Apples, Apples...we have SO many apples!

Last weekend, the Waldner family went apple picking.  We do this EVERY year and we always come home with way too many apples.  It's just the way we do it.  Oh and Matt always makes a comment about how expensive our "fresh-picked" apples are each and EVERY year.  Not kidding...he complains and then I remind him that he complains each year.  And then we have a good laugh.  We really do!  I promise.  The kids have a BLAST picking out apples, eating a caramel apple, running through the maze and going on a fun ride through the farm on a hayride.  The weather was perfect...a warm & sunny fall day.

Here are some pictures from our apple picking trip!  So.Much.Fun!!!!  I love the fall...

Oh and in case you were wondering, we have made apple cake, caramel apples and homemade granola bars (ok, no apples in them but wanted to brag a bit about my baking skills) with our loot.  This week, we'll be also baking some yummy apple cinnamon muffins for breakfast and lunches!  Wahoo!

 Our little "cheese" hanging out in the apple trees

 A little pic in between apple picking

 Jack was the master of apples

 We loved McIntosh apples!  YUM!

 King of the apple trees!

 Um, what can you say???

 Taste testing...

 The kids found a ladder...so they checked out the top of the trees!

 Great farm!

 double fisting!

 pumpkin patch

hayride!

Back to the grind...

The kids had a VERY smooth transition to their new school.  They hopped on that bus for the first time and never looked back (even with Mom and her tears streaming down her face!!!!).  ugh!  My babies are growing up - so so happy for them but so so sad for me!  :(  We are loving our teachers, new friends, old friends and the new school  Along with the first week of school, we jumped into our fall activities.  Hockey (Jack and Reagan), gymnastics (Reagan) and soccer (Reagan)...note that Jack has only 1 activity this fall - hockey.  That's because he's playing hockey 5 days a week...don't you think that's enough for a 7 year old????  It's intense over here in Boston....yikes!!!!

I've included a few shots of the first week of school...enjoy!

xo, E

 trying to get a "nice" picture of kids

 true picture of our life! ha!

 i think reagan was trying to eat jack's ear!

 grade 1 and grade 2 represented this year!

 on that bus and didn't look back!

 so happy!  

there's jack!!!!

Saying Goodbye to Summer...

Our summer was filled with so much fun.  The time flew by...can't believe it's already fall now.  We started our summer with a trip to Florida and ended the summer with a trip to Indiana.  And in between, we went to the beach, played golf, learned how to sail, participated in Farm Camp, spent time at the rink, took swim lessons and just had FUN!  Here is a quick recap of pictures from our summer...mostly from our great trip back to Indiana to visit the family!

 Bike ride along the Monon...

 Check out what Grammy & Gramps got Jack...

 water table fun with Hadley

 some catch up time with Amy & Jamie

 high up in the balloon at Connor Prairie

 matching dresses

 HUGE thanks to Aunt Jill for a fun bday celebration

 dinner with my awesome Sis

 dinner with Mom & Dad

 Queen R at Nana & Papa's pool

 Hadley time

 Reagan had a special breakfast with Gramps

 Sky Zone was a huge hit!

 Ice Cream in downtown Noblesville

Hadley turns 1!!!!!  Yea!

Our trip to Florida!

Last week, we met Nana, Papa and Aunt Jill down in Florida for a fun vacation to kick start our summer.  Despite Tropical Storm Debbie, we made it to Tampa in one piece (note:  the flight was REALLY turbulent! yikes).  Ole' Deb didn't stop us from having fun...we played at the beach, swam in the pool (a lot!), ate yummy grouper sandwiches, took a day trip to Magic Kingdom, visited LegoLand and even called 911 for Daddy's incident with a stingray (ouch!!!).  To top off our fun-filled week at the beach, Aunt Sara, Uncle David and Hadley came to visit us at the condo.  Yea!  Enjoy these pictures of our trip...

 Braving the winds & surf from Tropical Storm Debbie

 Having fun in the pool with Aunt Jill & Nana

 Putt Putt time!

 A sunset picture on the beach

 "Check out my shell!"

 I see a glimpse of "cheerleader" in Reagan!!!

 A rare family picture!

 playing "open mouth" with Hadley

 Cinderella's castle

 Let's get dizzy...the Teacups

 Gotta get a Mickey Mouse ice cream treat!

 Rain Rain go away!

 LegoLand

 R2D2 and Jack

 Darth Vader looks scary...

 Going shelling...

 being silly

 We love Hadley!

Getting a noogie(sp?) from Uncle David!  :)

Goodbye School, Hello Summer!

Last week, we said goodbye to our school...we will be heading to the public schools next year for Jack's Second Grade and Reagan's First Grade (that seems so old, doesn't it???).  It was a bittersweet goodbye.  We will miss our old school but look forward to new friends and new experiences at our new school.  Luckily, we have good friends that will also be making the switch with us - that will make for an easier transition, I hope!  The same day we said goodbye to school, we said HELLO to our fabulous summer.  Before the start of summer, the kids & I made a "summer bucket list"...a checklist of fun summer activities that we can do for the next 3 months.  With our trip to Florida in a week and our trip to Indiana in August, we will be busy busy busy!!!  The kids are taking golf lessons, sailing camp, lacrosse camp, farm camp, hockey (of course!!!) and let's not forget beach time.  We are going to have a GREAT summer 2012!!!!

Here are the kids on the last day of school - notice the fleece jackets...it's still chilly here!  Come on Mother Nature, bring us some beach weather!!!!  Brrr....

Grow, Garden, Grow!!!

Our first attempt at a garden...we've got tomatoes, sugar snap peas, peppers, chives, lettuce and onions...crossing our fingers that SOMETHING makes it.  The kids are really excited about this and love to water it.  Kudos to Matt who built our little box garden on the patio.

Best.Father.Ever!

Happy Father's Day to the best Dad ever!  Matt is patient, loving, honest, funny, caring, playful and many many other things to our kids...

So for this Father's Day, we rented the ice at the local hockey rink for an hour...just for the 4 of us!  It was a total blast...the kids enjoyed having the ice all to themselves.  We raced around the rink, played hockey, played other random games made up by Reagan and just had fun.

Here are some pics from our fun time on the ice:

Also, a BIG BIG hug to my own Dad and my father-in-law for being such wonderful role models.  They are amazing Dads who truly love & cherish their families.  We are so lucky!!