The kids did not have school on Thursday or Friday this week, so Wednesday was their day to wear their Halloween costumes to school. We had two President Obamas, Doctor Pain, and a Mom.
Our neighbor gave the kids a couple of baseball caps from President Obama's inauguration. That and a couple of sport coats that did not fit all that well were the perfect costume for the boys. They were a huge hit at school and the only President at the school! (Isaac and Daniel attend different schools.) Daniel had kids shaking his hand and one of his teachers thought he was a very good look alike for our President. One boy said he loved Daniel's costume, but did not like what President Obama was doing with the country. Apparently the middle school is full of political experts!
Doctor Pain and Mom. I don't know where Alyssa gets her idea of what a Mom looks like. I do not wear high heels and pearls when I am doing the 'Mom' thing. All I know is that Alyssa looked awesome. Thanks Nana for the great costume. And Doctor Pain was the ONLY thing a tough, manly and mature teenager could do with a set of scrubs!
For one night we had a lovely visit with Aunt Susan and Uncle Dave. We really enjoyed seeing you. Too bad it was such a short visit, but you can come back for Mountain Dew and rubber chicken any time you would like!
Thank you for putting us on your list of people to visit. We loved having you.
We finally went to pick our apples. Luckily, our apple picking tradition lives on. We got a bushel of Ida Reds to make enough apple sauce to last for at least....two weeks! Dad was happy because we had the place to ourselves and the kids were happy because...well they were picking food and that is a big deal to them these days. Anything that cures hunger is a big deal to these guys!
An apple tree that is the perfect size for the kids to pick apples! It's more like a bush. The kids study each apple before they pick it....no one wants a worm hole in their apple! Did you see the movie 'Forest Gump'? Remember Bubba and all his shrimp ideas. I think the same thing holds for apples when you ask kids what we should make with our apples. They got pretty creative and by the time we got home, Joel had to stop them from coming up with more! Apple cake, apple pancakes, applesauce, dried apples, apple salad, apples and chicken, candy apples, caramel apples with nuts, apple pizzas, apples and caramel dip, cheese and apples on crackers and the list went on and on and on! WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT PICKING APPLES? Isaac - Apples are amazing. They are so good for you and they taste so good. You can eat them or cook with them and they come in so many colors.
Alyssa - I like picking apples because I like to eat them. They help your teeth fall out when they are loose and I have a loose tooth.
Nicko - I only pick the big ones because when I eat an apple I want a big one, but the other kids are not picking big apples, so I want my own bag!
Daniel - Shrug. It's just fun to pick apples.
Mom - I love our family traditions and last year we did not get to pick apples in the midst of moving. This year, the kids have been so busy and time flies by. I always want time to slow down so we have time to enjoy the moment. These family traditions are a way to mark time by celebrating our lives together in our own special way. Our traditions are important.
Dad - I just like it when Heather makes pink applesauce.
Next week is our last week of fall sports. A few more days and we can put our crazy busy schedule behind us for awhile. We have enjoyed watching the kids pursue their athletic goals, but the practice and taxi schedule have been pretty brutal. Last night at a family meeting we all admitted to looking forward to a slower pace.
Once the sports are over, hopefully we settle into a bit of a normal routine. The kids will go back to their Youth groups on Wednesday night, piano lessons will become much more consistent and maybe we can fit a few family things in as well.
We have some fun stuff coming up in the near future. Grandma and Grandpa are due to arrive later today which is always fun. Aunt Susan and Uncle Dave are coming for a visit all the way from California later this month! We have our annual apple picking later this month as well as the all important Halloween. This year we are not going trick or treating. The kids are still deciding if they want to invite friends over for a non scary Halloween party or go to a movie. So lots of fun stuff ahead and hopefully it all gets blogged at some point!
Isaac is off to Green Lake for a three day camp and it's time for me to take him to school. Green Lake is a camp the entire middle school attends for three days for all sorts of self esteem building activities. Isaac can't wait to go!
