Navigation

Tag Archives | kids

Mountain Apple Picking at the Historic Orchard at Altapass in North Carolina

October 15, 2014 1

orchard-1

by Jennie

Before we left for our fall family trip to North Carolina, we made a list of all of the fun things that we wanted to do. The list encompassed all of our yearly must-do activities with a few new activities added in as well. I told the mister that the one thing I would like to do is visit a mountain apple orchard. He said to keep your eye out for one while on one of our many long drives on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Towards the end of our vacation, we still hadn’t come across an orchard, so I figured it just wasn’t going to happen. Then, one morning I thought we were headed towards another hiking adventure when the mister pulled off the main road down a very steep turn off. When I looked up I saw the Historic orchard at Altapass in front of us! Hooray! He was so excited to surprise me with this special treat and we ended up spending most of the day there. Read on to check it out.

orchard-2orchard-4

After browsing around in the Altapass Orchard shop, and stopping to listen to a group performing mountain music we decided to venture out into the orchard. There are several different trails that you could take throughout the orchard, and of course we picked the longest one! We ended up so far into the orchard that all of the visitors (and there were a lot that day) seized to exist, we were completely alone. We were able to observe all of the beautiful butterflies floating throughout the orchard and even came upon a buck who was happily munching in the apple trees! He darted out of there too fast to catch him on camera.

There were so many different types of apples, small tart ones, and huge juicy ones that barely fit in the misters hand. It was really cool to visit an orchard that has been around for more than 100 years!

orchard-5orchard-6

We walked so far that our trail eventually took us into a forest, it was still part of the orchard but so far removed that we didn’t even realize it was there until we were in it. We munched on apples as we walked (we paid for them later!), chatted and just had a wonderful time. By the time we made our way back to the apple-stand, almost everyone was gone except the employees. We bought a couple of root beer floats and sat on the deck relaxing after our 4 hour hike through the orchard. It was pretty amazing – I can’t wait to do it again next year!

+ The Historic Orchard at Altapass
Milepost 328.3 between Mt. Mitchell and Linville Falls.

Costa Rica! Part II: The Culture

October 9, 2014 1

costa-rica-80728_1280

by Beth

Last time, I explained some great attributes that brought me to Costa Rica. I’d like to expand on that beauty and explain a bit about the cultural aspects of Costa Rica that are different from the US and why I love it!

Costa Rica is not a first world country. My sister in law would argue that it’s a developed country, and others would say it’s developing. Now, it’s not even close to how that sounds – you’re not playing Naked and Afraid, but there are plenty of reasons to be cautious in Costa Rica, but I digress. I’ll get to that another day!

With that being said, Costa Rica has everything the US does in terms of luxuries, and then some. Internet, cell service (albeit spotty in places,) cable, iPads, luxury vehicles, volcanic hot springs, rapelling, kayaking, waterfalls, endless hiking trails, day spas, you name it, it’s here. But the cool thing that I admire about it, is that it is terribly expensive to get anything that’s a luxury. Would you like your American sweet treats as you surf the web on your iPad? Expect to pay double for everything. That’s due to the 100% import taxes on anything bought from outside of Costa Rica. This part in itself is ridiculous, but it has a silver lining – the Ticos (Costa Rican citizens) live incredibly simply, and when they don’t, they cherish each luxury like it’s gold. In the States, we’re so used to having access to anything we want anytime, and we tend to take those things for granted. What if you had to wait 4-5 weeks for your iPad to arrive, and it cost $1200 instead of $600? I bet you would cherish it more then.

It’s lost on us in the US to respect and honor our elders anymore. It seems like the cultural norm is to discard them by placing them into nursing homes, and treating them as second class. Here, and in many other parts of the world, seniors are highly respected. If there is one seat left on the bus, you give it to the senior. Let them go first. Open doors for them. It’s not something that you often see anymore in the States, and it saddens me. Here, you live with your parents and grandparents, and take care of them any way you can. Everyone knows everybody else, and they help each other out. It’s such a communal place, and brings a sense of gratitude to what I have here. Next time you see a senior in need, try to help them out. I feel like it’s the little things that matter most nowadays.

Lastly, Costa Ricans have a work ethic like I’ve never seen before. I consider myself a workaholic, but living virtually stress free in Costa Rica has allowed me to slow down and enjoy life a bit more. I can’t imagine working 50 hours a week at $3/hr like they do and be so motivated! It’s absolutely beautiful here, and I can’t avoid staring out my window every few moments to absorb the beauty. I would be so distracted! And yes, the average wage here is $3/hr. Bundle that with how expensive some things are here, and you have a recipe for poverty. Ticos are so happy and grateful, and don’t let that shortcoming get them down.

I recently read an article where Costa Rica is the happiest country in the world! I know firsthand why. It’s an amazing place, with an amazing culture, and wonderful people.

