Apple Orchard Festival

This past Sunday, Dave and I loaded up the children after church to meet up with the Brigham family at a local apple orchard. It was a GORGEOUS sunny day, perfect for being outdoors with awesome friends. It just happened to be the Scarecrow Festival at the orchard which was fun to see all the creative scarecrow ideas on display. In addition to picking lots of tasty apples, there were so many activities for children to enjoy, and the adults as well. Below are just a few photos from our adventure. Tomorrow LTD get to go back to this very same orchard on a field trip for school with all their Kindergarten classmates (20 children on one bus - can you say, "pump up the volume?"). They are SUPER excited!!

Johnny Appleseed

Pony Rides!
Ms. Glamour Pants

Hillbilly Teeth

Lindsey likes the braids on the pony

Mr. Smiley

Playtime

Pals

Twins?

Princesses

Triking Around

Dad getting in on the fun

Apple pickin time

Cheap Labor

My Two Front Teeth!

This morning when I walked into the girls' room for morning hugs, Taylor said, "mama, last night I coughed so hard, my tooth came out!" And there laying on her bookshelf was her "other" front tooth. She had knocked it loose a few days ago tumbling and her knee hit her mouth while doing a somersault. It dangled for a few days so it was just a matter of time. And just in time for school photos next week!!! Oh well, better both teeth out than one snaggle tooth. That poor Tooth Fairy is going to go broke because of Camp Clark. Now Taylor will be singing, "all I want for Christmas are my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth.......".

Today was a spectacular day to be outside, especially with great friends. Here are a few photos of Toothless Taylor at the apple orchard this afternoon with the Brigham's. We will post more photos in the next few days of our sunshine-filled adventure but no time tonight.

Toothless Wonder

Twins Game

This past Sunday we got a chance to check out the new Twins ballpark and our first Twins outdoor baseball game. What a gorgeous ballpark! We had one minor setback because SOMEBODY forgot our camera (hmmm?) but we made do with our cell phone and Nik's camera (thanks dear!!) We were joined by Papa and Grandma Good, the Erickson family and the Little family. Papa and Grandma Good had rockstar seats right on the first baseline so we joined them for some hot cocoa pre-game prior to moving to the family section with our friends. Honestly, there isn't a bad seat in that ballpark and the kids and adults enjoyed it thoroughly. The sun was shining but it was a bit brisk but still a great day to be outdoors. MUCH better than the old Metrodome!!! The best part for LTD and their little friends was getting the chance to walk out onto the field and run the bases after the game. What a hoot!

Now for the playoffs........Let's Go Twins!!!!

Pre-Game goofing around
Sipping on some hot cocoa in the sun

Take me out to the ballgame.....

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack....

Let's root, root, root for the home team....

WOW - did you see that hit?

Taylor and her "best friend", Aimee

Dylan, "his girl" Ella and Camille

Mama Bears

Aspiring Baseball Studs

First Karate Belt (White)

This past Saturday, LTD received their first karate belt: the white belt. They were downright giddy and super proud that Papa and Grandma Good got to watch them as they showed off their new moves. Dylan gets the prize for being the loudest and having the most serious Karate face; Taylor claims the prize for being silly and consistent giggling; and Lindsey holds the title for being the most soft spoken when it comes to yelling out "HI-YAW!" Now that the trial period is almost over and they have their first belt, we'll see where they want to go from here. My hunch is we will have one little boy who continues on in this sport with two girly girls cheering him on from the audience. But, one just never knows.

Let's get down to business

Fighting stance

Lindsey getting her belt

All smiles

Dylan getting belt w/Karate Face

One proud little man

Giving us his best Karate Face

Taylor getting her belt

All Giggles

Silly Girl

Proud Grandparents

Kung Fu Fighting

We have a new sport at Camp Clark; KARATE! Dave likes to show off his Karate skills from time to time with his "side thrust and front snap kicks" and LTD caught the fever. They wanted to try Karate! So when we received a coupon for a 2-week trial class for an affordable rate, they were game. They are just way too cute! It's comical to watch and listen to them yell "HI-YAW!" as they go through al their new moves.

It's been a little over a week in Karate and they test for their first belt this Saturday. They are excited that Papa and Grandma Good get to watch them since they will be in town. However, the early verdict is in: Dylan is all over it and loves it; Taylor is on the fence but prefers gymnastics and dance; Lindsey says it's not her cup of tea (doesn't like the yelling).

Dave and I have put together a few snap shots of our Karate Kids AND a cute video below. Enjoy! HI-YAW!!!

Toothless Taylor

Front Snap Kick
Side Thrust Kick

Karate Kids (L doing a ballet move instead)

HI-YAW!!!

Kung Fu Fighting Video

Other Milestones this Week

Starting Kindergarten was the big event this week but we also have a few others worth mentioning. Dylan stayed dry (no pull-ups needed) for 3 nights in a row and we promised to celebrate with a big cake and candles when he reached that goal. So we had our neighbors over for some cake, candles and song and he was beaming from ear to ear. He is so proud and so are we!

Taylor FINALLY lost one of her 2 front teeth on top, after a week of watching it dangle. Tonight we were eating at a restaurant and all of a sudden, she slapped her tooth on the table and said, "There it is!" Tonight at bedtime as we tucked her in and put her tooth under her pillow she asked, "is the Tooth Fairy strong enough to bring me a real live puppy for my surprise?" I told her a puppy would be really hard to fit under her pillow and we wouldn't want to squish the puppy. Whew, dodged that one, for a little while anyway.

And then there is Lindsey........she is sporting some new glasses. Seriously, they are mama's reading glasses but she wanted me to take her picture with them on because they happen to be purple, her favorite color. Lindsey wouldn't like to be left out of any highlights, but we can report that she does have one lose tooth about ready to come out. We are definitely going to keep that Tooth Fairy busy for awhile! Maybe she'll pack on some extra muscle like Taylor asked about from all the flying around Camp Clark :)

No more pull-ups!

Taylor willing to help blow candles out
Lindsey too

Mmmm Mmmm Good!

The tooth is officially loose

It's starting to seriously dangle (first day of school)

It's Out!

Feeling pretty in purple glasses

My tooth is loose too!