A is for Apple...

For everyone that knows Evan knows his favorite word and I do believe his first word ever was apple!  When I got some apples to make our cute teacher gifts a while back and gave Emma & Evan one of their own and realized how much they actually liked to eat apples...I knew we had to make an apple picking trip! I wanted to go to the mountains but just couldn't find a whole weekend to devote to this little adventure so a day trip would have to suffice!  I found an apple orchard right outside of Spartanburg so we got up early this morning and headed that way. It was Nivens Apple Orchard.  They have an apple orchard, pumpkin patch, corn maze, hay rids, go-kart races, farm animals, gem mining, a playground, a picnic area and a store where you can buy anything and everything that can possibly be made with apples!  I tried to limit the pictures I put on the blog but I still ended up with a lot so just bare with us! 

Our picnic basket packed and ready to go!  Finally got to use this!

Here we are in front of the gem mining!

My sweet girl waiting on the hayride to start.

Evan didn't want to stop for picture time!  Always on the go!

Checking out the pigs!

Here you got to dress the scarecrow.  E&E wouldn't dare put their heads in this for a picture but I took one of the scarecrow anyway.  I thought this was a neat idea.

The tractor and trailer arrived.  Time for the hayride!

Here we go!

Family photo!

Emma looking over at the scenes on the Character Trail

Evan checking them out too!

The tractor dropped us off in the apple orchard and it was time to pick apples!

Here is my hot sweaty boy carrying his apples!

Emma carrying her apples!

Evan trying to feed the cow one of his apples!

Time for our picnic!

And we sampled one of the apples on the ride home!

They must have been good because they ate them all!

 

We had a fun filled morning.  This afternoon Brantlee & Easton were over at Marty & Nancy's so we played with them a while before supper, while Justin and the other guys played corn hole! Since our naptimes were VERY short today E&E both were asleep by 7:30.  Now, Justin and I are watching the Clemson game in peace & quiet!  I have one happy Tiger fan!  Tomorrow is going to be a BUSY day.  We have a pot luck breakfast in the morning so I will be up early cooking for that.  Then, we have the family day at the lake where I have to take a dish, and then we are having a birthday party for Justin at our house tomorrow afternoon.  That is a lot of cooking for someone who doesn't cook!  It is a little early for Justin's birthday but it was a good time since his brother was already going to be in town.  So, come Monday...we are relaxing and getting the pool for one last time.  Hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend and a great Labor Day!!



Our first day back at school...

Learning Express started back today!  This year Emma & Evan are going to be going all 5 days and I am not sure I am going to like this!  That means I have to get up every morning and get them ready in addition to getting myself ready.  I like to sleep so this may not be a good idea!!  We met their teacher Friday and took her the cute teacher gift we made at bible study several weeks ago.  So, last night we packed their book bags and laid out their clothes!  Of course I took pictures...

Our bags all packed ready to go...

Evan's outfit!

 Emma's outfit!

 

I saw a friend who got up and cooked her child a cute little breakfast the first morning of school and I really thought about doing that but I didn't.  I will do it next year!  This morning Emma & Evan just had to eat their normal oatmeal.  I feel like such a slack mom!! :)  After breakfast we got dressed and ready to go.  Of course I took more pictures...

 

My sweet girl...

My handsome little man.  You would never know from this picture the not so good mood he was in! :)

The best picture I could get of the two of them!

 

And before we left I realized Emma's toenails were not painted! So we had to fix that!  Luckily she loves to get her toenails painted!! Here we are doing a quick paint job...

and the finished product!

 



So, our first day went pretty good!  They didn't cry when I left them even though Evan was in a not so good mood.  There teacher said they did good and even did a little painting so I know Emma & Evan loved that!!  I went to pick them up and brought them home to Janice.  So, we are already in the bed and packed up ready for tomorrow!  We are hoping for a great year!  We have big plans for the week!  A long overdue hair appointment Wednesday, Carolina football kicks off Thursday and we are going over to a friends house for the game, Saturday we are going on a little apple picking adventure...but no worries...we will be home early enough for the Clemson game, Sunday is a family get together at the Lake with Justin's family, & Monday is a holiday...which means we're off work!!  I told you we would were going to be busy!!  Hope you all have a good week!!



It's still raining...

It is still raining here and I am bored, so yes...the blog is getting another update!  We were stuck inside all yesterday afternoon and all morning so we decided to get creative and have some fun!  I saw this cute idea on Pinterest where you use pipe cleaners and a colander and thread the pipe cleaners through the holes.  We already had pipe cleaners and a colander...so we played with that for a while.  This is good hand eye coordination practice right??

 

Then, I brought out the tunnel and made a tent with blankets and a chair.  Emma is no longer afraid of the tunnel.  That kept us busy for quite a while. 

 

Then, when daddy came home from work we did a little art project.  We had to wait for him to bring us poster board from DG!  I bought this paint for them for Easter and what a better time to bring it out.  It is washable...but I still wanted this little project done outside.  I am SO thankful for a garage that can be closed to keep toddlers confined! :)  Here are a couple pictures from our art project!!

