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.