Bring on the aPpLEs

This past Saturday we took the kiddos apple picking - one of our favorite fall activities.

The apples are so good and so cheap - it's amazing.

Tyler especially gets excited about this activity, he sent me an e-mail from work about 3 weeks ago telling me when his favorite orchard was opening and wondering when we could go.

I get a kick out of the farmer that runs the orchard-he's this cute old man with calloused hands and a THICK Wisconsin accent - lOVe iT! They have a cute store there at the farm where they sell all sorts of goodies (caramel apples, fresh cider, apple butter etc.) The kids love getting caramel apples, Maggie was so ridiculously sticky by the time she was done we went through about 17 wet wipes trying to get her clean. We had a great time and have been enjoying our spoils ever since. I posted a few of my favorite shots below, and then a slideshow of all of the pics below! enjoy :)

A Day at the Market

Every Saturday Morning throughout the summer downtown Appleton looks a little something like this. They have an awesome Farmer's Market and we attend as often as possible! There are great things to eat, live music and fresh produce/flowers. Once a month they have an art market along with it - which is always fun to check out as well. Here are some pictures of the kids and I enjoying the festivities. Tyler didn't join us this particular day - due to a biking excursion with the young men.

Maggie - digging the kettle corn. We managed to get the first batch that they made - it almost melted the bag it was so warm! YUM

This is how we roll......and yes if you are wondering I do get a few strange looks transporting three kids on the stroller this way, but you do what you have to do! Right?

Jaxon enjoying a brat (hello Wisconsin!) - Lia enjoying some roasted corn - Maggie stealing whatever she can get from the older kids! :)

Random Jaxon

We have all been a bit tired lately due to school starting and having to be up early in the morning. I had a card table set up in the living room and walked in to find Jaxon fast asleep on top of it the other day - he's a funny one! Perhaps his mother should put him in bed earlier!

To Mom and Dad

Nothing says I love you like glittery text on a blog - right?

Here's to you mom and dad on this special day - hope you have a great one!

We love and miss you so!

Create your own glittery text at pYzam.com

Maggie Videos

Maggie is at a particularly fun age at the moment - she makes us smile all the time. We just wanted to share a bit of video footage (mostly for the grandparents of course, then they will feel compelled to hop on a plane and come see her cuteness in person). enjoy! :)

10.0

Lia started a gymnastics class this week! She was a huge fan - she was bouncing around the house for about an hour after we came home. Here a few pics of her after class. I love that she is using the entertainment center to help with the hand stand. Oh, she's a cute thing. :)

Surrounded by STUDENTS

This fall I find myself surrounded by students. Jaxon is off to his first year of preschool - so far he is digging it! He loves to get ready in the morning, we have been early every time because he is so anxious to bust out the door. Lia is in Kindergarten, she goes all day - 8 to 3. She is thrilled to be experiencing life in the elementary school world. She comes home with stories about school lunch, gym, computer lab etc. :) I can't believe she is so big! The third student in the house would be Tyler who has started his Masters program through Indiana University. All of his classes are online (which you probably gathered seeing as how it would be quite the commute from Wisconsin). Hard to say whether or not he is thrilled about being back in school - kind of a different ball game when you work full time and have three little ones to take care of.

Here are the kiddos headed out on their first day!

kINda cAMpInG

Maggie's bee sting was not all that occurred over Labor Day, we did try to have some fun before summer decided to officially end. We thought camping sounded fun - but due to our laziness we opted to camp in our own backyard. It was actually quite a good time, especially due to the fact that I slept inside with Mags. Tyler braved tent duty with the big kids!

Jaxon enjoys some marshmallow stickiness.

Say CHEESE
I think this is the "Hey mom I'm sticky, could you maybe handle that" look.
Ty - master of the fire
Roastin' and more Roastin'
Cute girl - getting sleepy
Mom telling her to say cheese....again
You have to love that Tyler is sporting the ridiculous camping hat, even if we are in the backyard.

Getting ready for bed
Cozy Kids

Right on the lips..

Over Labor Day Maggie received her first bee sting - right smack on the lips. She actually handled it quite well - mostly due to the fact that she kept downing Popsicle after Popsicle to keep her happy. She was sporting quite the swollen lip though. Here are some pics of the damage, as you can see she is pretty happy with the whole situation. :)

Mobile Maggie

Maggie loves to climb to the top of Jaxon's bunk bed these days, probably not a particularly safe activity. I don't know what happened to the days when she was so easy to keep track of -

here are a few pics of her in action!