 

I think they enjoyed themselves! Emma & Evan are taking their naps now, Justin is outside still straightening up and organizing his building, and there is nothing on TV!!  Sounds like another afternoon nap in my near future.  We were deciding what to get into tonight.  I mentioned the idea of Chuck E Cheese in Greenville but Justin said no.  So, we might head out for pizza and to Jumpin Jax!  We have to spend this energy somehow!  If you are wondering...our cookout got moved to next weekend.  Rainy cold weather doesn't go with a cookout! 

A rainy day catch-up...

What a nasty rainy day it is here in ole' 96! It is the middle of August and it is 60 degrees.  Feels more like fall than summer.  Well, Justin's lawn mower arrived and thankfully he was able to cut the grass before all the rain set it!  Evan thinks he has a new toy too!  I'm sure for the time being...Justin won't mind cutting the grass...but once the newness wears off and Evan gets older...this new toy will be Evan's to enjoy all he wants!  Justin is so excited and it makes me happy to see him happy!

Daddy's little sidekick!!

Ready to cut!!

 

Going for a spin!

Last night we had a girl's night out and it was so much fun!!   Jillian got it together for us!  We went out for supper & to Greenwood's Paint & Pour and painted!  Yes...we painted and it turned out really well considering we aren't artist! :)  Here are a couple pictures from the night!

The start of my masterpiece...

Still a  little more work to be done...

And...our finished product!

 

I want to go back again!!  It was too fun!! Since it is rainy and E&E are sleeping so peacefully in their cribs...I am going to take a nap too.  Nothing better to do on this rainy Friday! Hope you have a great weekend!  After a quick nap, I going to try to come up with some fun INSIDE activities to keep my youngsters busy!! :)  

Back to school prep has begun...

I can't believe it is already August and time to even be talking about school starting back!  Well actually Learning Express has two more weeks before school starts but we are already preparing!  Tonight at bible study we focused on 3 lessons we need to teach our children and had a special prayer time for our teachers, students, & even for us as parents! The 3 things were: 1) Children need to stand up for what they believe, 2) they need to create real friendships with people they can trust and turn to for support, & 3) they need to be confident that God will do what he says he will do!  It is never too early to start teaching our kids how important God is and that we need Him in every part of our lives!  Katie is doing an AWESOME job with our bible studies!!  I told her she might have a future in writing bible study lessons!! :)  Then, we made a cute little gift for our kids teachers. 

What do you think....cute...huh???

 

We are already looking forward to this school year and know it will be great!  Hope everyone is enjoying their last week!

Weekend Fun...

Well, let me back up a minute.  We went to Switcharoo's Thursday and found LOTS of things.  I got E&E each over 15 outfits, coats, & shoes!  We are ready for Fall/Winter...don't you think??

Friday we started on the deck.  We already had the paint and I was anxious to get going.  By Friday night 3/4th of the floor on the lower part of our deck was painted but that was it and we were out of paint!  We bought a 3 gallon bucket and that was all it covered.  This paint goes on THICK!!!  So, that ended our process for the night.  Can you believe I didn't take a before picture???  That is just not like me to take a picture! So, since Justin was heading to the woods this morning with Matt to work on the hunting lease, we packed up and headed back to Lowe's for more paint.  Once we got back home, I went back to painting.  E&E were eating their popsicles and playing, so I got about 30-45 minutes of painting in.  It was just too hot to stay out there!  I think I picked the hottest weekend of the summer to paint the deck.  This is my progress so far...

So, then we just came back in for lunch & naps.  When Justin got home he had some watermelon my mom had sent.  She knows these babies LOVE watermelon.  So, of course we ate that and went for a swim. 

Then, I decided I wanted some ice cream!  So, we went for ice cream at Charlie B's and Justin headed to the doctor.  He's ear has been hurting and he finally went and got some medicine!  While Justin was gone we played outside the whole time.  He still had his trailer in the front yard and they climbed on that thing for probably over an hour. By the time Justin got home, it was time for me to start supper.  So, while I cooked Justin took Evan riding on the 4-wheeler.  He loves to ride and since Emma doesn't she came inside with me! I made some shrimp pasta for supper and it was a hit!  Both babies cleaned their plates!  Our bath times have become somewhat of a nightmare!  They don't like to wash their hair and they refuse to sit down.  It is quite impossible to bathe a moving target.  Earlier this week I pulled out the bath crayons I bought them for Easter.  These have helped with bath time TREMENDOUSLY!!! They are too occupied to know what we are doing to them!   Here it is a little after 7:00 and I think if we would go lay E&E down they would be out for the night.  We are watching Mickey Mouse...hopefully to keep them up a little while longer so maybe they will sleep a little later in the morning.  Sunday mornings go much better if Justin and I are ready before they get up!  Since it is raining here...nothing else will get done on the deck.  No worries though...Justin WILL work on it tomorrow!  Hope you guys have a great rest of the weekend.  I have lots to look forward to next week...bible study Monday, where we are having a teacher/student prayer time and making CUTE gifts for the teachers, I'm off Tuesday & Wednesday afternoons since my mom has to stay all day the first 3 days this week, & then Thursday, we are doing the Paint & Pour!  Justin & I had talked about having a cookout next weekend before school starts...so that maybe happening too!  Lots going on....