Zach's class kicked off fall in style by celebrating Johnny Appleseed Day. Each day that week they got to taste-test the very best apple concoctions-- like apple juice, applesauce, different varieties of apples, and even apple pie with ice cream. Friday afternoon he wore his Johnny Appleseed hat home from school and begged me to make an apple dessert! I happily obliged him that Sunday with my mom's apple crisp recipe. Yum!
Here's a picture his teacher sent of his whole class on Johnny Appleseed Day. He is LOVING kindergarten so much this year, and I could not be more relieved! He took a little while to get warmed up, but he is thriving, and just jumps off the bus bubbling with excitement about everything he did and saw that day. It's the best!
We got Leah some sweet new Minnie Mouse Halloween jammies in honor of our upcoming trip to Disney World next week! The kids can't wait to show Leah all of their favorite rides and Disney characters, and since she is obsessed with all things Frozen, princesses, and fairies, the timing couldn't be better.
Lucy and Zach both started playing baseball on the same coach-pitch baseball team, and they have had a lot of fun. It's for 5-7 year olds, so Lucy barely made the cut off and as a result of being a little older, dominates at hitting the ball. She is a regular old Babe Ruth when it comes to batting! Zach-O takes his shots too, and they both enjoy getting to be outside to play in the nice fall evenings.
Since we're staying on the topic of fall, I hit the jackpot at Trader Joe's the other day with all of their amazing fall treats and pumpkin-flavored items! Leah was my grocery buddy that day and she helped me stock up on some can't-miss items.
Indeed, that very weekend we celebrated General Conference by putting the pumpkin pancake mix and pumpkin-spiced hot chocolate to good use by making a big breakfast and lounging around in our pajamas all morning! They were a big hit!
It's our Conference tradition to make a big breakfast Sunday morning, and Zach is my big pancake eater. It was a great way to start off a fabulous day of listening to some great messages from our church leaders, interspersed with many, many, Halloween crafts made by the kids while they were "listening."
This weekend we realized would be our last chance before Halloween to hit up a local pumpkin patch, so we squeezed it in between teaching Body Pump at the gym, and a super hero birthday party for one of Zach's primary friends. We let the kids ride the barrel train first!
Lucy Lou was all decked out ready for Halloween in her festive clothes! Apparently Leah started screaming bloody murder about halfway through the ride, so Lucy had to keep turning around to wave at her. It was HOT-- like 85 degrees and humid out on that farm. We were sweating buckets.
All ready for take-off! I like how they let that 10 year old kid drive them, ha, ha!
Next we hopped on the hayride to take us out to the pumpkin patch. It was a bumpy, dusty, hot ride but it was all part of our fall festivities. I'm so lucky!
Mom and Lucy riding out to pick pumpkins...and melting in the hot sun. It made me wonder where we'd be picking pumpkins next year at this time. That's certainly the question of the hour!
Leah loves pumpkins-- she treats them like her little babies, so she quickly picked a little guy and claimed him as her own. She's almost 2!
Zachary also opted for one of the little guys laying out in the pumpkin patch, but his had one side that was still green-- so that was how his was unique. He liked stepping in all the old moldy pumpkin guts. Typical!
Lucy however spent a lot of time trying to find the biggest, roundest, orangest pumpkin perfect for carving. She finally succeeded and could barely lift it up because it was all muddy and covered in bugs, but she loved it.
Afterwards we headed straight for the homemade ice cream, which was cold and refreshing. and also counted as our very healthy lunch. Although it was a quick trip. our pumpkins will be safe and sound waiting on the front porch for us to carve as soon as we get back from Disney World. Mission: Accomplished! So, as they say here in the South, Happy Fall Y'all!
