a beautiful place! It looks quite peaceful there! I hope you had fun adventure.
Great pics! It looks like you had a great weekend. I’m so happy you got to have a good time.
Lauren I Glitter & Grandeur recently posted…Motivational Monday Vol. 2: Do It.
Looks like the perfect fall weekend to me.
Lori Vachon recently posted…Leftover Turkey Noodle Casserole
Looks like a great weekend. Our weekend was so amazing my brother was came back from other country
Our families live close (10 mins and 30 mins) so we do see them often BUT it is always fun to get out and do something exciting! In fact, BOTH kiddos slept in on Saturday as well. High-Fives for sleeping past 6am!
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Looks like you’ve had a busy weekend! It’s always nice to be able to spend time with family. Aside from that, slowing down and taking your time helps a lot too. I’m glad you had a lot of fun!
Awwwww looks like you had one fun filled weekend!!!!! I just love fun weekends with friends and family
The Fall colors look amazing! We can see every shade of orange, red and brown in nature……simply beautiful!!! And Mexican train dominoes is my all-time favorite game to play with the family 🙂
It’s nice that you got to spend time with family. That’s a lot of things that you did for the weekend! Very productive, indeed!
Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend with lots of fun. The pictures are quiet amazing and I am in love with that Mexican Train Dominoes game as it is pretty new & interesting for me.
I hope you had a super fun weekend. Parting ways isn’t easy, I am in an LDR and it sucks to finally say goodbye. Hope you have more awesome gathering time soon!
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Looks like you had a great weekend! I absolutely love hiking and love all these photos.
What an amazing weekend you had! It looks like so much fun and I love all of your pictures. Fall is definitely in full swing here in PA as well!
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