Apple Pickin` Time

The girls and I went to the orchard with the Waters' clan a couple of weeks ago.  This was the third year that Ellen and I have gone out to pick apples, we always have such a good time.  It's so nice to have an orchard close by.

Ellen and Sydney with their pickers, ready to pick some apples.

Ellen was so proud she picked an apple all by herself.

The girls had the job of taking the apples from the "picker" and putting them in the bucket.  Sophia pretty much just ate the apples!

Sydney and Erin reaching for that perfect apple.

Sophia LOVED the apples.  I gave her a little apple and didn't think much about it...until Ellen said, "mom, Sophia is eating the whole apple."  When I turned around the apple was gone.  She had eaten the entire thing, core and all! 

Ellen showing off the "fruit" of her labor.

YUMMY!  In case you're wondering, Sophia only had one apple...these pictures must have gotten in the wrong order.  She sure does have the hang of eating apples doesn't she?

Sophia thought that she needed to get in on the action too, so Erin hoisted her up to pick one of her own.

The kids had a great time picking apples and were ready to go home.

Fishing at the pond

Over Labor Day we went down to my grandpa's house.  We took the kids and did a little fishing at the pond.

Ellen was ready to go with her Dora pole in hand.

The views from the pond were amazing! 

Tim and Ellen waiting and watching for her bobber to move.

This is the catfish that Teresa actually got to land.  She had a HUGE one on her line earlier but it broke off as she was reeling it in.  She kind of had a "freak out" moment and hollered for some help.  We all kind of stood there and watched her. 

This was the second catfish caught that day.  Ellen was pretty impressed with the size of the fish.

Ellen caught her first fish...a blue-gill.

This was her second catch of the day.

up-close

Ellen's third catch.  She ended the day with four!  Way to go Ellen. 

We have our family camping/fishing trip to Montauk in October...look out guys, Ellen's on fire!

Tim helping Ellen get her fish in.

Doesn't this just crack you up?  I love the look of intensity, the boots and shorts, and most importantly the Dora pole!  Love ya babe!

McKenzie and Grandpa trying their luck.

Dustin, Kate, and Lindsay taking a break in the shade.

Another great view

We had a great time fishing and the weather was amazing!  Thank you God for such an amazing family and the wonderful memories that we made that day!

Cooking with Mom

I like to bake! 

That means my girls like to "HELP"  : )  I was making chocolate chip cookies the other day and this is how it went...

Ellen was showing Sophia how to mix the ingredients.

Tim came home in the middle of our baking and got this picture of all of us in our aprons!

Again, Ellen "helping" Sophia stir.

My little bakers!  Ellen looks kind of intense, don't know what was going on there.

Under Construction

We have entered the time of tent building. 

Ellen got all of my throw blankets out of the closet and was ready to build tunnels.  So, this is what we came up with.  It was working really well until Sophia wanted to stand up in the middle of a tunnel.  Then everything came crashing down and we had to start all over.  Sophia finally got the hang of things and would follow Ellen in and out of the tunnels.

Silly Stuff

Ellen and Sophia were waiting for Tim to give them a ride.

Fun times right Sophia?  She really was having a good time.  I must have caught her in between smiles.

Ellen has gotten really good at playing games on the computer.  She can navigate around the Nickelodeon site pretty well.  So, that means that little sister Sophia wants in on the action too!  This is how I find them most of the time when Ellen is playing a game.  Ellen is very patient with Sophia, except for when Sophia reaches for the mouse.  We have gotten out the toy computer for Sophia to play with when things get to be too much for big sis.

Watching and learning!

I've spent the last hour and a half posting to the wrong blog!  I was posting to my ribbon blog by mistake.  So, there are posts coming but I'll have to find another time to do it.  Sorry!