Apple Picking

It's fall and one our favorite fall activities is to go apple picking.  It is a very New England thing to do.  We drove to Connecticut and went to a farm there called Johnny Appleseed Farm.  They have dwarf trees, so the boys can pick the apples themselves.  We picked Empire, Golden Delicious, and Red Delicious.  The apples were so good.  The difference between apples off the tree and those from the super market is amazing.  The boys also picked out pumpkins and went through the corn maze.  Fall weather here is near perfection.

I made all the boys pose while picking an apple.  Holden really had to consider which would be the tastiest apple.

My boys are crazy!  Notice the apple eyes.

Matthew loved climbing over all the pumpkins. 

Here Nicholas and Holden are walking into corn maze.

Matthew's First Hair Cut

I've hated to get each of my baby's hair cut for the first time. For me it is an acknowledgement that they are growing up. Joe always likes to be there and hold them while they get that first haircut. We haven't had a free Saturday in forever so we met Joe after work at the salon where he gets his hair cut. My baby looks older now. Of course, no one else can even tell he got his hair cut. Oh yes, and in regards to the picture. I know your all shocked that Joe owns and wears a white shirt and tie, but here is your evidence.

Why Do I?

A lot of people have asked me why I home school. To be honest, most of the time I'm not really sure. The answer is pretty complicated with a lot of different facets. A few days ago, the weather outside was so nice. Since the boys are already ahead in their school work, we blew off the rest of our school work and went to the park. The boys had so much fun playing and it was wonderful to be together. They are growing up so fast and I want to be with them as much as possible. So I guess a part of the answer is, I homeschool for these small moments of happiness.

Nicholas and Matthew on the bridge.

Holden going down a spiral pole. Holden calls it wayside.

All my boys running down the road. 

Harold's Birthday

Harold's birthday is September 9th.  Of course, we were over a month late in celebrating with him.  I bet you were all shocked I was late in remembering someone's birthday.  (Ha Ha)  We are so glad Harold is our friend.    It was great having him over.  We hope you liked our dinner.   Next year, I'll try to be on time.

TAG

My Aunt Deanne tagged me. Apparently the way this works is that I write 6 of my quirks and then tag fellow bloggers to do it as well.

The first things that ran through my mind after seeing my name at the bottom of Aunt Deanne's entry were how do I do this and what exactly is a quirk.

So first, I looked at other people's blogs to see how they responded to the tag. Then, I looked up quirk and the definition given was a peculiarity of action, behavior, or personality. Then, I questioned my husband and a few friends on what they thought my quirks were. And then made my own list of quirks. After this I came to the following conclusion;

1. I over complicate things.

2. I am a commitment phob.

I realize that I am married and have been for 10 years. So, this may seem a contradiction, but it is true. I probably broke up with Joe at least a dozen times while we were dating. I don't have a favorite movie, color, song, book, or food. It seems too much to commit to one. My children do not have names until we are leaving the hospital. (They don't let you take them home unless you name them.) If a commitment can be avoided, I will avoid it.

3. I hate to make decisions.

I'm not talking about only major life decisions but any kind of decision. Life is full of decisions. In order to avoid making decisions, I attempt to set my life up in a way where all the decisions are pre-made. For example, I listen to all my CDs in order. I take one from the front, listen to it, and then put it in the back. That way I don't have to decide what to listen to. I cook from cookbooks front to back. That way I don't have to decide what is for dinner. It will always be what is next in the current cookbook. The list goes on and on, but I am too embarrassed to share anymore.

4. I don't like shoes.

I was not blessed with model's feet. I should be constantly covering them. But I can't. This may be one of the reasons I don't like winter. So when spring finally arrives, my toes wiggle with delight. I wear sandals as much as possible even when others have begun to wear boots. And when I finally have to start wearing shoes again, I swear I can hear my feet crying out it despair.

5. When it comes to my kids, I am a bragger.

You would be to if you had my kids. (ha ha) I know I go on and on about them. I know I over do the praise and affirmation. (Nicholas response to any positive comment now is, "I know, you tell me everyday.") I really believe that the world will knock them down and it is my job as a mom to build them up.

6. I love Joe.

I mean I am head over heels for the guy. I can't wait till he gets home and I get excited when he walks in the door. If you think this isn't a quirk (which by definition is a peculiarity of personality) you don't know Joe.

There they are. My six quirks that I am least embarrassed by sharing.

I tag my sisters Sarah, Annie, and Rachel. (If they hate being tagged, they have to love me anyway.)

Every Artist Needs An Audience

ARTWORK BY JOSEPH METZGER

You are invited to view several photographs and paintings by Joseph Metzger on November 1st between the hours of 1 and 5 in the afternoon at our home.  Everyone is welcome.

