APPLES AT BEILKE - 2018

We've been meaning to pick apples for a while, but just haven't gotten around to it. Yesterday was the last gorgeous October day and rain is coming soon, so the little Ws and I blitzed out to Beilke Family Farm this morning.

I think we'd all love to have a mini orchard of our own, so the four buckets we planned on getting quickly turned into six. Time for saucing, dehydrating, baking, and eating!

SOME FALL CREATIVITY

We have a bin of math manipulatives that get used for all sorts of things, none of which are math. Earlier this month Tyler used them to spell out "Halloween", making sure we all noticed that the color on the right side of each letter matched the left side of the following letter so that they flowed together. 

He also made a scarecrow face, rabbit face, jack o' lantern, and skeleton.

He and Devon had been working on a paper chain another morning, counting down the days until our church's harvest festival. Devon decided to experiment with the chain idea and created a cornstalk that he hung on the side of our fridge.

SATURDAY HIKE

We're in a season of life where it's unusual for all six Ws to have empty calendars at the same time, but it happened this afternoon. Throw in a bunch of October sunshine and we seized the opportunity to hike around Mount Talbert Nature Park. I was at a church event in the morning, so Tim and the kids grabbed snacks and water, as well as shoes and socks for me (my idea to hike, but I left home in my usual flip flops ... oops), then we all met up at the trailhead. Here we are near the start.

Tim and I strike a pose.

Devon chokes Silas.

Silas pulls Devon's hair.

All the kids finally smile. 

 One more family picture near the summit.

It was a fantastic way to spend one of the last warm afternoons of the year!

AN AFTERNOON OF GIRL TIME

Last Friday all the male Ws were out of the house for the day, so Naomi asked if we could do something fun together. I asked what she had in mind and her top goal was to use a Cheesecake Factory gift card she'd been given on her birthday to treat a friend to dessert. So, we did that, but we also made a few other stops that filled up the afternoon.

A quick trip to the library to return and pick up some books and movies. 

Then a trip to the outlets to use up the remainder of a gift card she had at The Children's Place. She was pretty happy about her new watch and earrings!

Off to Costco we went to load up on samples. She noticed that a particular cookie was on sale and asked me to take a picture to send Susan, the friend who introduced her to this particular treat.

We picked up Grace next and headed out to Cheesecake Factory for mid-afternoon dessert. We chose a brownie sundae, strawberry cheesecake, and key lime cheesecake - all delicious!!

We had some time to kill, so off to Ibach Park we went. I alternated between walking around the park and resting on a bench in the sun, thoroughly enjoying the blue sky and vibrant leaves I was surrounded by.

Meanwhile, the girls spent time swinging, climbing, and chatting.

"Hey, can we do one crazy pose before we leave?"

My time with Naomi, her time with a friend, dessert for everyone, and beautiful weather. It was such a fantastic afternoon!

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for the times I don't have to wake up to an alarm. What's one thing that you're thankful for?

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for Lauren Daigle's music. What's something that you're thankful for?

FALL FUN

Our family was given a bag filled with all sorts of seasonal things. There were sweet treats, savory foods, Halloween pencils, a scented candle, face paint, spray hair color, glow sticks, and stickers, all packaged up in an orange bag with orange tissue paper. How fun is that?!