Colin's 1st Field Trip

Yesterday, I took Colin on his first school field trip to MacQueen's Apple Orchard. It was seriously too cute to see all those 3 year olds listening to the teachers and doing what they were told. Before we headed to MacQueen's, we met at the school and the kids went through a small part of their morning routine which included a couple songs and circle time. It was fun to get a glimpse of what Colin does at school everyday. Once we were at MacQueen's, we walked down to the orchard to pick our apples. Most of the apples were above our heads so Colin got to pick while on my shoulders. It was fun for Colin but unfortunately meant that I wasn't able to get many pictures of him actually picking.

After we picked our apples, we got a tour of the facility. First we went into a barn where they sort, clean, and store the apples. Although it was loud and Colin covered his ears, this was his favorite part of the trip. We always walk by the barn when we go to MacQueen's, but this is the first time Colin ever got to go in. They had a section that was a giant fridge, filled to the ceiling with crates of apples. Colin was impressed that the space (when empty) was big enough to play a full court basketball game in. (He's not scared in the picture below. I think the flash was just a little bright in the dim room.)

After the barn we went to room where they make the apple cider. This was Colin's second favorite part because as I've mentioned before, he loves the "juice man". There was nobody working the press while we were there, but it was fun to get a close-up view of the machines instead of just watching from the window.
After our tour, we got to eat donuts and cider. Yum! Then there was a group shot of the class before we headed home.

It was a beautiful day and a great opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with Colin. Here he is enjoying one of his fresh-picked apples for lunch. Delish!

More Donuts and Cider

Last weekend we met up with Grammy and Poppy and visited Plymouth Orchards. The boys enjoyed the animals and were intrigued by the big green tractor. But their favorite part had to be the cider and donuts. It was funny because when we first got there, we decided to walk around for a little bit to stretch our legs. It was pretty chilly and after a few minutes Colin was complaining about being cold and asking if we could go inside. So, we headed in to buy apples, cider and donuts. I thought that after we ate, that would be the end of the orchard. Oh no. The little sneak couldn't have cared less about the cold. That was just his excuse to eat donuts sooner. As soon as he was done eating he was begging to go back out to look at the animals. LOL! Needless to say, it was another fun orchard excursion.

Mama's Li'l Handy Man

Silly Hats

Have I ever mentioned that my kids love to play dress-up?

Harrison Rally Day

Last Saturday, the boys and I attended Harrison Rally Day. It's an annual fair in honor of General William Henry Harrison. (The history is actually quite interesting. I'm just not interested in writing about it here.) It started off with a parade (which was a little long in my opinion, but the boys loved it) and after that there was tons of food, local business vendors, art/craft booths, and a children's area (which we avoided due to the utter chaos) to peruse. It's actually a pretty big event, yet Chris and I have not thought twice about attending it until this year. It was fun, but we didn't stay long because someone wanted to watch the UM football game... ;) That and the kids were ready for some down time. An extra bonus was that one of the families in Colin's preschool class was having a little get together beforehand and we got to swing by and meet some of the other parents in his class. Now I just have to set up some playdates. Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying the parade and eating tasty fair food.

Teddy

I was considering titling this post "Teddy: The Bane of My Existence", but then I thought that was a little harsh. I mean, the concept behind Teddy is actually quite sweet and the biggest problem with him is that my kids loved him sooo much.

Teddy is a stuffed bear from Colin's preschool. Everyday, a different kid gets to take Teddy home (so he's not lonely at school by himself at night), play with him, read books (which come along in his little tote bag) with him, and then document the time they spent together in a journal. I think it's sweet because it makes the kids feel special to get to take the bear home and then when they go back to school, they get to share with their classmates what they did with him. All I have to say is I'm glad Colin got that bear early in the school year. As soon as we pulled away from the parking lot on Tuesday he told me, "Mama! I get to bring Teddy home. He's my new lovey!". Needless to say, Teddy went *everywhere* with Colin. But if the thought of germs wasn't enough to get my skin crawling, there was always the whining. "MAMA! Eli's touching Teddy! Ma-Ma, Eli's running away with Teddy! MOM! Eli's looking at Teddy. I mean, seriously? I guess Eli kind of instigated these situations because he would wait for the moment that Colin put Teddy down for just a second and then he would snatch him up and run. Sometimes he would also grab him, wait for someone to see him and then do a little dance with a gleam in his eye and a smile on his face that said "I'm ready to run as soon as you take a step toward me". It was the worst when we took Teddy to the park because Colin eventually didn't want to carry Teddy all around so he handed him to me and when Eli asked for him (because in the short 36 hours we possessed Teddy, Eli learned how to say "Teddy") I passed him along. Colin got upset that Eli was carrying Teddy so I asked Eli to give him back to his brother, which he did, and Colin promptly handed him back to me. Nice.

Colin and Teddy enjoying time at the park.

Despite the domestic conflict, Colin really enjoyed bringing Teddy home and did all sorts of fun stuff with him like building with blocks, reading books, playing at the park, and playing baseball (?). I'm actually not so sure about the last one because I never witnessed baseball being played. Colin drew a picture of them playing baseball to put in the journal and insisted that they definitely did play. Chris and I think maybe they just played in Colin's head. Colin was sad to give Teddy back today, but I'm sure he'll enjoy hearing about what all his other classmates do with him. And I'm also pretty sure we'll get Teddy back at least one more time this year, undoubtedly covered with kiddie cooties.

Look at the love.

Apples, Hotdogs, and Running

First off, let me just say that I.LOVE.Fall! I love the changing of the seasons, the milder weather, the starting of school, the apples, the pumpkins, the stew, the jeans and sweatshirts and even the football isn't half bad this year... Go Blue! This weekend we had a very fun FALL weekend. On Saturday we went to MacQueens apple orchard for the first time this season. We got super yummy honeycrisp apples, donuts, and cider. Colin remembered the "juice man" from last year and that was the first thing he wanted to see when we arrived. Thank goodness someone was in there making cider! We had to tear him away from the windows when it was finally time to leave.

After the orchard, we headed to a little fair called the "Family-A-Fair". I had never heard of it before but it was 100% free. It's hard to pass up something like that. It was really cute and fun despite both kids being incredibly cranky. Tons of local businesses attend with tables set up with flyers and freebies. There was free food like hotdogs, pizza, cotton candy and snow cones, and tons of fun activities like crafts, clowns (creepy), bounce-houses, and games. There was an ambulance, a fire truck, and a little jet for the kids to check out and surprisingly, Colin was most interested in the jet. He didn't even want to look at the fire engine. Go figure. I'm glad we found out about the fair through the Toledo Parents Group and we're looking forward to going back next year.

Then, on Sunday, I ran the Ryan Serber 8K Classic. I almost missed signing up for it this year - September really snuck up on me - but I made it and ran really well (for me). I finished the 8K in 42 minutes, 47 seconds which is an average of 8 minute, 37 second miles. All the boys came and played in the Univeristy of Toledo football stadium (The Glass Bowl). Colin told me that he wished the race was longer so he had more time to play football. I just love Fall races and this one in particular is one of my favorites. It's not too crowded, the path is beautiful and interesting with a few little hills weaving in and out of the park, and today in particular was a gorgeous day for a run.

I'd say this weekend was a great start to the Fall season!