Apples, Apples, Apples

This weekend we took our yearly trip to the apple orchard. Visiting an apple orchard is something (one of the few things) I missed out on growing up in Alabama. (Side note: SEC Football is something I miss out on here in Minnesota). We met our good friends, J & K Madison (and Levi) there.

I love visiting the orchard. What a perfect family outing. I have many pictures to share. I know that you all might not enjoy EVERY SINGLE photo the way that I do. However, remember that this blog will serve as a photo album/scrapbook for my children. That is why I include lots of pictures. I fully intend to print this blog in a book form.


The day started with a hayride. There are many varieties of apples to choose from. Generally, I like the sweeter ones. I know that for baking/cooking the cook books suggest a more tart apple. I have a 5 year old and a 3 year old--we went for the sweeter ones. We chose Sweet 16. Normally I would have gone with Honeycrisp but they weren't an option that day.

It's fun to watch the girls as they pick. Ella likes to pick smaller red ones. She doesn't fully exam them BEFORE she picks. I tried, unsuccessfully, explaining that to her. She would pick one and then, if she saw something she didn't like--a speck of dirt, a bug, too big of a stem, a dent, etc...she tossed it. Daddy and I tried to pick up after her but, my goodness. McKenna was more methodical about her apple picking. She had similar criteria but chose large apples rather than small apples. She also learned to examine them BEFORE she picked them. Something that she acquired on this year's trip.

Mmmm......

The pumpkin patch (they have several-pie pumpkins, carving pumpkins, mini pumpkins) is right next to the sweet apples. So, we perused through the pumpkins and took a few photos. Then back on the hayride to go to the playground.

By the playground there is a small petting farm area and a hay mountain to climb. They also have a cow tractor ride that Ella and Levi enjoyed. On the hay mountain, kids like to dig away portions of the hay to make holes or tunnels. McKenna wanted to get in a hole and have me take a picture of her peeking out. She peeked a bit too close to the hay and her eyes were irritated for a while. But all is well.

Notice that we are all in our fall colored T's from Target! I got them each on sale for less than $5.00!! =)

There is also a raspberry patch. McKenna thoroughly enjoys picking the raspberries and Arthur and I thoroughly enjoy eating them.

Library cards

The other day we watched a show called Little Bill. (A Bill Cosby production.) On this particular episode, Little Bill took a trip to the library and got his own card.

Needless to say, we had to follow suit. The girls and I decided to hit our local library. We went straight to the desk and they got their very own library cards.

Book choice: Both girls checked out nonfiction books about cats and kittens and how to care for them.

We have read them several times already.

Ella was not interested in posing!

Happy Birthday Nana!

Happy birthday to a magnificent woman! She's active. She's loving. She's caring. She's creative. She's inspirational (among other things).

Wordless Wednesday

Yum!

Nothin' like a little body art on the weekend!

The girls and the daddy like to torment me by trying to tickle my belly. They have specific noises and the whole works. The other day they decided to draw on my belly, with the belly button being the focal point! This was not pleasant for me, but the girls loved it. So, I returned the favor.

Congratulations Zach and Heather!

There's nothing like a relaxing weekend at home. The girls spent Friday night with Mammy and Pa-pa. I went to a women's brunch and discussed Biblical Womanhood (maybe more to come on that!). It rained, which is fine! We had a brief family outing to Petco and Barnes and Noble. And, some body art! (Definitely, more to come on that!)

What did you do?

Talk about cute...

Wordless Wednesday

Don't miss it!

Remember this post about saving posts as drafts and viewing them chronologically by the date of the posting, etc. Well, I have posted a few things that were saved as drafts. So, make sure that you are scrolling down to see them all!

Ella goes to preschool

Ella has officially started preschool! She goes to St. Ambrose Early Childhood Education Center (or ECEC) and is in the Caterpillar room. She goes 2 afternoons a week for about 2 hours. Generally speaking, Ella separates well most of the time. If she is very tired or not feeling well we may see her protest. However, she would really rather be with me, most of the time. I wasn't sure what to expect when it came to drop off time. But things went smoothly.

After lunch, we dressed for school. Ella picked out her outfit and successfully put it on all by her "big girl" self. We filled her backpack with the needed supplies (change of clothes) and set off for a photo shoot by the Maple tree.

She happily posed. Though, it is harder to get pictures of her because she doesn't like to look straight into the camera. I asked her a few questions:

Ella, are you excited about preschool? Yes.

Do you think you will like your teachers? Yes.

What are their names? Ms. Shannon and Ms. Deb.

Are you nervous about anything? No.

(Previously, she mentioned being nervous about meeting new friends.)

Okay, are you ready to go? Yes, yes, yes!

Stopping by the front door. Notice the reflection in the glass.

Once we got into the building, she knew which way to go. This is also where McKenna went to preschool; Ella is familiar with both the building and the teachers. She first went to the "goodbye window" and peeked into her class. Once the doors were open she went in and found her name tag and started playing immediately. She gave a me a quick hug and wasn't even interested in waving at me through the little window. It all went so quickly!

