Little did I know.

I ran across this photo the other night while looking through my Facebook photos.   It had the caption, "It looks like I have my work cut out for me today."

When I saw this, I was blown away at just how much has changed since then, and on so many levels.

This was my apple harvest on Blayde.  I was so proud of my bounty.  Look how big and juicy and delicious those apples look!  Andy and I planted the apple tree when we first built the home in 2006, so this was a huge success to have kept it alive while I experimented with pruning over the years.  I was a novice (I still am) and searched the internet for guidance constantly to make sure I was caring for this tree correctly.  These 2 bushels of gorgeous apples was proof that I had succeeded!

I was also slightly overwhelmed with that amount of apples.  What would I do with all of them?  Surely we couldn’t eat them all before they went rotten.  After, again, searching online I decided to set aside as many as I thought we would eat and I made apple pie filling with the rest.  I think I got about 8 pints.  Again, success! 

Little did I know, this was only the beginning.  Take a look at the apples I harvested from my tree on Lincoln just 2 years later...

We got so much more than a cozy home in a prime location surrounded by incredible people when we moved to Lincoln, we also got what I view as one of the greatest gifts God has given us.  His creations.  Mr. Weight, the previous owner, spent countless hours for nearly 50 years caring for the fruit trees and the land.  I have so much gratitude to him for the way his efforts have blessed my life.  You will hear more about him another post.

See me up there in the tree?  

I climbed the tree to pick the apples that were ripe.  Well, this is a very large tree and most of the branches are more vertical then I'm comfortable with so it’s not super easy to climb.  In an effort to save lots of time and quite possibly my life, I decided to shake the apples down.  It was awesome.  

This is what I ended up with in mid September. 

 These apples were pretty tasty.  Even Dallas was enjoying them on a daily basis!

I harvested nearly this much again before the frost came.  

What did I do with all those apples?!  We ate as many of them as we could, and then I made apple juice and applesauce.  A lot of it.  Like, a LOT.  And it’s SOOOOO delicious.  

This was my only casualty.

 

I can't decide if I was more sad about losing the applesauce or about the jar.  I have become quite attached to the jars.

I made a few apple pies as well.  Want the recipe?  Leave me a comment and maybe, just maybe, I'll post the recipe.  :)  It's seriously the best pie ever created by anyone.  Ever!

Can you see why I thought it was interesting that two bushels seemed overwhelming just 2 years ago?  I bottled at least thirty bushels last season, and I can't wait to do it again!  
This is so symbolic of many aspects of my life since then. 

Do you see symbolism in the little things of life?

Costume up

Fall has arrived and it is nearly Halloween! The girls had a Halloween party at their school and they were so excited for it. I am a huge procrastinator. I am trying to overcome this little problem I have acquired (and it has increasingly become worse since I had kids). I waited until Thursday night-the day before the party-to even think about costumes. I headed to Walmart to see what was available...

Jess wanted to be a witch, but does Walmart sell witch hats? You'd think that would be a very easy thing to find, but you'd think wrong. The only witch hats available were for adults, or part of an entire kid costume. So, I picked out a cute witch costume and just before I headed to checkout I decided to check the package to be sure everything was there. Guess what was missing. That's right, the hat. I guess I'm not the only one looking for a witch hat for a little girl.

Jess ended up with a "spider witch" costume. We had the hat from last year and it happened to go with the costume perfectly so that's what she is, and she's happy with it.

Syd wanted to be a fairy and I got her a fairy costume. Easy as that.

Kayman wanted to be a cowboy. Can I tell you how excited that made me? My sweet little boy in cowboy boots? How adorable is that? Well, it sounds easier than it is. Cowboy boots are sold at stores like IFA and Callisters, and Reams...and they cost about $40 for the cheap ones. I went on a wild goose chase to find some at Payless, or Walmart, or Kmart, (anywhere they may be around $20) and then just bent over and got them at Reams for $40. And while I was there I just had to get the Wranglers, it was physically impossible not to. You know how it is. I picked up a holster with 2 cap guns and we had a hat at home. Kayman was set.

