Chocolate. For the ladies only.

Less than a week between blog posts. That, my friends, is a record. ;)

As I mentioned in the previous post, my sister, brother-in-law and nephew came to visit me last weekend. Naturally, seven additional family members jumped on the wagon too. I felt so loved about the number of visitors, but something tells me loud and clear that it was this little guy who was the visitor magnet - not me. It's cool.

Even though I may have had visitors by default only, it was still a great weekend with the family. In true 'Resler' tradition, we jam-packed the weekend full of activity. Saturday started out with a visit to the apple orchard.

Every year, as soon as beach season is over, I look forward to apple orchard season. In fact, it's probably one of the greatest things ever, in my opinion. Thankfully, the weather could not have been more perfect for an orchard visit. 65 degrees. Blue skies. Bright sun. Leaves changing. Does it get any better?

Upon arrival at the orchard - which was packed - we set up camp right there in the parking lot for a makeshift 'tailgate' lunch of sorts. To make it seem real, we listened to the MSU game on the radio. (Side note: Fall is also great thanks to college football season. And MSU actually has a winning record so far this year. They won again. And Michigan lost. So, as my dad would say, we won twice)

Activities at the orchard were basically what you would expect. Horse-drawn hay rides, apples (with or without caramel), cider (in your choice of hot, cold or slush'ed'), and donuts that were delish!

On top of all the fall fun, the orchard must have been the place to be that day. While waiting in line - yes, a long line - to get into the 'cider/donut' shop, we just happened to run into two different groups of very close family friends who are not even from this area. It was a reunion filled with smiles and I think a few shrills of surprise from my mom and aunt. Small world indeed.

Naturally, my nephew Trace entertained us the entire time. He is a cheese in front of the camera and gives the world's cutest smile when you tell him to 'show me your teeth.' Love that little boy. Easily amused, Trace loved the slide at the orchard as proven by the million times he went down it. Every turn was immediately followed by " 'gin" which - translated into adult language - means 'again.' Here's a video of his accomplishment.

With no time to waste, we left the orchard and headed off to Holland - a small Michigan city on the lake known for tulips and wooden shoes. Yep, it's true. After dinner overlooking the harbor, we took a sunset walk out to the pier. My mom happens to be the smartest woman on earth and, knowing that the men were going to have cigars to accompany their walk, she brought what she knew would be a welcomed treat for the ladies. Chocolate. It was devoured, and enjoyed.

Fun times were had by all.

Yay for weekends. Yay for fall. Yay for cider and donuts. Yay for family. And yay for chocolate.

I'll be catching a 7:43 a.m. (A.M.!) train to Chicago on Friday. I won't be fully functioning at that time but it promises to be an adventurous weekend after I wake up ...

Here's one more video for your entertainment ... Animal sounds, courtesy of Trace.