Irons Fruit Farm

Yet another school trip, this activity was at an apple orchard. I was actually a little disappointed with the tour. We stood for a long time listening to them talk about different aspects of the orchard, which did not keep the kids attention for very long. I was hoping for a hay ride through the orchard or something to make it a little more fun, especially since we had to pay for the tour. Oh well, we made the best of it. It is pretty old school, they pick all of the apples by hand and do all of the sorting by hand also. They do have the best apple fritters I have ever had, but, of course, they were out that day! It is also hard to believe that this was just 3 weeks ago and we were wearing shorts and t-shirts and now, we are getting quite chilly. It actually looks like next week should be in the high 60s again, so I guess we can't complain too much.

All of the boys loved the little pumpkin patch, but Tate was the most enthralled with it. I think he tried to pick up every pumpkin, without much success.

Ry and Kol, however, were testing their manly muscles and seeing how big of a pumpkin they could pick up. I kept waiting for them to bust one, but we managed to escape with all of the pumpkins unharmed!

Air Force Museum

We went to the Air Force Museum up in Dayton for Homeschool Days last month. They had some extra learning activities set up around the museum. The boys also did a scavenger hunt looking for different types of planes in the different galleries. They always have a good time at this museum, there is something about boys and planes and war stuff.

They have a small exhibit featuring Disney art on planes from World War II. There are a few retired planes with the original art on them, this is one. Of course, these are some of our favorite planes. :)

Tate was just happy to get a break from being in the stroller. He is not as content in there now that he is walking.

The Sloth

The two-toed sloth is definitely our favorite animal at the Cincinnati Zoo. We just find her to be fascinating. Typically, she is always sleeping in her nest. But, this day, we got there at the perfect time. She was ready to go eat, so she actually was quite alert and climbed up the branch, faster than I thought she would move. If you watch the video, you will see that the keeper is coming to get her at the end. Once, he got her down, he brought her over so we could see her up close. It was awesome! The boys were really excited (I think Marty was the most excited of all!)

More from our day at the Zoo

Here are a few more pics from our trip to the zoo. I am glad we went and enjoyed the warm weather before it was gone! The baby peacocks have been really fun this summer. We have seen them with their mamas all over the zoo!

A Pretty Good Looking Group

I wish I was this caught up on my scrapbooking, I think I am still in Kol's first year. I need about 12 extra hours every day, but don't we all?!? Anyway, this is our first round of our annual family picture taking. They are a decent looking group of boys, if I do say so myself. :)

Tate's First Birthday

I can't believe Tate is already one, where does the time go?!? He is the cutest and busiest baby. He started really walking about 2 weeks ago and he is everywhere! We had a good time celebrating his birthday as a family. The night before his birthday, we took him to Build-A-Bear. He picked out a Shaggy dog, which was aptly named Shaggy. He was so excited about the whole experience.

He carried his box around the mall, I am still amazed that he held on to it as long as he did.

The next day, after a full day of ball games, we had cake after dinner. I spent a little too much on this balloon, but the look on his face the first time he saw it was worth every penny. I wish I had had the camera ready.

It was a challenge to get him to not grab the candle, he is SO curious!

He completely demolished his cake in minutes. He ate a lot of by the fistful. It was fun watching Ry and Kol laugh so hard at Tate.

Ry Playing Baseball

Ry decided he liked baseball so much, he wanted to play Fall Ball. He has a great coach and has really learned a lot. It is amazing how much he has improved over the season. He moved up to coach pitch from t-ball, so it was good for him to get some practice in before the spring season. The league we play in is very competitive. They are also very successful, they have made several trips to the Little League World Series, including one in 2007. But, more importantly, he is having a lot of fun. He had a great game this past Saturday!