Have a Lovely Weekend + A Few Green Things

October 3, 2014 0

470

Hello, Friends! How are you? Any fun plans for the weekend! We just finished up our first week back from our fall family trip to North Carolina and I have to admit I am still recovering. Why is it so hard to get back in the grove once you get home from vacation?

This weekend I plan to sit down, go through all of the photos and share some of them with you! I will give you a little teaser, think mountain hiking, heirloom chickens and pumpkins! (The intro photo is one of the wonderful heirloom pumpkins you can find in North Carolina.) The rest of the weekend will be spent playing a little catch up, celebrating our 15 year wedding anniversary, and decorating for Halloween. I am just a tad excited! While I get to work, here are a few green things I thought you might enjoy:

– I love these 5 ways to improve mood with real comfort foods!
– In the west? Here are 18 great places to spot fall colors.
– Wow! I would love to take a long distance hike.
– We live so close to the Bahamas – why haven’t I traveled there to visit the swimming pigs?
– Have extra fruit? Dry all of it in the oven!

I hope you have something fun planned for this lovely fall weekend – I will see you back here on Monday!

xo,
Sweet Greens

Have a Lovely Weekend + A Few Green Things

September 19, 2014 0

fall

Hello, Friends! How was your week? I hope it was a nice one. Are you experiencing fall weather or maybe even winter weather where you live? It’s amazing how quickly the weather changes, and all of sudden we are in fall. Even here in Florida, it has been a little cooler than usual. It will only last a couple of days though, so I better enjoy it! As the mister and I were sitting on the patio last night, he pointed at my legs and laughed that I had goosebumps!

The cooler weather has me thinking of Halloween which just makes me more excited. Am I the only one? I have found myself pinning all kinds of Halloween ideas lately! And I have already started to think of costume, food, and decor ideas too. I jokingly asked the mister if it was too early to break out the decorations – he just gave me the look. I guest October 1st is early enough for him. Ha! While I pin a few million more ideas, here are a few green things to take you into the weekend:

– This adorable piggy knows how to cool off in style.
– Have you ever tried Aloe Vera Water? I want to try it.
– You can still plant a fall garden, this will get you started.
– I am happy to hear Whole Foods is offering more affordable produce and core items.
– What if everyone swapped their cars for bikes! Yes.

I hope you have an amazing fall weekend, I will see you back here on Monday!

xo,
Sweet Greens

Homework Vs. No Homework: Where Do You Stand?

September 15, 2014 0

homework-vs-no-homework

by Jennie

Now, that we are half-way through September, are you getting adjusted to your fall schedule? Have the kids fallen into their back to school routine? I always anticipate back to school with mixed emotions – happy that Eben will be learning new things (and he loves school), and sadness because I really enjoy seeing him all day and it reminds me that he is growing up quickly.

The mister and I attended the open house at Eben’s school last week. I find open house to be a little overwhelming – you start in your child’s 1st period class, the teacher has about 10 minutes to tell you everything they feel you need to know, a bell rings, you have a handful of minutes to get to the next period and so on. It’s a whirlwind of information that moves so quickly, if you aren’t proactive in asking your questions – you could easily leave more confused than you began!

What I did learn is it seems in many ways that the 8th grade of today is very  similar to my own experience. The teachers have the same teaching style, (some are fun/some more serious) and what might be completely acceptable in one class, another teacher won’t tolerate (chewing gum!) However, there was one very distinct idea that every single one of Eben’s teachers had in common, they do not assign homework.

I have to admit at first, I thought, “really, no homework – is that a good idea?” Then, I started to reflect on the ghosts of homework past in our house. There have been many times when Eben has come home with what I deemed a crazy amount of homework for one night and one class. There have been nights that we literally sat down for several hours simply to complete the homework that was due the next day. And I have seen Eben’s attitude towards a subject change based simply on the amount of homework that was coming home for that class – whether he loved the subject or not. Not to mention, after working all day – spending the little amount of time that I get with Eben at night doing homework seemed like a waste of perfectly good family time.

All of these things were a major concern for me and I am sure many parents can relate. Then, I took those thoughts a little deeper and wondered how parents with multiple children have time to get all of that homework done, not to mention parents who have to work at night or single parent homes. And to be honest, I don’t feel like Eben absorbed more information by doing all of this busy work each night – instead, I feel like we moved through it as quickly as we could so we would still have some family time to enjoy. Are you the same?

So, overall I am happy and excited to have a school year that is virtually free of homework. While I understand that they will still be special projects and book reports due all year long, I don’t feel like we have this “we have to get home right after school to do homework” attitude anymore. Instead, Eben can spend that time volunteering at the library, being a part of a school club, studying and creating art at his studio, or enjoying time with family and friends – which to me just sounds like a much better way to spend those after school hours.

What are your thoughts? Are you for or against homework? Does your child’s school give homework? Sound off in the comments section, I would love to hear your experience. 

Older posts Newer posts