You'll notice her little animal friend. It is a black and white puppy that her grandparents got for her. She carried it into the cubby area but I told her it had to stay in the cubby and could not go into the classroom. She was fine with that but wanted to take a picture of it. So, I let her.

I tried to get her attention through the window, but she was already engrossed in toys. Good for her.

When I picked her up she was happy to see me and excited to tell me a little about her day. She enjoyed snack (cookies and milk) very much. She also mentioned playing with friend a lot. (This made me especially happy because that was her original concern.) She also said that they went out on the playground. They learned about how many friends are in the class (17) and how many teachers (2). She mentioned sand in the sensory table and stories about hungry caterpillars. I think she had a fantastic time and I hope she continues to enjoy it. Her school is about 7-10 minutes away. This is what she looked like when we pulled into the driveway.

A First Born's First Day!

Today, Tuesday (September 2nd), was McKenna's first day of kindergarten. She was full of excitement! She was eager. She was confident (much like mommy, I must say). For those of you who don't know, McKenna is enrolled at Saint Ambrose of Woodbury Catholic School. Previously, she was enrolled in an immersion school. When the opportunity presented itself for St. Ambrose, we took it. I must say that it is a much better fit for our whole family. Also, I noticed McKenna's confidence rise and apprehension minimize after we made the switch.


She goes to afternoon kindergarten and busing is provided both to and from school. Honestly, the bus was probably the scariest part for me. Arthur and I have been able to be in control of her environment since birth. We are NOT in control of a school bus (ahh, if only!)!


Each year I take a picture of the girls on the first day of school (up to this year it has been preschool) by the young Maple tree in our front yard. This year was no different. Tomorrow I will repeat the process with Ella. Tomorrow is HER first day of preschool.

Check out that plaid uniform!

There they are....waiting for the bus. Because it was the first day, buses were running late. I anticipated this. The bus driver was a sweet old man who apologized for being late. I walked right up into the bus and introduced myself and told him I would like to take a picture. It didn't turn out! She danced onto the bus and acted as if it were old hat. I was so scared for her....but she didn't need it.

After watching her ride off into the great abyss called school, Ella and I hopped in the van and drove directly to the school. At this point I struggled, but managed to hold back tears. We did not follow the bus. I had heard about too many people having accidents from doing that.

With younger sibling, video camera and digital camera in toe, I waltzed into the front of the school where I anticipated the buses would drop her off. Looking much like a tourist in NYC, I was ready to capture the moment! There were a few others with cameras. None with video cameras.

We were there at school waiting. Ella greeted her with a hug. McKenna seemed just fine. As she was coming off of the bus I heard something to this effect, "...now the teacher will meet us and bring us to our kindergarten class....that's what my mom said."

Ella and I returned to the bus stop and waited for McKenna again, at the end of school. McKenna came off of the bus a bit more downcast than I anticipated. In her eagerness to get to me (the bus let her off across the street from me, this was not where I was instructed to stand), she stumbled and fell on the road. I ran to her, swooped her into my arms....my heart cried for her. She immediately said, "I don't like the bus ride home." After questions and discussions, Arthur and I deduced that she is uncomfortable with the number of kids on the bus. She is especially uncomfortable with the middle schoolers.

I should let you know about busing here. In a public school kindergartners would only ride with other elementary school kids and middle schoolers would only ride with other middle schoolers. Most private schools (that even offer busing) cannot afford this age separation. Most private schools share busing with other schools. St. Ambrose is able to provide busing for it's students without having to share with other schools/districts. However, they cannot afford separating by ages. So, McKenna rides the school bus home with other St. Ambrose students as old as 13 years. Another thing to note about school transportation is that you don't ride the same bus from school that you rode to get there. It makes for a more efficient route and better timing. However, it can confuse a 5 year old. McKenna knows that she takes the squirrel bus home. Each bus has an animal picture in the window. Here she is getting off the bus.

McKenna's concerns about the bus:

the teenagers were loud, too crowded, she had to share a seat, and share a seat with a teenager, the bus driver got lost, a boy said her road name wrong, it took too long...

It did seem to take a long time. Hopefully, that will be minimized once the driver gains confidence in his route. Overall, I think she had a good day...well until she got on that squirrel bus.

A suburban carnival

Our community celebrated it's history and pride with a weekend carnival. Basically, that means that there were plenty of local businesses, politicians, organizations pleading for your money, time, or vote. There were also food vendors and talent shows and musical performance. A petting zoo, a parade, and of course...rides! It all takes place at the park down the street from us. So, we were in and out the whole weekend.

Jumping in the bouncer

View from the ferris wheel

Riding the ferris wheel

The ladybug ride

Mmmm.....Mmmm....

McKenna loved this giant slide

Climbing at the park