Apple Day

Last night our dear Joe was up many more times than necessary and then wouldn't go back to sleep at all after 3:45AM.  Really, he is a delight of a child right now.

old picture not depicting the attitude of today

Speaking of delight, our apple trees did quite nicely this year.  Before all the apples fell for the dogs and deer to get (so much wildlife here), we shook the trees empty and made applesauce and three quarts of apple cider vinegar.  

christian trying to shoot apples down with a nerf gun

a more effective harvesting technique

somebody needs the hard job of taste testing every single apple

yes, we always pose our food beautifully on the front porch

For school that day, Daphne wrote a step-by-step tutorial on how to make applesauce.  My favorite of her details: "add cinnamon, then smell it."  If you don't smell the applesauce, it will not turn out as good.  FYI.

Our pear trees did not fare as well as the apples.  We had loads of beautiful pears this spring, and then one day I noticed most of them were gone.  Last year we had one ripe pear, this year none.  As least the trees are pretty when in bloom in the spring, although hopefully lovely spring aesthetics are not the only benefit we will receive from these trees over the years.

Alright.  Time to leave the quiet internet world and get back to crazy town.  Wish me luck.

that face.  scary. 

September is Wild

Daphne said yesterday, "Can we please stop going so many places? I am tired of being in the car."

That's how we're feeling right now, because September is a beast.  So is Jonas, because he threw my brand new iPhone into the toilet the other day and now I am phoneless and sad.

beastly but still pretty lovable

when boys choose their accessories

David is changing his days off soon, partly because he was going to get bumped anyway in a few months, and partly to try to help calm our schedule down a bit.  He'll be working Sundays again, never something we love, but it is what it is and we're finding good things to look forward to despite that obstacle.  Like him getting Christmas off this year.  It's been a few years, so we are excited.  Which leads me to my next problem...where do I hang stocking this year?  And will Santa come early and sew Jonas's for me?  He didn't get a stocking last year, poor baby.  Even if his will only have coal in it because MY PHONE.

Oh, happy first day of fall!  Don't call me to talk about it, though. 

Oh Hey, Christian Turned 4

We were at church Sunday morning when Christian leaned over and whispered to me, "Hey Mom, I found a money in my money bank that has a picture of you and me dancing outside.  See?"

Then he handed me this Iowa quarter.

You know I will be keeping that quarter forever and ever. 

This boy is as stubborn as all get out and leaves me at my wit's end some days, but buried beneath the fire he is sensitive and thoughtful and kind.  A few weeks ago he followed me as I went outside because he wanted "to make sure you are never by yourself, Mom."  (Thank you?)

He wants to sit on my lap every day (he's sitting on my lap as I type this), loves rocking with me on the front porch and talking about important stuff, gets mad at me if I don't leave him something to stir when I am cooking, and has the best dimple in his right cheek.  He has to be smiling a big and genuine smile to be able to see it, so glimpses if it can be rare since most of the time when I ask him to smile he does this instead:

Because at his core he is a major goofball.  If you want to get him laughing uncontrollably, just mention any type of bodily function. That's one sure-fire way to catch a glimpse of the dimple.

He asked me recently, ""Where did I come from? Did you get me at the kid store? I was sad when you got me."

"Why? Weren't you happy to be picked up by our family?" I asked him.

"No, I wanted to be picked up by Daphne Anne's* family."

*our friends who moved to Montana earlier this summer.

We may be his second-choice family, but I tell you, that moment on his birth day when I realized I got to be a boy mom, his mom; that was a great day.  I'd pick him from the kid store any time.  

same birthday banner from his 1st birthday!

Other People's Vacation Photos: Best Thing Ever

The kids are down for rest and there's a chance Christian is actually sleeping. 

 --------

So I started this 5 hours ago when he was napping, but then I had to wake him up so we could take Daphne to piano lessons.  He was less than pleased.  This is the first full week of our fall schedule and apparently it's exhausting because he napped yesterday, too.  Poor guy doesn't realize it's only Wednesday.  (He doesn't usually nap, in case that is unclear.)

But let's reach waaay back into our memories to when we went to the beach for a few days!  It was so long ago I can barely remember, but if it doesn't get blogged about, did it really happen?  

Here we have our little scientist (for reals; science is her favorite) with her "collection of sea things to study," as she put it, with serious plans to take the bucket home to keep in her bedroom.  I said, "you study it right here and then we leave it and its ocean stench on the beach."

And then there's Christian, climbing cliffs and humming the theme song to Octonauts.

Jonas was scared of the sand this trip, although we went again last week and he loved the sand and the ocean.  Hopefully his sand fear is out of his system for good.

This was fun and fabulous:

do you see them? ha.

It was my first time seeing whales in real life!  Oceanographer Daphne was pretty excited to see them as well; I don't think Christian saw the whales, but he kept exclaiming over all the flying fish (seagulls).  It seems he needs to watch more Octonauts episodes. 

Other highlights: our seagull friend who visited often once he/she figured out we were good at sharing snacks; a few good deals at the outlet mall; Daph discovering she loves clam chowder; and just having a nice little break from the insanity of painting a house.

inside devil's punchbowl

3 going on 13