Apple picking

A friend of mine has parents with an apple orchard.  After multiple invitations we finally took the opportunity to go and pick us some delicious apples.  Honey crisp!

Yes, we did this in September, but it is a fall-ish activity and we are still in fall, and I am no longer good at blogging so pretend that this is timely.  ok.  Good.

My girls LOVED this activity.  I believe we have a new tradition.  We had to pull them away from the orchard.  They would have picked the trees clean if we didn't.

 Miley was a good picker, just the right amount of choosey.  Jovey was an indiscriminate picking machine.  I had to shadow her closely.  They both ate their fill of apples in process.

 Dave got a sunburn during this outing.  I probably don't have to say that.  It's a given.  I can't take him anywhere.

We made six pies and I froze some more apple pie filling for later.  The girls ate an apple a day, at least, and only a handful went bad so I'd say it was very successful.  Better start kissing up to me now so when next year comes around you can make it on the pie list.  ;)

Thank you Apple Valley!

being paper dolls

So there is this account on instagram that has a little girl who makes paper clothes for herself.  She's awesome at it.  I mean, way better than me, and she's maybe 5 years old.  Oh well.  Anyway, I thought it'd be fun for the girls to try it out.  It's like when I played with paper dolls as a kid, except cooler and whatnot.

Miley made three outfits, and now really wants a dress form so she can practice making more, like a professional.

She even made a nice tank for her Dad.  ;)

Jovey had to try it on.

 So you'd think I only bought two colors and the pink polka dots, but actually I have the rainbow spectrum and other patterns as well.  Maybe she'll eventually use something else.

Last minute Labor Day

I'm not good at planning minor holidays.  I forget they exist.  My mind is already occupied with Halloween thoughts and cannot be bothered by something as small as a three day weekend.

Labor Day arrived and Miley was thoroughly disappointed she didn't have school.  And then we were all thoroughly disappointed to have to deal with entertaining an already disappointed kiddo.

It was hot.  I had nothing.  No ideas, scratch that, no ideas that I wanted to do on our extra day.  We improvised, which isn't usually in our wheelhouse.

The plan:  get food, that will help us think of something else to do.  Epiphany:  get each of our favorite foods no matter where they were.  See that makes it different.  This idea may have come to be when were in the car on our way already.

Jovey LOVES the smoothies.  She can finish a smoothy before anyone else, record time.  Stop number one:  Orange Peel.

I needed something salty.  I love onion rings, so to The Habit we went.  They thought our order strange.  Seriously who doesn't order multiple onion rings and nothing else and then stay and eat them?

Miley was feeling a lot of pressure to pick just one food about now and needed lots more time to think.  Dave and I knew exactly what she'd pick once her mind cleared from the excitement of picking WHATEVER she wanted, and we were right.

Dave must have had a stroke because this guy, Mr. meat and potatoes, wanted sugar cookies.  FREAKY.  I asked him questions only he would know the answers to, but somehow his doppelgänger passed the test.  To the Sugar Cookie we went and he ate only one, but none of the girls complained at all.

Finally the skies cleared and Miley asked for the food she craves ALL THE TIME. . . corn dogs.  I gotta say, not being a corn dog fan myself, this truck makes some magic. . . dare I say, the World's Best.  Signs don't lie.  It had honey on it.  Well done truck food guy.  I'm really coming around to the world of food from trucks.  It's been a weird year like that.

There you have it, a plan in a pinch, that may have given me a stomach ache but was totally worth it.  ;)  We then added to the impromptu holiday by grocery shopping so we could barbecue with friends and play in the backyard pools, which we had to grab at the store as well cause mine had popped already this summer.  Last minute fun all around.

Miley said it was the best day ever.  She may say that a lot.

They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a witch

Dave and I went to Tuacahn's Little Mermaid back in 2011 and loved it, so when it came back again we knew we had to bring Miley this time. . .

 This girlie was SOOOOOOOO excited!  Too excited to sleep the night before, which is not a great thing since the show doesn't start until 8:45pm and ends around midnight.  I tried to get her to take a nap, but she was just too anxious to sleep.  She stayed awake and excited through the whole show and after recapping it all to us in the car on the ride home she crashed.

 Miley ate her weight in popcorn.  She's addicted to it, I'm pretty sure.

 It was sooooooo hot.  We had our fans and we did pretty well considering the 106 temp we started with.  It was 95 when we got out of there.  That's why Miley's face is so red in the pics.

I got a glimpse of Miley in the future.  I sat next to her.  Miley and Lexi became fast friends despite the age difference of six years.  I now understand that this is not a phase for Miley, she will always be herself.  ;)

 After the show Miley wanted to go up and thank all the characters for the good job they did.  Her words.  She got to talk to one of Ariel's sisters, Adrina I think, and Ursula, my fave.  The lines were pretty thick and it was late so I talked her out of meeting every single cast member.

She told Ursula that she scared her a little, but that she was totally awesome.  I agree.

The announcer at the beginning scared Miley a little too, so. . .

Miley kept saying, 'that was the most amazing experience', all the way up the steps and out to the car.  Dave and I just watched her during the show, it made the show even better.

It was a little different from the first time we went.  I missed the water flooding the stage in the opening from the first time around, it was a better beginning that way.  The way the mermaids moved around stage was different, better.  King Triton was no longer bare chested and covered in gold paint.  Bummer.  ;)  They did more backstory then last time, which was weird just because I'm used to the movie.  They did a good job though, since we'd seen it before I think it lessened the impact on Dave and I, but seeing it with Miley made it truly an 'AMAZING EXPERIENCE'.  Man, I love our girlie.

Who's up for Beauty and the Beast next year with us?

I'm melting. . . .

We made the ice cubes (water, food coloring).  We pulled them out during the first heat wave of the month.  We used a whole pad of paper.  We lived with colored fingers for days.

One of our favorite summer activities!

 

 Jovey wasn't as interested in the painting as Miley and I, so  instead she practiced her swan dives into the pool.  She's a fish.  It freaks me out.