Charley and Jackson: September 2011

Mini pumpkin harvest

It was finally time to harvest some pumpkins (we think). We grew smaller, pie pumpkins, and we only harvested two. We're hoping to get a couple more.

We first had to find them. The squirrels and rabbits like to nibble on the pumpkins so it was tough to find some uneaten ones.

We discovered right away the stems were really pokey. We each pricked our fingers more than once.

Despite the smaller size, they were still pretty heavy . . .

. . . but wow it felt good to finally carry those pumpkins out of the garden.

We love our pumpkins and can't wait to make pie out of them.

2.5 pounds

We had an awesome time at the Candy . . . er . . . Homecoming Parade on Friday.

We waited so patiently for what seemed like an eternity.

We enjoyed the marching bands as usual . . .

. . . but the candy insanity was what we REALLY waited for. We hauled in 2.5 pounds of candy, not bad for an evening's work.

We went to the Twins game over the weekend. Not only was the weather terrible, but the Twins gave up a two run lead allowing the Indians to score 6 runs in the seventh inning. It was tough to swallow.

The helmet nachos, on the other hand, were not tough to swallow . . .

. . . and yes, we washed out the helmet before putting it on.

One of the main reason we stuck it out until the end was afterward we got to walk on the field and run the bases with Anna and Sophia.

Hangin' in Iowa

We stayed with some friends in Iowa City on Friday and Saturday before heading to a family reunion. They were nice enough to not only let us into their home, but they let us play on their jungle gym in the backyard. We discover the rope and tried our best to swing from it.

It was not as easy as it looks.

Luckily, we had Sam there to show us the ropes.

Exploring Iowa

This morning, on our way up to the family reunion, we stopped by the Devonian Fossil Gorge and did a little fancy footwork while searching for fossils.

Sometimes we even had to jump over the water that was covering our path.

We had to be careful, however. One wrong step and we could've ended up all wet.

There we all kinds of cool things to see. Check out these strange rock formations.

We had a great time walking through the gorge.

Before the gorge, we stood at the base of the Coralville Dam and watched the diverted water flowing extremely rapidly along the base of the dam. Daddy kept telling us how he was disappointed we did get to see the dam as it usually is (it's under construction), but we thought it was pretty cool nonetheless, especially driving along the top of the dam.

Reunite

It was great to see the extended family in Iowa this weekend. We had lots of fun telling some of our stories . . .

. . . and of course showing off our riding skills. Can't wait until next year, hopefully we can stay a little longer.

Kings of the hill

Heights don't seem to bother us.

Probably because the higher something is, the more exciting it is to jump off it.

Remember the apple orchard we talked about a few days ago? Well, the pile of hay and a giant mound of tires with tunnels through it is also there. It's really fun to explore.

Did we mention is was a GIANT mound of tires?

Missions accomplished

The feeling of accomplishing a task is pretty tremendous . . .

. . . especially when that task involves jumping of the swings while swinging.

It took quite a few tries, but this will likely be our new standard for exiting a swing.

That's not a carrot . . .

. . . is it? Seriously, is that a carrot? It's yellow, and shaped like a "V".

And what about this one? It's white for crying out loud.

Nevertheless, Daddy had a lot to do when we finished our small harvest of "carrots" and basil.

We always wash . . .

. . . everything we harvest from our garden. Frogs, lots of frogs, live in there.

Off to school

Today was our first day of school of our last year of preschool. We were pretty excited.

Mommy wanted a nice photo of us sitting on the front steps of our house. Daddy's heart wasn't in it, neither were ours. There's always next year.

Speaking of next year, maybe Hairy can come with us.

Curb, Face . . . Face, Curb

It was just a regular afternoon bike ride. Luckily, we were only about a block from home when something distracted Jackson. His bike caught the curb, then the curb caught his face. With blood streaming out of his mouth and down his chin, Daddy scooped him up, put his bike and Jackson's bike on the grass and quickly walked home while Charley rode his bike home. Daddy banged on the door and Mommy was pretty shocked when she opened it. Once we got the blood to stop, we saw the nasty gash on the inside of his lip and the scrape on his nose. We also discovered an asphalt burn on his elbow and chin strap burns on his neck from his helmet. Daddy and Charley then walked back to the scene of the accident to get the bikes. Daddy checked out Jackson's bike and found twisted handlebars and a big dents and scratches on both the handlebars and his bell.

Awesome apples

It's that time of year again. APPLE SEASON!! We made our first trip to the orchard so far this year.

First, a hayride to the part of the orchard with the best apples right now, Paula Red and Red Barron.

They were pretty easy to find, but the best ones were often a little hidden.

After a good inspection . . .

. . . and a little bragging . . .

. . . we dropped them in the bag . . .

. . . or ate them.

This is one of our favorite place to visit. We'll post some more photos and a video from all fun we had, but for now, there's proof of our love for this apple orchard here, here, and here.