Apple Orchard Weekend

This week we celebrated the annual Smith Family Apple Orchard Weekend. I have been very anxious for this because I have not seen my dad since August. This is usually the longest stretch we have to go without seeing each other and I was definitely ready for it to end. Matt and Kelsey started the festivities a little early because they attended the Homecoming parade on Friday afternoon while we waited for Grandpa to arrive. Since I teach in a different district than Matt, I was not able to go :( They had fun though without me! The weather was a little out of season as they were able to wear shorts and t-shirts due to the temps rising to the upper 80s...in October!




When I got home from school, Kelsey and I patiently waited for Grandma and Grandpa to arrive. Kelsey gave them a grand entrance when they got here and ran to them yelling, "Hi Grandpa Larry and Grandma Chris!!!" Once we were all reaquainted, we dressed in blue and went to the Huskies game. It was a nail biter, but the Huskies pulled out a win! Again, how weird we were comfortable in t-shirts at the game. Not typical for a football game in October.
Saturday morning we were back at it bright and early as we went to cheer on Soren at his soccer game. The unseasonal weather continued and we all wore summer clothes.
Here is Soren's cheering squad:



Next up was the main event--the Apple Orchard! Last year it rained the entire time we were there so we never got to pick our own apples. We were sure this year would be different---however, mother nature thought she was funny by dropping a 20 minute rain storm on us when we arrived. Thankfully, we hung out in the shop and waited for it to pass. With the mini-storm did bring a cold front that made us have to put on our sweatshirts, but not for long :)

We have gone to the same apple orchard the past 2 years and decided to adopt trees for our kids this year with the idea that we will continue to use this orchard in the future. It is a free program where a tree is designated as your child's/children's tree. Then every year you go there the kids can pick a small bag of apples for free and you can see how big your tree is getting.



Kelsey did pretty well with picking apples. She was more worried about the frog she spotted and how she was going to stay away from it. Not a frog fan apparently. Grandpa helped out with filling her bag while she kept on the lookout ;)





We found a perfect spot to take pictures of the kids before we left. We are quite the spectical trying to get 7 kids ages 6 and under to smile and look at the camera. Here is what I came up with:


We made our way to our house for an afternoon of family time. First we had lunch which everyone devoured from all our hard work. Next, the girls went shopping (with all my coupons, right girls?!?) and the boys watched the Badger/Gopher game and hung out with the kids. When the ladies returned we were back to work and started the pie making process. I got this great apple peeler for a gift last year and was so excited to use it because it makes peeling and slicing apples so easy.....unless the handle breaks off :( How does that happen after barely ever using it? We did eventually rig up a way to make it work without the crank, although it took 5 adults worth of trying and many laughs.

Due to the great weather, the kids played outside quite a bit and the guys got in there to play a game of baseball with everyone.



We ordered pizzas to round out the night and ate apple pie for dessert. What a good combo :) No one went hungry, that's for sure.

What a wonderful way to spend our weekend. I am so thankful that everyone makes it work coming from different areas to be together. As everyone drove away I did shed a few tears because it was just so good to all be together. Can't wait to do it again next year.

Things That Make Me Smile

Random post coming here, but it came to me and I am going with it:

Changing fall leaves and all the new colors you see

Kelsey's giggle when you tickle her

Pumpkin anything! Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars, pumpkin spice steamer (hold the caffeine please), pumpkin bagels, and of course the #1 best pumpkin---Pumpkin pie blizzard from DQ~ What is better than ice cream and pumpkin pie?!?

Being together as a family

Kelsey singing along to the radio or any song for that matter

My students

Hearing our baby's heartbeat again today and knowing we are almost 1/2 way to meeting our little bambino...almost 18 weeks now!

My husband and his hard work, as well as ability to manage so many things in the fall

Kelsey going potty daily and working toward being fully potty trained

Wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt while watching football on the weekend

Hearing Kelsey pray to Grandma Sandy

Knowing I get to see my dad this weekend

Our sweet Kelsey girl who is the joy of our lives

For some reason tonight I got a wave of sentimentality (if that is a word) and needed to share. Is that the pregnany hormone kicking in? Whatever it is, it is good to share and remind myself of all the things both big and little that make me so happy and fortunate.

Catching Up

I have been meaning to post a bunch of new things that Kelsey does/says/is into right now, but just feel like I never get to it. So....here comes a random post about what is new with our Kelsey girl

*She likes watching Dancing with the Stars or "dancing stars" as she refers to it. She tries to dance along and usually pulls Matt out to be her partner.

*Her drinks of choice are apple juice or chocolate milk. She likes when we have white milk and then add the hershey syrup.

*Potty training is going well at daycare, but not at home. Our daycare provider says she goes 3 times a day while there. However, we cannot seem to get her to go at home. We'll keep at it.

*She really likes Clifford books. She is starting to like regular picture books more than board books. Board books are nicer because she can turn the pages easier than the regular picture books, but it is good she gets used to them.

*Her new saying is "yeah baby." However, she can't just say it, she has to yell it. She puts her head back and belts it out. It makes us laugh everytime :)

*When she eats she likes to cross her fingers. Not sure what the purpose of this is, but she crosses her ring finger and pinky and pointer and tall finger. She does is randomly throughout meal time.

