Field Trip

I went with Em's class on a field trip to the pumpkin patch on Friday--one of the best things about working so close by now is being able to be at her school in literally three minutes!  It was a beautiful day for it--cool in the morning, but warmed up perfectly by noon.

I can hardly believe how tall she is!

This is her class learning about pumpkins from one of the staff members at Hall Family Farm.

Emma, Emily and Emmy--Emmy is her very best friend at school.

They each got to pick out one small pumpkin to take home.

Em was excited to go through the corn maze and go on the hay ride!

As we got ready to leave, the class all got together for a few pictures.

And Em and Emmy took a quick tricycle ride.  I love seeing them have so much fun together--I hate that they won't be going to the same school for kindergarten, but hopefully they'll stay close through playdates!

Boo Bash

Blakeney had their annual Boo Bash on Saturday, and we decided to go early and try to beat some of the crowds.  It was a great idea--except that Em still wanted all the Halloween treats and it was only 10am!  We gave in for a double chocolate cupcake, but when the icing was gone, she was done with it.

There was pumpkin painting, sponsored by one of the local kids' art studios, Noah's Art.

It was another perfect fall day to be outside.

They have a little train to ride around, and Em apparently thought she was in a parade, judging by her little pageant wave.

They have a couple of fair rides (and best of all, it's all free!), and I think it's pretty obvious by her expression how much she liked them.

We ate lunch there and came home by early afternoon--fun morning!

Dance School Dropout

Well, we knew the real dance class would determine if Em wanted to stick with it, and it certainly did.  I've been meaning to update here, but after only two classes, Em decided she hates dance and doesn't want to do it anymore.  I have to admit I was really frustrated, but Mick and I ultimately agreed that we didn't want to spend the money, much less take her every week if she hated it, so we withdrew her.  I know she's only four and has plenty of time to decide, so we'll see what happens in another year or so.

She did ask if she could go back to gymnastics instead of dance, so we re-enrolled her at The Little Gym, and she absolutely loves it.  Maybe she'll just be a gymnast instead of a dancer!

Apple Picking

I've wanted us to go apple picking for a couple of years now, but I always seem to wait too late in the year to think about it, or we never have a great time to go.  We decided to go in mid October because the Fuji apples (my favorite) are ready to pick.  We all like apples, but I eat the most of the three of us, so my vote won :).  We went to Sky Top Orchard near Flat Rock, NC--it was a short 2 hour drive and perfect weather.  We got there a little after 10am and grabbed our buckets to head to the trees!

I was pretty sure Em would have a good time, but she was really more excited than I anticipated, especially after she found apples she could reach!

There were tons of apples on the ground that animals had started on or that had just fallen from the trees.

Em always likes when Mick puts her on his shoulders to reach things.

And that gave her much better access to the good apples.

The buckets filled up fast with all three of us picking.

Then Em enjoyed climbing a few trees.

We stopped for a few pictures.

We don't always remember to take family pictures when it's just the three of us, so I was glad we got one.

There was a little area with goats, sheep and ducks that Em took a minute to feed.

And maybe her favorite part was a big play area--there were swings, slides, and all these little houses for the kids to climb and play in.  She and Mick played there while I waited in line to get apple cider doughnuts. It was about a half an hour wait, but well worth it--they were delicious!  We ended up with about 30 pounds of apples and a dozen doughnuts.

A little before 1pm, dark clouds started to roll in and we knew from the forecast that rain was coming.  We drove the couple of miles into Flat Rock to have pizza for lunch at Flat Rock Bakery, and were glad we picked a table under the covered area when it started to pour!

It was perfect timing--we finished lunch and headed home.  Em slept the whole way home, which was also nice.

On Sunday, we had to start putting our apples to use, so Em and I baked two apple pies.  She has an Amelia Bedelia book about baking an apple pie, and in it, the little girl uses extra apples and dough to make her own pie.  Em decided she wanted to do that, so she used this mini loaf pan and was pretty excited about her creation.

We decided to freeze one of the pies for later use, and we kept one to eat.  Em enjoyed helping create the lattice top for one of the pies.

 I was so glad we finally got to an orchard this year--it made for a really fun weekend.