Fall Festivities!

We have had a busy week! Last Thursday the kids and I went apple picking at Bushy Hill Orchard in Granby with our friends Jenn, Bailey & Jacqueline. We rode a very bumpy tractor/hay ride to the u-pick area and filled our 10-lb bags (and our bellies!) with delicious apples! I have intentions to make a pie, but have not gotten around to that yet. And the way these kids eat apples, I may not get a chance to!
On Monday, we went out to Dad's and went to Buell's Orchard's Open House. The kids had a great time eating popcorn, donuts, drinking cider, and riding the hayride out to the pumpkin patch. We found 6 great pumpkins! One big one, 2 medium sized ones, 2 small ones, and a gourd Emmalee insisted on getting. We will only carve the 3 biggest ones. Steve wanted to carve the Boston "B" on one of them, but the way these games are going, we may want to wait on that!

We came to the realization that Micah is allergic to cats when we were at Dad's. He was lying on the floor playing with Buddy, a big, white, coarse-haired, friendly cat. Soon, Micah began sneezing. In the car on the way to the orchard, he said his eyes were itchy. When we arrived at the orchard, his eyes were puffy, purple, and runny. We had had an incident similar to this when we visited Mom in NC in April - not to this extent, but her cat has different hair than Buddy. We knew he was suffering from some kind of allergy, but thought it was seasonal, not cats! Now we know! Check out the sad looking picture of him!
After the orchard, we visited with Grammy and Grampy for a while. We always enjoy spending time with them!

Kids in the Fall

I'm so glad I didn't have to title this entry as "Falling Kids" - thankfully we have not had any accidents around here lately!
We are just enjoying the season these days - the crisp mornings and warm afternoons - and the cool nights are ideal for sleeping comfortably! Micah and I raked a leaf pile the other day and the kids enjoyed playing in it. I think Micah enjoys raking more, though. He is my helper! Emmy is a great helper with Lily - always keeping an eye on her and keeping her out of trouble! Micah is my work helper - always wants to sweep or vacuum or dust... or rake! And Lily is my pain in the neck - always climbing onto or into something, or trying to stick toys in the central vacuum hole, or eating paper, or pulling stuff out of cabinets... she's very adventurous!
Tomorrow the kids and I are going apple picking with my friend Jenn and her 2 kids - there is nothing like a fresh picked apple! And Monday we are going with Dad to Buell's Orchard Open House like we do every year. We'll get our pumpkins there, and then the carving fun will begin! What a fun season!

Not Much...

Well there is not too much to report on this week.
Emmalee began her dance lessons again on Wednesday - she is focusing on ballet this year, and when I watched for a while through the window, I could see that they will be learning serious ballet this year. The last 4 years she has been in combination classes, and the girls have all been younger - now that they are in second grade, 7 and 8 years old, they are starting to get down to business. There was none of the goofing off I have seen in classes previous - the girls stood in their lines and practiced their positions and *danced*. I am so glad we chose ballet - Emmalee looked so graceful - and she really enjoyed the class. I am looking forward to seeing what she learns and how she grows as a dancer this year.
Micah absolutely loves school - he cried this week when I picked him up because he wasn't ready to leave yet. The last 15 or so minutes of school is playing outside. And Mrs. Tighe, his teacher, has kid motorcycles - which are really just 3-wheel bikes that they pedal, but Micah really thinks he is riding a motorcycle. It is his favorite part of the day - as soon as they get outside until I pick him up, Micah is riding circles in the fenced-in part of her driveway.
And as far as Lily goes -

she has been taking steps by herself now! She has taken up to 4 steps before falling. She is still a monkey - climbing all over everything! And she now says "shoe" (she loves shoes!)
We are having a yard sale tomorrow morning - trying to get rid of a bunch of stuff! I'll let you know how it goes!