hello october

amazingly enough, october is here (whoa summer...where did you fly off to!). and, in true indiana form, the weather has been all over the charts...crisp and chilly Saturday for our annual apple day and a MOPS cookout...and then sunny and in the upper 70s by the end of our visit to the zoo Tuesday. i've mentioned it before...but i must say it again...i truly enjoy autumn. i think over the years, it has become my favorite of the seasons...the gorgeous colors of the leaves...the crisp, cool mornings, wearing jeans, warm afternoons--perfect for enjoying the backyard and parks!

we've had a fun and busy past few days...here are just a few highlights. :)

Saturday was our annual applesauce making day...complete with a bounce house in the front yard this year....how fun is that!? we managed to crank out 12 bushels worth of applesauce (split between a few families...we like applesauce, but we are crazy!). we cut apples, cooked apples, cranked it into sauce, chatted, laughed, had a few cut hands (fortunately none majored), watched kids bounce, at pizza, and all in all had a great day.





the kiddos minus the babies...rilla, luke, and greta


jake and mike, hard at work


the six burner stove constantly was on...cooking pots full of sliced apples!


i actually took my crew home for rest/naptime...here is libs...cleaned up, rested, and ready for our MOPS cookout that evening (after returning to help with apple clean-up...a sticky job!).

i can hardly believe this sweet girl is turning six in just a few days! eek! notice the leapster in her hands...i had been leapster resistant for a long time...but after picking a fabulously good condition used one up at a garage sale for 2 bucks (with a myriad of games included!) i'm a fan...as are the girls. i found a couple more at garage sales a week later...with more games...we don't use them all of the time, but they do produce a sort of blissful silence every now and then...AND i don't feel too bad about the video game factor since most of the game are truly educational in some respect.


elizabeth also wanted to be sure i showed you all her missing tooth (though, as you can see, its replacement it already well on its way in!)


we ended our busy Saturday at a MOPS cookout. we were greeted with screams of delight from libber's and kate's friends alli and aubree when we arrived...oh how i wish everyone always greeted me like that! :)


what cookout would be complete without smores!



and yes...luke did, in fact, exist on this fun Saturday ;)


we also made a last minute decision to forgo our normal morning of school at home and take a field trip to the zoo yesterday...a great choice since it was nearly empty and the weather was GORGEOUS!

the tiger was awake..visible...and eager to visit ;)


somebody is pretty proud of his sitting up skills


umm...wardrobe malfunction...lol (if you are missing it, look again)


some of our favorite friends even met us there at the last minute...lot of girls...


peek-a-boo, i see you animal...jilly loved saying, "aaa-mul" or commenting on the many "ee-pays" flying overhead or the occasional "choo-choo" we heard. the zoo is a pretty exciting place! animals and airplanes and choo-choos...oh my!


precious!


now on to another exciting weekend. we rented a shelter in the park for elizabeth's birthday party and just invited her friends and their whole families...something we've wanted to do all summer. the weather forecast is perfect...should be a fun filled evening!

and finally...because i can...here is my budding softball star...the first one is a miss...but seriously, don't you love her "style"...one should always "spin" while swinging...and you can't see the ball in the second one, but it really took off!