Apples, Peaches and Peppers

Tim surprised us on Saturday (9/19) by suggesting going to Linvilla Orchards to pick apples. Tim never plans family outings (without prompting) so this was a nice treat.

The first apple went right to Kendyl. She LOVED it. She spent almost the whole time in the apple orchard eating the apple and ate the whole thing!

The boys enjoyed using the pole to get the apples that were up high and we filled up our box in no time at all. Kendyl finished her apple and decided she wanted to pull the wagon....and she did. She is strong!

After the apple orchard, we took a hayride over to the peach orchard and veggie gardens. Andrew thought the hot peppers made good horns.

Kendyl wasn't really into the pepper picking (they also looked for tomatoes, but couldn't find any) so she took off to wait for the hayride I think. It was her way of telling us she was ready to go.

So we waited in the shade and shared a peach. Then we walked over to the pear orchard, but the pears (sorry, I forget the type) were so tiny the boys were not interested. We got 4 to try.

In the end we picked 22 pounds of apples and 25 pounds of peaches/peppers/pears.

Then we headed over to the main area where there was a craft and music festival going on. Kendyl loved the music! We looked at the animals, the vendors, then spent a good amount of time in the playground. All wooden structures....so much fun! A ship, truck, castle, train, monster truck, and more. Kendyl loved it! We'll have to go back to play again another day when it's not so crowded.

Then we headed over for a snack. While waiting at the table while Tim got drinks, Andrew caught a bee (instead of shooing it away) and it stung him on the pinky. Thankfully the office had bee sting medicine for him. It hurt for quite awhile, but he's tough.

Everyone fell asleep on the way home, except our driver of course! Thanks hon!

How Kendyl Eats An Oreo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un-ywKidEog&layer_token=f900d19d64fea625

First Day of School 2009-2010

Here's Andrew heading off for his first day of Middle School....7th grade! Wow! He's a bit nervous, as can be expected, but I'm not. He adapts so easily I know this will just be another thing that is a breeze for him. I'm sure it is overwhelming that he is not only going to middle school, but middl/high school. The middle school is being renovated so for this year (and last) the middle school is a wing of the high school. All classes are in this new wing, but they use the high school for band, lunch, gym, etc. With his past 4 weeks of band, he is quite familiar with the music wing, and has met so may 7th and 8th graders already. Plus everyone he knows from baseball, diving, both elementary school he went to, scouts....I don't know why he is worried.

An hour later, it was time for Steven to go (this is going to take some getting used to!). Look who wanted to get her picture taken for a change.

My 4th grader....so handsome! Not a lick nervous and so ready to go. I have a feeling he will have a great year!

And the little miss, strutting home from the bus stop. Then we hopped right in the car to take her to daycare. She was so proud to show her teachers her new ponytails :-)

First Pigtails!

Today I got adventurous and tried pigtails for Kendyl....and she let me!!!!
She looks like such a big girl.

Grumpy bear, Kendyl, and Steven.

Too cute!

Marching Band Preview (9/3)

The OJR bands (middle and high schools) performed a preview for the families, provided dinner/information and a good time. Beautiful night!

Andrew was not thrilled with the uniform at first (above), but when I saw him later after their performance, he looked quite comfortable and a natural band member. New uniforms take some getting used to and I'm sure he'll be wearing it with pride for our next picture (10/3 for their calvalcade!)
Here is the MS band marching on the field. Andrew is the first band member (with the huge baritone sax!).

As soon as the music started, Kendyl started conducting. I think she is skipping right to drum major!

Here is the entire MS band during their first song. They didn't march tonight as they are not quite ready. They have a few kinks to work out (crash between the trombone and Andrew's head during one move for one!) so they just played their music in this formation. Simply amazing to me that in 2 weeks of intensive band camp with a few other little practices, they all have the music memorized, plus a lot of the marching....and this is new to 1/2 of them!

There is Andrew in the front. I hadn't planned to bring the camera (since it's not the one with the great zoom), it just happened to be in the car and I'm glad I did. We have been telling him how much Bari is making him slouch (and at this age he doesn't believe anything we tell him!), but this photo really showed him. So, he will be working on his posture the next month before competition starts!

Bushkill Falls (9/3)

Yesterday the boys and I went to Bushkill Falls in the Poconos for a hike. And hike we did! Darn! We took the red trail which is the longest, toughest trail so we could see all of the falls (8).
This is the main fall, which we saw first. Absolutely beautiful. Pictures do not do this place justice, you really need to go.

The trails along the main fall were an act of pure engineering. The one you see here just jets out (limit 6 people) so you can see the amazing waterfall that goes into a tiny crevice. The "trails" at this point were as beautiful and natural as the waterfalls themselves.

At some point in the trail, the beautiful trail with wooded rails ended and we had to follow the creek up a very rocky and wooded way (no path, very few markers) up hill. Sometimes quite steep. It was rough going at times, but fun. We saw some amazing nature along the way (rock formations, trees, etc.). What you see behind Steven is a tame look at what we conquered....really!

Andrew always becomes one with nature and seems to enjoy it the most. Here he found a hollowed out tree and hid inside.

A bit blurry as I had to zoom all the way to capture him up so high. This kid is part monkey. This is him only 1/2 way up this amazing rock formation. Later he climbed all the way (without my initial knowledge) which turned out to be about 50 feet. Ugh!

One of the beautiful waterfalls that we finally found after our rocky path....and before we had to climb well over 237 stairs to get to the top of this series of 3 waterfalls. Only a sampling of the stairs we climbed.....my legs were a hurting by the end!

Andrew climbing a portion of our 237 stairs....with a wet butt! The condensation from his "bladder" left it's mark. We'll have to wrap it up next time!

Here he found the perfect tree for a rest.

Shortly after Steven was walking and hit his head on a directional sign....too funny. America's Funniest Home Video material - shame we didn't have the video camera going.

Finally got a picture of the 3 of us at the end!

We highly recommend visiting Bushkill Falls if you are in the area or it's a great day trip from our area.