A Full Day of Fall Fun

Last Saturday, we headed out in the morning for a little apple picking. We missed this fun activity last year but had a great time two years ago. We hit it a little late in the season this year and the orchard we went to last time was done for this year, so we tried somewhere new. It was a great place called Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow MA. It was a pretty chili morning so we bundled up and started our adventures with picking apples. After sampling a couple of the available varieties we decided on empire. Now I am not a fan of apples. I find myself disappointed more often than not when I bite into an apple only to find that it does not meet my crispness standards. Picking them right off the tree makes all the difference though, I have yet to be disappointed with this batch. They're crisp, juicy, sweet and have a touch of tartness. Apple perfection. We very quickly filled our large bag which was to hold about 20 lbs but we managed to squeeze about 30 lbs in there. The best part about this orchard is that they let you use their ladders. The kids LOVED this. They took turns heading up the ladder with Dad right behind them for a little security. Abby of course showed no fear and would go as far up as that ladder would allow.

After filling our bag we returned to the van to safely stow our sac of yumminess and headed out for a hayride surrounded by beautiful fall foliage. Our day did not end there. We said hello to Henrietta the bear and headed to the little store for hot dogs, apple cider and apple cider doughnuts. We then took a few minutes to pose with some pumpkins, and check out a few animals. Then we were off on our journey home, with a quick stop at a roadside market selling pumpkins for only $.40/lb.

Upon our return home we got a few things ready for a little party. Aiden was so excited as he was having his first play date with a friend from school. Aiden's friend arrived followed by some new friends who live only about 5 minutes from us, so exciting to have a great little family so close by! The kids feasted on chicken nuggets while us adults had some homemade wonton soup and sushi. Then we moved on to some pumpkin carving and caramel apple making. It was such a fun day! The kids were great, even Ben who was running on minimal nap time.

All bundled up, but by the end of the day it was so nice that even the coats came off.
Taking turns climbing the ladder.
Abby, as high as she could go and reaching as far as she could reach.
John being the macho man he is:)
Aiden eventually resorted to just climbing the tree.
Time for a little hayride (Ben Sucked on that apple pretty much the whole ride).
Hello to Henrietta the bear.
Picture time with pumpkins.
Checking out the goats.
Holding their chosen pumpkins all the way home, they look miserable but they're really just zoned in to a movie.

A Memorable Meal

Moving for us this time meant gaining an amazing yard with a nice big garden plot and a small greenhouse attached to the house. While I was busy unpacking and cleaning in the spring John went straight to work planting. We (or I guess I should say John) had some pretty good success. He did plant a couple things that didn't make it and we discovered that everything has a pest but we've been enjoying what did succeed. This includes tomatoes, a few cucumbers, one squash, some jalapenos, basil, peas, beans, lettuce, broccoli, and carrots.

Now even though I love to cook, once in a while I have a day that I just don't feel like doing it. Often it's mostly because the thought of cleaning up afterwards makes me cringe. I am lucky enough to have a husband who will on occasion jump in and come up with something to make. This usually consists of some sort of pasta with cream sauce and he's good at it. About a week ago, I had one of these days. John went to work cooking up some pasta with a chicken cream sauce and headed down to the garden to grab some carrots and broccoli to add to it. As he was prepping I discovered a small caterpillar on the cutting board with the broccoli at which point I asked, "did you wash this broccoli?". He said he had but I wasn't completely convinced and pointed out the caterpillar and suggested he wash the broccoli again. We sat down to eat and it was really good, one of his best ever. I had only a few bites left when I saw it, a small caterpillar stuck to a piece of broccoli, GROSS! I just managed to get the last couple of bites down (none of which was broccoli). Shortly after that Aiden picked another one off a piece of broccoli on his plate. Looking quite distraught he placed it on his place mat (or replace mat as he calls it). Abby wide eyed exclaims, "it's getting away!" After assuring her it was dead Aiden announced, "I miss Mom's cooking." As disgusting as this all sounds we got a good laugh out of it and we still laugh every time we talk about it. A memorable meal in deed:) And now for a few pictures of our gardening successes.

