Millions of apples

We got a chance to go up to Calvin Crest recently. We have worked up there off and on for several years and love the area. This particular trip was nice because we got to experience a couple of our favorite things about camp, apple picking, and fall colors. Calvin Crest was fully dressed for fall and the colors were wonderful. Joining us in this adventure was family friends the Gists, the Nickells, the Starbucks, and Sarah. We started by picking apples and visiting, which was nice. Especially watching the kids run around and hang out together. Then we proceeded to make cider, which was a hard and involved task. Joel, Isaac, and I took turns running the cider mill with occasional help from a couple of other people and it was a workout. The kids were great helpers and enjoyed washing apples in the tub and filling the hopper. Altogether it was a great trip!

Sorry for out of order pictures, we are experiencing technical dfificulties.

Emery enjoyed trying to eat the apples.

Washing the apples.

Straining and collecting the cider.

The finished product!

15 Months

Emery is now 15 months! She continues to be a sweet, silly girl and fills our hearts with so much joy and surprises us with her brilliance. She likes to say hi a lot but not when people are paying attention, example while we're in the grocery store she says hi to people as they go by. She always waves at cars when she hears them or if they pass by. She put on a pair of pants all by herself for the first time this week (daddy gave a couple verbal instructions but that was all)! She loves playing outside, her cousins, going to Grandpa and Grandma Chandler's house, reading books, pushing things, buckling buckles, sticking things in holes, baths, and coloring. She has been teething a lot! I'm not sure exactly how many teeth she has now but it's somewhere around 12 but soon to be more.  Her new words for this month included: ouch, eww, honk, boot, booty, quack, and bonk.

 

Pumpkins

Emery picked out some pumpkins recently.

She loves carrying heavy things and pumpkins were no exception!

Post, post.

When we have a family event, everyone tends to blog about it at the same time. So we waited forever to blog about our family camping trip to spare our readers the repetition. Or at least that is what we will say. Michelle, Emery, and I had the opportunity to head up on a Thursday night and spend the evening camping before the rest of the family arrived Friday evening. On Friday we had fun exploring the wilderness, which Emery, much like her parents, absolutely loves.

 

We took a little hike and enjoyed the warmth of the sun.

 

 

It is never too early to teach your children about the wonders of the forest, so I showed Emery how to shake seeds out of the Giant Sequoia pinecone. She was pretty amazed, and good at it.

 

Isaac and I spent time fishing with the boys which was fun.

 

Just the two most adorable women around.

 

Our camp activities included an attempt to make fire using the old stick in hand method.

 



 

Michelle and her parents, along with Emery visited the Indian Bath Tubs trail, and I am glad they took pictures because I did not get a chance to take it with them.

 

For Michelle's Birthday, dinner included stick steaks, rice, green bean salad, and cheesecake.

 

Michelle and I enjoyed attempting night photography shots. We were unable to get a clear shot but it was fun and we learned a few things. Next time we will get it, I am sure.

In talking with the host I inquired about the large number of Giant Sequoia trees. He said that there are more in this area, than all of the Sequoia National Park. I did not doubt him, because there were lots.



 

Emery had a blast playing on Sequoia stumps, and she looked adorable all bundled up and running around in her cowgirl boots.

Tower Building

Emery has been into building towers with various things she finds in the kitchen.

 

Lil' Love Bug

I'm blessed every day to be able to stay home with this sweet girl.

 

 Our flowers are doing quite well.

14 Months

In celebration of Emery turning 14 months she got to ride on the gator for the first time! Her cousins were happy to drive her around until the battery ran out.

 

Emery added some new words to her vocabulary this month including: boom, moo, baa, woof, down, and bye.