Apple Picking

One of the highlights of our trip was going apple picking. We took Mr. Mister to this same farm when he was just three months old. It is a beautiful place with rows and rows of apple trees and it was the perfect chilly fall day to be there. We took a hayride out to the orchard, picked 3 bushels of very yummy apples (120 pounds!), and maybe tasted a few along the way. We split all those apples between 5 families, but that still gave us more than enough apples each. If you have any good and easy apple recipes, let me know!

Here are some pictures. They're all from the apple orchard except the last one. It's just a great picture of Fall at Grandma and Papa's lake.

Mr. Mister with Grandma and Nonno on the hayride out to the orchard.

Getting a ride on Aunt K's shoulders.

Helping Grandma - I'm sure he was gently putting them in the bag.

Sneaking a taste with Papa.


Waiting for the hayride back.

Taking a walk through the orchard.

A perfect picture of Fall.

Fall in PA

We just arrived home from a wonderful trip to Grandma and Papa's house. It's always fun to see everyone there and to play at the lake, and this time of year is beautiful there as the trees change colors. My parents and Uncle N and Aunt K joined us there too from Saturday to Sunday, so it was a packed house with lots of fun people for Mr. Mister to play with! I'll post more pictures later, but here's a few good ones to start.

Sitting in the chair that Papa made him.

last day!

Today was my last day of teaching. It was a happy sad day (like they said in an old Cabbage Patch Kids book we used to read when we were little). Okay, so it was mostly happy and just a little sad. It's a huge relief to be finished with that requirement of this class (I still have a week of class to go), but I did enjoy the time I spent with the teachers and students and I really liked being back in the classroom.

I've been thinking a ton about teaching and staying home and why I'm not going back to teaching now. There are a million thoughts I could share on that but that's another blog post because this has been the longest, most tiring week in a long time so I really just need to go to bed.

I'll just say that between Mr. Mister's plea of "don't leave, Mommy!" this morning as I walked out the door and his huge smile and statement of "Mommy all done working. Don't leave Mr. Mister" this afternoon, it makes me pretty happy with my decision to stay home with him.

I do have to give a HUGE thank you to our wonderful friend Beybeth (as Mr. Mister calls her) for being such a great babysitter over the last 7 weeks. She and Mr. Mister had a lot of fun together and I know he'll miss playing with her. Thanks, E, I couldn't have done it without you!

almost there...

Two weeks until freedom. I can almost taste it except for the big project I have to do between now and then. But the end is coming. And when it does, my blog will be restored to the regularly updated collection of pictures and stories that it used to be. I have some great videos waiting to be posted. But if I get caught up on my blog, I'll be behind in school or life, so I guess I have to make my priorities.

Really Loud!

Every time we get in the car, Mr. Mister wants us to turn music on. And every time we do, he says, "Louder, Mommy." So I turn it up. And he says, "Really louder, Mommy!"

And today out of nowhere, he said, "What's up, Mommy?" I cracked up. I have no idea where he learned that, but it's not something I expected my 2 year old to say!

The Mom Purse and a Funny Word

I've accepted the fact that my purse is now a mom purse that holds everyone else's things. But I had to laugh today when I reached in to find my keys and instead pulled out Mr. Potato Head's eyes. We had actually been looking for his eyes, but who knows how they ended up in there.

Mr. Mister also said a new and funny word today. I could tell he was going number 2 so I asked him if I could change his diaper. He said, "No. Mr. Mister still poo-pooing." I thought it was a pretty creative way to communicate that. It's fun to see him learning language rules and applying them even when they're not always right.

Fun Fall Day

This morning we met Grandma at a Fall Festival at a local garden center. Mr. Mister got a free pumpkin, got to play some games, and made his way through a mini corn maze. It was fun but pretty low key so we headed to the park afterwards. Mr. Mister showed off his strength on the rings!

Adventure Pictures

Here are some pictures from recent Mr. Mister adventures...

Testing out the quads at Bass Pro. It won't be long....

A day with Daddy while Mommy was teaching. They went to a state park and loved being outside all day.

Monday nights are Daddy and Mr. Mister's night out while Mommy runs with girls (as Mr. Mister says). They always eat pizza at the park. That pizza's looking a little sandy.

And this is what happens when Daddy goes to get the newspaper while Mr. Mister is eating breakfast.