fall art

Today is a sick day for mommy.
Which means we stay around the house and do quiet activities.


I'd been wanting to try these Fall tree painting projects I saw on Pinterest
and today was the perfect opportunity!

Peter used wine corks (perfect for chubby little fingers)



and stamped leaves all over his tree.

Hannah used Q-Tips and gently dotted her leaves on the tree.

My two artists at work.

the color palette

 

Peter's finished project

Hannah's finished project

apples

Yesterday our family took a trip up to Apple Hill.

I love going to that place.

And I love fresh, crisp apples!

So does my family.

 

We had a lovely picnic, looking out at the apple orchards and in the distant,

 we could even see the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains.

 

 There were a few a pumpkin patch decorations still up and the kids had a lot of fun with them!

Peter was loving climbing on top of the gigantic pumpkins.
And we were trying to get him to say "I'm the king of the world!"

Then Hannah announced, "it's my turn to be the princess of the earth!"

We watched this industrial strength apple peeler & corer machine in action.

 

 

There were some gorgeous fall colors around us.

And we explored until we found a tiny orchard that claimed to have award-winning pies.
And oh my, were they good.  If you happen to be up there go to "Bodhaine Apple Ranch" -
absolutely delicious and all handmade!!!

 

They said their favorite apple to use was the Rome Beauty.

Another picnic, this time under the apple trees.
In fact, as we were enjoying our treats a huge apple fell out of a tree
and missed hitting Peter's head by mere inches!
The kids thought that was pretty awesome (and we got to take the apple home).

 

What a refreshing, lovely place to spend the afternoon!

This morning the kids and I set to work making our first ever batch of applesauce.

All ready to cook in the crockpot.

It was easy and came out pretty yummy,
but I think the kids had the most fun with the long, curly strings of apple skin.

 

 

goodbye school, hello summer

Last week Hannah finished her first year of preschool.

In terms of last days, it was pretty awesome.
Peter and I tagged along for it because the whole day was rearranged into a carnival.

The kids earned tickets for every activity they tried.

There was face painting

 

pony riding,

bowling, ring toss and so much more!

As soon as they had two tickets they could trade them in for a "prize" - a new to them trinket (that we parents had cleaned out of our houses the previous week).

Hannah and her buddy Sailee finished the year, where their friendship first began - at the art table!

 

It was pretty sweet!

Peter decided art wasn't for him and would rather crash trucks together with Barrett.

Last circle time.

Teacher Jackie and Mr. Monkey singing "It's time to say goodbye to our friends" for the last time.

A last hug for Teacher "Kath -uh- leen" (as Hannah calls her)

Goodbye School.

Hello Summer!

We kicked off summer with a trip to Impossible Acres (a local, family-owned farm) to pick some fruit!

 

Oh yes, and to sample some along the way.

The trees were laden with apricots, white peaches and cherries!

Peter spent the whole time either eating fruit (from the trees and the ground) or
running to catch up with us.

My attempt at getting a picture with my kiddos.
(I think my 50mm lens is too short, either that or my arm is.)

 

 

Happy, berry stained face by the end.



Our delicious pickings!

I love summer and the fruit it brings.

signs of spring

I realize that the signs of spring usually look something like this:

beautiful trees budding, 

birds chirping, 

and chicks hatching.

The signs of spring around our house are slightly different.

Coloring Easter eggs with your sunglasses on because it's too bright

Adding some marker to make your eggs really fancy

The "triplets" all turning a year older

Hannah, Reagan and Quinn are cousins and all celebrate their birthdays within an 8 week span from March 14th to May 15th

Racing to find Easter eggs 

Enjoying the loot (a.k.a. jelly beans and fruit snacks)

Licking an ice cream cone after a very hot Picnic Day

this was Peter's first ice cream cone to himself and it did get messy!

Having a jam session with daddy

okay, so this happens all year round but Peter is getting much better at the ukelele

Getting dirty in the garden 

helping daddy prepare the soil for some tomato plants

"Painting" our backyard with water

This was an awesome idea I got from Hannah's preschool.  

Anything with water in the backyard is a hit right now.

Oh yes, and smiles are one of the best signs of spring!