It's Apple Picking Time!

This was our first weekend home in quite some time...it was our first weekend without the races! We started the weekend Friday evening going to a local carnival, where they had free inflatables or the boys. They had so much fun! Saturday morning we headed to the apple orchard. We wanted to get there when it opened, but we ended up getting there a little early and had to drive around a little bit before we could go there! It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time! Here are a few photos from our visit!

Posing by the tractor

Our boys...I'm so mad that this is blurry!
Petting the goats

Matt and I

Swinging!

Zane couldn't wait to ride these!

Mason had to be pushed!

Off to find some apples!

See any good ones up there?

Mason tested most of his out...

Get a good one!

Saturday evening we went to the Ottis' house. We ordered pizza and watched the Northwest game. It's fun to get to watch the game on tv! The kids had a great time playing (except poor Nora was Mason's punching bag...he's a brute)! I'm so glad our kids are growing up together! We left right before the Iowa game started. When we got home and were settling down, I was having Mason cheer for the Hawks...here he is cheering (of course he was doing way better before the camera came out...go figure)!

Go Hawkeyes!

Zane-isms

• Last week as I was getting our fall decorations out, Zane came up to me and said, "Mom, why did you get your crows out?" I figured out he meant scarecrows and I said that it was fall. His response was, "Does that mean it's time to pick pumpkins?" Fall is our favorite!
• "Dad, how did God get his big truck down here to build our house? And why did he build our house in Kansas City and not in Iowa?"
• "Dad, Marcy has Super Mario, but she doesn't win it like we do because we are buddies!"

Mason's Marvels

• The other evening I left to get some milk and a couple of other things at the grocery store. When I returned and walked into the house, Mason looked at me and said, "Oh, dos-ees" (Oh, groceries)! I didn't even know he knew that word!
• Zane was in time-out in his room this weekend and Mason walked to his room, looked at him, and said, "Bad Zane. Naughty."

No more training wheels!

We've stayed pretty busy the last couple of weeks and have gotten settled into our school/daycare/work routine now. It's crazy to think we've been back in this schedule for a month now! Where did our summer go????? Over Labor Day weekend, we went to Lake Icaria one last time. Craig, Marcy, Brent, Matt, and Zane took the boat out for a little bit while Keeta, Mason, and I played on the playground and the beach. We came home for Labor Day, it was nice to catch up on some cleaning! We also spent some time shopping and went to Dave and Buster's for lunch...a "grown up" Chuck-E-Cheese. The boys were very well-behaved there and also had a lot of fun!

Zane playing a racecar game

Mason "playing" a racecar game
The boys on the motorcycle game

The biggest "claw" machine we've ever seen!

Our biggest news of the last couple of weeks is that Zane can now ride his bike without training wheels! I've been telling him that he has to learn to do that and also tie his shoes before he can go to kindergarten...one down and one to go! We tried taking the training wheels off a couple of months ago, but the first time he fell, he was done with it! This time he didn't really want us to take them off, but after they were off, Matt walked alongside him twice, then let go and he was off! He was so proud of himself!!! Now the kid wants to be outside riding his bike around our cul-de-sac every night...I love it! One day he was going across the street to show our neighbors and he crashed...with his face hitting their pick-up. He always gets up and says "I'm okay!" This weekend we hauled his bike to Iowa so he could show everyone!

I've tried to upload a bike-riding video 3 times and it won't work...sorry!

Zane-isms

• You can tell that they have been talking about how to not spread germs at school...and working on handwashing, etc. When Zane washes his hands now, he sings the "ABC's" and will make you do the same if you are washing your hands in his presence!


• "We don't eat in our classroom anymore. We eat in the cafeteria." Why? "We are practicing for kindergarten!"


• We were eating at Breadeaux Pizza last weekend and as Zane walked by the buffet, the lady working there burned herself and said "Ouch!" Zane stopped, looked at her, and said, "Are you OK?" I was so proud!

Mason's Marvels

• Mason, what did you eat at Jo's today? "Um...um..." Many times now, when asked a question, Mason will say "Um...um..." just like that!


• This weekend on the way to Iowa, Mason kept saying "Papa's house?" I would say "We're almost there" and then he would say "Kay!"


• I've been saying to the boys, "Who's my boy?" One day Mason shocked me by saying, "Me!" as he raised his hand! I was surprised and it was so cute...and now that's his response every time!