Happy October!

The kids have been anticipating this for a long time! They knew just what to do.

Tyler was so intense about picking apples. He incessantly repeated “Appow, appow!” and climbed the ladders trying to pick some on his own. Here is his sign for apple.

It was a lean year for this apple tree, so it didn’t take long to clear its branches. I luckily found one last reachable apple for Tyler, yet still had to climb a tall ladder with him and lift him up to pick it. He carried it around proudly and showed it off to everyone.

Sweet Gommy made special treats and hot cocoa for us. She also treated the kids to more goodies from her candy jars.

I love this memory-making time for the kids with their great-grandma Gommy!

Jon had been helping Spencer tear out a long line of bushes in his yard that day. Spencer and Andrea invited us to pick the apples from their neighbor’s trees, too. The kids were excited to get even more apple picking time! Team work!

Tyler was a happy camper riding the tractor with Jon while he ripped out those bushes.

The night before apple picking, the older kids got to make some jack o’ lantern jars.

Tyler was so anxious to join in, so Jon helped him make his very own jar.

Here’s the answer for the kids’ question of why Tyler had to use water instead of glue on his jar:

Apple Picking

Jack o’ Lantern Jars

October-y Treats

This Pumpkin Dessert is super yummy! It tastes very October-y!

a spooky lunch for Andrew

a few healthy Halloween snacks

Cool October Afternoons

The kids have been running straight to the treehouse after school lately. The weather has been perfect and we’ve spiced up that top floor a bit with a new telescope, a steering wheel and enough camping chairs for all the kids.

I also rounded up the curtains from the girls’ old loft bed. They are unfortunately pink, but keep the sun out all the same. I love watching them hang out up there.

Take Your Parents To Lunch Day

Jon covered me so I could eat lunch with our school kids. Their lunch times are staggered 15 minutes apart, so I got to spend one-on-one time with each of them. It was so cool to see them in their own environment and to chat over lunch together.

Adam begged me to follow him to the playground so he could show me how fast he can climb up and down the space net. (He is fast!) He was also excited to show off the “pizza slide.”

Amy found us and showed off a few tricks of her own.

I’m really happy I got to spend time with these kids at school. I wish I could more often.

A Trick (No Treat)

The other night I heard the muffled ringing of my iPhone, which I hadn’t been able to find that night. A few minutes later, Andrew appeared in the hallway (this was well after bedtime). He handed me my phone saying, “I don’t know how this got in my room.” Uh huh. Of course, when I powered on my phone, the screen turned on to Angry Birds. Uh huh. Then I discovered about 10 of these self-portraits taken by Andrew himself while playing with my phone in bed. Ah hah!

Photos of Alice (A Real Treat)

Friday I got to snap a few photos of my new niece Alice. She’s a cutie, eh?

Her big sister, Millie, was pretty tough to capture, but we sneaked in a few cute ones.

Adorable baby feet!

I just love Millie’s features! Such a doll!

Mary is a cute mom.

And this one just makes me laugh. Alice wasn’t too thrilled to be put in this suitcase for a picture. Luckily, she fell asleep later and laid quite cozily in it.

The Living Christ Follow-Up

The kids and I are going strong on the 12-week challenge to memorize The Living Christ. I’ve been amazed at how much I’ve been able to memorize (almost half-way through it). The girls are right on track and a little ahead of schedule. Andrew is still on week one, and Adam is working on week 2. I’ve been impressed with how excited the kids are (especially the girls) about memorizing this. They love the quizzes in the packet, recite it to me several times a day, and quiz themselves at lunch using these.

I have already learned a lot from memorizing it and feel like it has been a worthwhile venture with the kids.

Rock Wall Progress

With this nice weather, Jon has been building this rock wall around our bay window. Tyler was eager to help. (You gotta love his outfit complete with pajama pants pulled partway down.

Jon treated us to dinner at Applebee’s Friday night. The kids loved the sports on TV and the paraphernalia on the walls. (The girls were all freezing afterward.) We were amazed at how casual it was for us with all five kids. I guess it’s time to add another (wink).

New Phones and Dinner Out

When the manager stopped by our table and commented on our large family, Adam informed him, “My mom is pregnant, and my dad and mom just got new phones!”

We had to wait to leave for dinner, in fact, until the UPS truck delivered them. (I was starving!) I didn’t get to use mine for real until the next day, but we got to experiment with Jon’s phone right away. Siri is pretty sweet and I’m excited about the much-improved camera!