Apple Picking Fall 2011

Since moving to Pennsylvania in 2008, we have enjoyed visiting local orchards and picking apples. The children love eating them and baking with them and it has truly become a tradition we've made since living here.

Want to go down memory lane? I've given links to all our previous apple picking posts below.

Apple Picking 2008

Apple Picking 2009

Apple Picking 2010

Springtime Update

We have been enjoying some fun springtime activities. We've been gardening. We are working on developing more flowerbeds around our house and also giving container gardening a try. Tyler has wanted to grow his own carrots for a while now, so he planted some carrot seeds. They are doing well, and we hope to be eating them in about 30 more days!

Bird watching is another one of our family's favorites. We feed finches, hummingbirds, and we have a separate wild bird feeder, and a bird bath. We are attracting all sorts of fun birds and identifying them in our field guides. Tyler is really into birds right now, especially water birds. We had a mother woodpecker make a nest in one of our trees and it was fun to listen to them and watch her feed them.

This weekend, our church had a picnic and we had a wonderful time. Some friends of ours brought a huge water slide and it was a big hit with all the kids (big and little).

So, how about you? How was spring been treating you? We have one more week to enjoy some rest time before we start three weeks of a program called Tennis for Kids, and then Vacation Bible School, and then Heath and I are headed to Ontario, Canada for a mission trip. Once we return from that, my focus will be getting things organized for the 2011-12 school year. Lauren will be a 1st grader, Kaitlyn a 3rd grader, and Tyler a 4th grader.

Vacation Day #7

Wednesday, November 3rd was our final day at the condo. We spent time at the beach, the pool, and at a mini golf course. It was a fun and busy last day!

Vacation Day #6

On Tuesday, November 2nd, we drove over to Sanibel Island. We visited the J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

K participated in a junior ranger activity and was awarded a Junior Ranger badge at the end.

We went on a drive through the refuge, and we actually spotted a live alligator in its natural habitat! This was so exciting!

Along the driving trail, there were a few trails you could pull over and park, get out of your vehicle and go on a walking trail and explore.

Along a walking trail, we saw this really cool ORANGE grasshopper!

Of course we spent more time at the beach once we got back to our condo!

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Last Friday, we packed a picnic lunch and our kites and headed to one of our favorite PA state parks! This was T, K, and L's first kite flying experience, and we had so much fun! I don't have any memories of flying a kite as a child, and Heath said he hasn't flown a kite since he lived in Germany. He only lived in Germany for preschool, Kindergarten, and 1st grade - so it has been a while since he's flown a kite. K just asked me today if we were going to fly our kites again this weekend. She can't wait to go again!

Apple Pickin' 2010

This is our third year apple pickin' in PA! This is a picture of the children in 2008

2009

2010

The children and I went apple picking on Saturday, and this week we've been busy making dumplings, apple butter, and jelly!

More Football

Last Sunday, T had his first game, and I took a lot of pictures. This week, I plan on just watching because you miss a lot of the action when you have a camera in front of your face.

Playing quarterback!

Check out that pass!

Rocks, Paths, Playgrounds, and Wiffle Ball

This past weekend we climbed on some really big rocks, hiked some really pretty trails, played on a playground, and played an epic game of wiffle ball - and we did it all at one of our favorite local state parks!

3rd of July Tradition

This year, for the second year in a row, we spent the 3rd of July with some friends. We live here in PA with no family around, and they live here in PA with no family nearby; so we hang out a lot together on various holidays.

We started the night off with a cook out.

Then the children went on a scavenger hunt!

Of course we ate some dessert!

And we ended our night watching a beautiful fireworks display!

Strawberry Pickin'

We went strawberry pickin' today and had lots of fun! T only picked the biggest and best berries, L picked whatever, and K did a good job of picking nice, red, ripe berries. The weather today was absolutely beautiful and perfect for picking berries. Our sweet friend, "Miss" Linda helped us can some strawberry jam, we froze most of the berries, and we're saving some to make Dad a special Father's Day dessert this weekend since we'll be travelling on Father's Day. We hope to be able to pick blueberries next!

Landscaping Take 2

We've been working pretty hard out in our yard this Spring. Do you remember this post I shared on April 3rd? Well, I have some new pictures to show our progress!

Remember, this is how the walkway looked when we moved in back in January...

This is what the walkway looks like today...

This was an old abandoned sand box. We are guessing there used to be a box. We dug up all the sand and hauled it off. Then we slowly started planting some plants who like the shade.

This is what the old sand box area looks like today. There will be more color as the marigolds, impatients, and hostas grow and bloom.

This picture shows you how the rock continues on around the house...

I really am learning as I go. I may have planted some things that won't do well in certain areas. But, I will learn from my mistakes and make some adjustments next year!