Time Out For Women

This past weekend Deseret Book brought Time Out For Women right here to Springfield.  A lot of sisters from our ward were there.  It was really nice.  I love how uplifted everyone feels.  You could see it at church the next Sunday.  All the women seem to be beaming.  I only wish there were more of these opportunities out here.

 

Matthew

I loose everything.  Car keys, wallets, purses, everything.  It annoys Joe so much, I'm surprised he is still around.  For this reason, I have avoided ever having my babies become attached to anything.  No blankies, or special stuff animals, or binkies. NADA.  I've seen visions of myself searching high and low at 3 o'clock in the morning while my baby cries for some silly stuffed thing.  Recently I've wondered if, in my quest to remain sane, I've stolen a precious childhood memory from my kids, especially Matthew.  After a bath he loves to be wrapped up in a towel.  I'm sure that is common for many kids, but he takes it a bit further.  You have to dress him around the towel.  The towel stays on all night and if he has his way he goes to bed wrapped up in the towel.  And when he isn't feeling well he walks around the house saying "towel, towel," until you wrap him up in one.  Luckily for me, it can be any towel.  I can usually find one towel.

Good bye Calls

All good things must come to an end. As much as we wanted them to stay, they just wouldn't.  Joe took the day off on Tuesday and we all did a session at the Boston temple.   The Calls left from there to catch their plane in Providence, Rhode Island.  We'll miss you guys!    Thanks so much for coming.

Southwick Zoo

I know what you are thinking.   Another zoo?  Has Noel developed some kind of zoo fetish?  This was my third zoo this month.  (If you count the Aquarium, which is sort of like an underwater zoo, it's my fourth.)  But, Nicole and her family wanted to see the white tiger at the Southwick zoo.  And if it meant I could be with them, I would go to a zoo everyday.  The weather was so nice and it was fun to be there.  Matthew really likes animals.  He gets super excited and keeps saying look, look.  We went to an elephant show that Nicholas enjoyed.  Did you know elephants eat 300 pounds of food a day?  Crazy, right?  Holden loves giraffes.  So, he was excited that they had 3 at this zoo.  

Boston

On Friday we went to Boston.

  We drove in and had lunch at Quincy Market.  Outside the building we were able to see some street performers.   The kids loved it and laughed and laughed.  

It started to rain a little as we headed back to our cars.  But that made it even cooler to walk around the city.  I think every major city has a feeling.  Seattle feels laid back, New York City feels exciting, and Boston feels like old money.  I love to walk around big cities and soak up their air. Not everyone shares my love and we took the subway back to the cars.  

The Calls and Eli stayed in Boston to watch a Red Sox Games.  The Sox won 7-0.  

Rocky Neck State Park

On the way home from the Aquarium we decided to stop by the beach.  

There were only 3 other people there.  I love the beach.  Every time we are there I wonder why we don't go more often.  It is so close.  Why does life make everything seem harder than it really is?  I love to stand there and look out at the water that goes on forever.  I find great peace when I am near bodies of water.   

Mystic Aquarium

On the Thursday of the Calls visit we all went to Mystic Aquarium.  Kaitlyn had done a school report on Beluga whales and wanted to see some real ones up close.  They were so cool.  They were Nicholas's favorite exhibit.  

Holden liked the crabs and the lobsters.  

Matthew's favorite exhibit was the Dolphins.  There were 4 balls in the tank for the dolphins to play with and he was so excited to see the balls.  He kept saying ball, ball and running around pointing at them.  I'm not sure if he noticed the dolphins at all, so I should probably say Matthew's favorite exhibit was the balls in the dolphin tank.

My favorite part was being with people I love.  (I am so corny, but it's true.)

The Calls

Our friends, the Call family, came to visit from Utah. Nicole went to law school here in Springfield and then clerked for a few years in Connecticut before they moved back.  There is Gordon  (the sports fan), Nicole (the worlds nicest lawyer), Courtney (the white tiger fan), Kaitlyn (the Fanny K Stein reader), and Katherine, (the baby who likes to sleep with a Winnie the Pooh blanket over her head.) They stayed with the Ackermans and we pretty much stalked them there (Sorry Gail!)  What a blessing it is to have friends like the Calls.  Thanks for being such an important part of our lives and supporting us when we need it most.  We love you!  

All Gone

I did it.  On Wednesday morning, I cut all my hair off.  It is  a lot shorter.  I wish that I had taken a picture of all the hair on the floor.  But, I didn't think about it until it was all swept up.  My friend Janine cut it for me and she did a great job.  She's so talented.  I'm super lucky to have such a great friend.  Everyone says I look so much younger.  (Do you think that if I keep cutting my hair I'll stay 36 forever?)