Little Apple Pies and Enjoying Outside

After going to my friend's last weekend and making mini apple pies in her mini muffin pan, I decided to make little personal apple pies in a regular muffin pan this week.  They turned out very yummy!  You know, baking anything with apple makes me think of Fall.  I think Fall is my favorite time of year.  I love the coolness, the colorful leaves, baking more...ok, done with that rabbit trail....

The weather has been a lot better lately. No days in the high 90s and low 100s for the last week!  We've been able to spend more time taking walks and playing in the backyard a bit. I was outside with H3 and H4 yesterday and happened to look toward the back of our property.  There was a flock of over 20 turkeys in our backyard!  You can see quite a few of them in this picture, though some of them had already disappeared in the woods by the time I got close enough to take the picture.  At times like these I really wish I had a camera with a good zoom lens.

H1 has a football game tonight, but wasn't required to go into work at the school today. He had to report for football at 2:00 this afternoon.  For this morning, we decided to take a drive to a "local" park (anything "local" for us is at least a 30 minute drive).  H3 really needed to burn off some energy.  Just minutes after we arrived, two buses pulled up from a local church preschool. Scores of children just her age.  Jackpot!  I know, it seems a bit sad to be so excited about such a thing, but when I pull up to a play area and I see tons of kids, I get excited.  H3 is very social and loves finding someone to play with.  

Looking at these pictures is making me realize how long H3's legs are!  Oi!  I'm going to start pulling out some different shorts for this kid.  She hit another growth spurt again this summer and I think we're going to have to change sizes pretty soon.  Back in the earlier spring she was still wearing a 4, and now these size 5's are looking a little small!  I saw a post of Facebook recently about her cousin, who just turned 4.  He had his check-up this week and is a little over 47 inches tall and 48 lbs.  I'll be interested to see where H3 compares at her appointment a month from now.  My firstborn baby is almost 4!

We ended our family time with lunch at Chick-fil-A, at which H3 found another little girl her age to play with in the kids area!  They really have the best milkshakes. Yummmm.  H1 is now off to his game, which will start at 7pm, and I'm hanging out with my girls for the afternoon. I think popcorn will be on the agenda for dinner tonight.  I loved having popcorn for dinner when I was a kid, and we usually did that a couple times a month. Since H1 will have games every Friday night between now and mid November (and therefore will not be home for dinner), I'm thinking Friday nights will become our popcorn or cereal dinner nights.  Does anyone else have an "easy" dinner night tradition?

~H2

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

I'm learning how to get out and around with my girls!  H1 went to Cleveland, OH, for the Promise Keepers conference last weekend.  He and my dad said they really enjoyed it.  The trip would have been too long for us girls, so we went to a nearby friend's house to hang out, and as you can see from the first few pictures, we had a great time!

Picking apples at a friend's house

 Ahnika (11 years old) lifted H3 to pick apples

Peas in a pod

 We made apple pie

And mini apple pies

 All dolled up for church

 My beautiful girls

H1 is back to work at the school (kids start back Sept 4), so we visited him for lunch

Have a blessed day!

~H2

What To Do With A Rainy Saturday?

Jump in the puddles!

Hope you are making the most out of your weekend too!

~H2

Getting Back in the Swing of Things

I'm slowly getting back into a routine with the girls. It's taking a lot of focus and I often slide off course, but I am trying!  H4 isn't as eager to have an established schedule like her older sister was.  H3 put herself on a strict schedule and literally ate every three hour exactly with a good night of sleep.  H4 is everywhere with hers, asking to eat anywhere between 1 and 3 hours apart.  When she is awake though, she's pretty alert and watches everyone intently.  Blessedly, both of my girls love taking walks.  I am trying to re-establish the morning walking routine with them, where we take a 1 mile walk around 9a.m. (before it gets too hot).  

Due to the heat and humidity, there are mushrooms in abundance...

H3 has waist-length hair.  Part of the house rules regarding hair is that she can have it as long as she wants, but she is required to allow me to brush it daily and it does have to be tied back during the summer (because she overheats easily) and during mealtimes to keep it out of the food.  She asked me to put her hair up like this yesterday morning.

Sister snuggle time.

We are also slowly starting up little "school" activities, though we won't officially start until September 4th. H3 loves putting puzzles together, so I purchased this foam map puzzle of the U.S.  She has memorized 40/50 states so far, and knows where almost all of them go.

My friend Robyn spent the night last night, along with her three girls and another three that were staying with her (two are there for 10 days and the other is one she babysits during the summer).  Counting my two, there were 8 girls, age 11 and under, plus the two of us ladies. H1 was working until 7, and then he came home and mowed the lawn. He didn't come in until the younger 6 girls were in bed.  Poor guy.  Lots of estrogen in our home!  The girls all had a blast though. We made pizza and popcorn for dinner last night (and brownies), and watched Newsies.  Then the girls (minus H4, obviously) played a round of KGB. It made for lots of giggling and screaming, and was rather amusing to watch them all trying to hide in various rooms of my house.  

This morning we had coffeecake and scrambled eggs for breakfast.  Afterwards, I brought out some of my card making supplies and let the girls have at it with the stamps and stickers.  A couple made birthday cards, and then some made cards for their teachers or parents.  Here's a picture of all of them at the dining room table.

Robyn's oldest is helping H4 with her card.

H4 with her card

Having run and enjoying the ride,

~H2

H4 is 1 Month Old Already!

And I can't believe it. I took a few pictures of my girls this morning.

I have to say that H3 has exceeded all my hopes as a big sister.  She is so welcoming and loving toward her baby sister, and she has been very patient and not jealous at all over the time that I need to care for H4.  Granted, H3's energy level is still through the roof and she is bouncing off the walls a bit (ok, a LOT), but her attitude toward this life adjustment has been great--exactly what I have been praying for.

H1 left for NY this morning so he can attend his grandfather's funeral service tomorrow. He should be back on Tuesday morning.

~H2

Goodbye For Now

This first week in August is about saying "Goodbye for now."  Yesterday, H1's grandfather went home to be with our Lord.  He was H1's maternal grandfather.  (Both of H1's paternal grandparents passed away while H1 was very young.)  H1 was close to his grandfather and I know we will all miss him, but we are thankful for his legacy and that our goodbyes are just for now and we will see him again.  The funeral service will be held on Monday in New York and H1 is leaving on Sunday afternoon to attend. I don't think the girls and I are up for making the trip, since H1 is planning on driving back directly after the service to be at work on Tuesday morning.  That's a lot of driving in a short amount of time, which is hard on little munchkins.

Another goodbye is coming up this weekend. Unless a job and house open up in the next couple days, a good friend of mine from church is moving to Maryland.  Her 6-year-old daughter is one of H3's best friends, and those two girls have been playmates for the last two years. I know H3 is going to be asking where her friend is, and I've tried to explain to her about moving, but I'm not sure her mind has wrapped around the idea.

For now I'm taking a moment to breathe and we'll see what the rest of the month brings.

~H2