So when we got home they tried on their costumes and looked absolutely adorable...

don't ya think?! This is actually right before the party with hair and make-up done too. The picture below is the night of the purchase and it was like pulling teeth to get that cap gun away from Man. He loves his boots. I love his jeans, and everyone at the party loved my little cowboy, fairy and witch.
I even had a guy stop me and asked if he could take Kayman's picture. I said, "Sure, isn't he the cutest cowboy ever?" The man said, "I have a friend who dresses like that every day, I want to send him a picture!" Haha! It's risky business dressing up as a cowboy for Halloween when you live in Herriman.

Halloween

This is being written a little later than I wanted. Once Halloween is over, I am so done with it, but I was too busy ripping out the dead flowers in my yard to get this done. That is something I have been procrastinating for weeks, and today's weather was irresistible!

We had a great Halloween! Syd was a fairy, Jess was a princess (again), Kayman was a rooster, I was a devil, and Andy was a hippie/rocker/long-haired-dude. My parents came out to see the kids in the afternoon so they could be home for their trick-or-treaters. They live at the top of a huge hill and lots of the kids make the trek up there for the BIG candy bars, so my parents like to be there for them. We had fun with them for a while at our house!

We had a trunk or treat at our church and got WAY too much candy! The kids loved it and I loved seeing all my primary kids in costume. They looked so cute! We then went home for our traditional "Frito Pie" Halloween dinner with Andy's family. Frito pie is frito's, chili, cheese, corn, tomatoes, and sour cream. So yummy! After dinner we headed out for more candy! It was fun to see the kids so happy and having fun. Kayman finally got the hang of it, but for a while he kept giving the people at the door his candy. What a sweetheart! Enjoy the pictures!

I have SO many pictures from Halloween, so I just made a slideshow for y'all.

I also wanted to post a few of my favorites cause I just LOVE them!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the Pumpkin Patch for FHE Monday night to get a few pumpkins, one of the favorite things for the kids this time of year. Kayman has been looking at the pictures on our calendar (us at the pumpkin patch last year) and wanting pumpkins! I did attempt to grow some in my garden this summer, but they never even flowered. I hear they are the easiest thing to grow...but not in my garden. I think I put them in a place that doesn't get enough sun and stays too soggy. Anywho, we went to the pumpkin patch to purchase some. After we picked them out we took the kids on a hay ride, which they loved...

...except for Jess. She hurt her foot or something and was a little grumpy.

Kayman loved the hay ride!

Wheelbarrow full of kids and pumpkins!

Jess found her favorite pumpkin, which was not easy because most were rotten and soggy.

Our little farmer.

Blissfully happy Man!

Witches at Gardner Village

Gardner Village is amazing this time of year. They set up some really fun witches and displays and the kids love to go there. This year we went with my friend Robin and her kids. Here are the girls with the chocolate-lovin' witch! Spooked Syd right out!

Jessica the witch

Syd the witch

The boys. They found this spot all by themselves, sat together, and posed for pictures. They are good little buddies.

Jessica refused to sit with Syd and Man for this picture.

Jess and Man in the photo booth.

What a great day! It was nice to get out while the weather was still warm. Beautiful day!

Leaf collecting

We took advantage of the beautiful weather just in time for the snow to come. The night before the big storm blew in last week we drove up to Brighton to get some leaves for the kids. They didn't mind the cold too much and had a blast running around the mountain collecting things. The girls got a lot of leaves, and Kayman got a few sticks and rocks. There were lots of rocks to climb on and they loved that!

On our way back down the mountain we saw this big tractor. The kids couldn't help themselves and started climbing all over it. Kayman found himself a nice seat right in the tire.

How 'bout them apples?!

I love the summer. I have always loved being outside, swimming, the smell of sun screen and chlorine soaked swim suits, freshly cut grass and lavender, water parks, lemonade stands, slurpee runs, boating. Because of my love for summer, I have never looked forward to autumn because it meant that summer was coming to a close and winter was just around the corner. I don't like much about winter.

Over the years, I have learned to love autumn because of a few traditions we have started in our family. One of the traditions has started a bit earlier this year. It feels like autumn already, and the apples on my apple tree were just about ready, so I made my traditional apple pie. Maybe I'm biased, but I have to say that this is the best apple pie you can find! So Yummy!!!

I got the recipe for this delicious pie at an Enrichment night early in our marriage and have been baking it ever since. This is one of my favorite things about fall. I like it best right out of the oven, still bubbling, with some vanilla ice cream on the side. If you haven't tried it, you are really missing out, and we'll have to have you over for a taste! Bon appetit!