A salad made completely of vegetables from our garden.

I put the loonie (for our American friends that is a Canadian dollar, slightly larger than a quarter) next to the tomatoes so you could get an idea of the size. Nothing better than fresh tomatoes.

Abby with a bunch of lettuce and Aiden with a bunch of carrots.

Abby on another day showing off a bunch of carrots.

Mr. Know It All

Aiden does (and has for quite some time) honestly believe that John knows EVERYTHING. I am also sure that he fully believes that he knows a lot more than I do. Here is part of a conversation I had with him while waiting for the bus yesterday. Aiden: "I'm not going to be a dentist anymore." Me: "Oh, how come?" Aiden: "I'm going to study dinosaurs" Me: "Okay, that's called a paleontologist" Aiden: "I know that mom! I just wasn't sure if you did"

While on the subject of my boy, here's a few shots of him heading off to school on his first day. He was so excited to ride the bus, he didn't even look back.

Aiden is 6!

I'm slowly getting caught up on blogging and the next occasion I must document is Aiden's birthday. I can't believe he's 6! I LOVE this boy. September was a big month for him. He started first great, started taking a school bus for the first time and turned the very anticipated age of six. Grandma and Grandpa Keyes were here to celebrate with us, so it was an extra special birthday. He waffled between a race car theme and a Super Mario Bros. theme. Mario won the battle. Together we planned out the games and lunch menu. He had the same crowd of party guests as last year and we had a ton of fun. I'm sure John would rather edit the photos a little first but, seeing as he's too busy being a third year dental student to do anything else, here they are unedited.

One handed Grandma helping to entertain while we waited for the last couple guests to arrive, "what a trooper Grandma!".
Pin Mario on the flagpole. The goal, get Mario as close to the top as possible.
Hit Bowser with fireballs.
A treasure hunt to rescue Princess Peach.
Question block pinata.
The cake, yikes what a disaster. I was just a little too ambitious this year. Mario of course was too heavy for the lovely moist chocolate cake which completely split open. Luckily Mario is supposed to be bursting out of the cake so it kind of worked. Those dishes surrounding it are (yes you guessed it) holding Mario up. Aiden loved it though and that's all I cared about.
Of coursed he was completely spoiled by his friends.
We got him a camera, and as soon as he opened it, he felt the need to take pictures of all his gifts.

We finished the day off with a little post party party. It was kind of like Christmas actually. Grandma and Grandpa absolutely spoiled the kids and pretty much doubled their lists of belongings:) Thanks Grandma and Grandpa, Aiden and Abby have been having a great time with all their toys!

We love Aiden! Aiden is a great big brother, has a goofy sense of humor, is pretty sensitive, and loves working with his hands. He loves video games, lego and tranformers and well pretty much is a mini me of John:) Life would be very different without Aiden and I'm so grateful that he is a part of our family.

The Big 3-0

That's right, I said good bye to my twenties this year. Again, I know, my birthday was back at the beginning of August, but I am determined to get caught up. Turning 30 was an odd feeling. I didn't feel old or wish that I could stay 29 forever. It just felt odd leaving my twenties knowing that all the best, most significant occasions in my life so far happened in my twenties. Meeting and marrying John, having three amazing gorgeous children, getting into dental school (yes I realize it's not me that got in:). Let's just say my twenties were awesome. So with that I say goodbye to my twenties and look forward to those significant events which will surely come in my thirties.

John had school all day on my birthday, but as soon as he got home he put Aiden and Abby in the car to head out for some takeout, a cake and a gift from the kids. My gift from John you ask? Well, an intro to glassblowing class of course:) I've always wanted to learn glassblowing and lucky for me I have a husband who listens:) So the following Sat I headed off (kid free of course:) to Diablo Glass School for a three our class in the hot shop. I had a GREAT time. Though there was no glassblowing involved (a more advanced technique) I did try my hand at glass sculpting. I look forward to learning more of this fascinating art in the future. Thanks to a fellow student and his iphone I do have a photo of me at work.

The finished product (it's a paperweight) which I'm quite proud of.