*She likes to pick the cup she is going to use for meals. She also wants to pick the place she sits as well. Some nights it is musical chairs until she finally chooses a seat.

*We rented the movie The Little Mermaid and she loved it! Add it to the list of movies we will have to purchase. She is such a little movie buff. She was singing along to Under the Sea and it was a total flashback for me because I sang that same song growing up.
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*She likes root beer floats and m&ms for treats.

*She has been into playing with her Mr.Potato Head. She puts all the pieces in and is proud when it resembles a face.

*We watch a lot of football in our house and she now recognizes it on tv. I think all my trying to convince her to like the Packers is working because she will say "Go Packers" when we ask her who is playing. However, her #1 team is still the Huskies :) She loves going to Daddy's games.

*Daddy is the preferred bath time man. He has helped her name all her toys and they have a blast while they play. A few names include Sally Dolphin, Pablo Pengiun and Tommy Turtle. Daddy even dunks his head in the water so they can blow bubbles together. Singing duets together is usually a nightime ritual.

*She has started to get more whiny when we say "no." She definitely likes to feel like she has a say in what is going on and when she doesn't, she gets upset. She is 2 and we try to give her the benefit of the doubt, yet let her know it is not ok to whine.

*She helps me lotion my belly and talks to my belly. Usually we tell her what to say, but sometimes she will make up her own things to say. So precious! We just know she is going to be a great big sister :)

It's Raining, It's Pouring, It's Flooding!

Owatonna has experienced a historic flood over the past 48 hours. It rained 8.5 inches in a 24 hour period creating a huge problem for the city. It was so bad that school was closed today! Many roads were closed making traveling difficult. I am providing a link to my sister-in-law's blog because she has taken a ton of pictures of all the damage. It is so sad and devastating. People have been evacuated from their homes and are dealing with huge amounts of devastation. So sad :( We are very thankful that our home did not get any water. We wish those who have damage the best and are thankful for all the community members who are helping them!

Pictures from the flood

Rose Colored Glasses

Kelsey has had this pair of sunglasses since she was very young. She has never had too much interest in them...until now. Lately, she wants to wear them all the time. The other day, she put them on immediately when she got home from daycare and wore them through dinner and until bathtime (when I had to negotiate with her to get them off.) She wore them to daycare the other day and she again had to wear them through breakfast. Sometimes they are so dirty she can barely see through them, but she never seems to mind. What a goof!

A few more randoms:

The Steele County Fair had quite the impact on Kelsey because she still says "I go by fair another day." She then names the rides she will go on.

When we used to ask Kelsey why she did something, wanted something, etc., she would respond saying "because". I would then always ask "because why?" So now when we ask her something and question her with "why" she responds by saying "because why."

Sleeping in the big girl bed is getting better and better. She usually stays in bed until about 4:30 or 5:00 and then calls to us saying" Mommy/Daddy come here!" Of course we don't mind the cuddling until we get up. She will only be little enough to do that for a short time longer.

School is in full force and we have completed our second week. I think we finally have the routine down and Kelsey is good with going to Mary's again. No more morning tears!

Big Girl Bed!

We have sort of been dragging our feet on when to switch Kelsey into a big girl bed. So after a summer off, we decided the weekend before school started seemed good ;) hehe Actually, we just thought we might as well get the room all set up and ready to go and just see how it goes. We have been talking this big girl bed idea up big time and she seemed pretty excited for it. I let her help pick out her bedding, although mommy saying "I really like this" helped steer her in the direction I was thinking ;) I did let her get the Dora sheets she picked out by herself though. Daddy helped make it all happen by putting the bed together and rearranging all the furniture. I admit that I was skeptical as to how it would all fit. We are planning to have Kelsey and the new baby share, so we wanted to try an arrangement that would work for that. Thank goodness Mattey is good with spatial order because he did a great job rearranging everything and the room looks great! Thus far, Kelsey has only taken naps in her big girl bed, although we plan to work on it more this weekend. With school starting and all the transitions that go along with that, we are trying not to push it too much. Maybe it is the pregnancy hormones contributing, but I did cry when she laid in her bed the first time because it made her seem so big. She likes to lay in it and read her books, so she is slowly warming up to the idea.



On a side note, we started school and oofda, this getting up early in the morning thing will take a little getting used to. (I should clarify--for me and Kelsey, not Matt. Matt gets right up, while I press snooze savoring every second.) Matt and I have had a good couple first days back getting in the swing of things. Kelsey girl on the other hand has had a tough time separating from us. She tells us, "Don't leave me." I am not sure how Mattey handles dropping her off and having her cry like that because I am sad about it and I am not even the one doing it! I know it is a transition and will take time, I am just hoping it is sooner than later because it sure makes it hard. Let's hope it is short-lived.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Mattey has been working hard since mid-August to get the Owatonna Huskies football team ready for their football season. Here we are a few weeks later, and it was time to face-off against Wayzata. Kelsey was excited for the game and practiced saying "Go Huskies!" We bundled up in blue and made our way to the field. Kelsey did great during the game. It took a little bribing with M&Ms, but well worth it to be able to stay in the stands the whole game. She loves watching the cheerleaders and would say "How about another cheer?" when they would finish.
We are very proud of our coach and can't wait to follow the Huskies this season!