Apple Butter 2011

This weekend we drove over the river and through the woods to (Great) Grandmother's house for the annual making of apple butter. It was a brisk morning (low 40s) that turned into a beautiful day (high around 59), the perfect weather for apple butter.

Morgan and Julia stayed inside most of the morning watching Spooky Buddies and coloring crafts. But it's tradition that everyone take a turn stirring the apple butter, and Morgan wouldn't miss that for the world!

Above is the apple butter about 4 hours in. I think it boiled another hour before we canned it.

This year Morgan stirred the apple butter with no help! She loves being involved with it.

Then the girls were off to play. Aren't they just gorgeous? Best friends, for sure.

After a few pictures Morgan and Kole decided to collect leaves. Morgan made a leaf bouquet for herself and once it was finished she flung it in the air "like a bride" she said. Leaves went everywhere, but thankfully not in the apple butter (although it was close!).

The part of the day that Morgan looks forward to most.....eating the uncanned apple butter straight from the copper kettle. She LOVES it and was the first one outside with a spoon when it was time to can.


All in all we canned 91 pints (almost 11 1/2 gallons) of apple butter after 5 hours of stirring. It was a fun time, as always, and now we are stocked up for the winter!

Pumpkin Patch!

Yesterday Morgan and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather and headed out to Rich's Farm in Smithfield, PA for Kids' Day on the Farm. It's our annual trip to the pumpkin patch and I think this year was the prettiest weather we have had in our 5 years of going.

Morgan, as usual, was very careful in choosing just the right pumpkin. She looked over many before finally choosing the perfect one.

Here she is with Summer, our friends' 1 year old daughter. Morgan had a fun time helping Summer out and pretending to be a "big sister". She would make the perfect big sister.


Morgan had a wonderful time looking at the chickens and rabbits, riding the horse tire swing, jumping on the tire bounce, and bouncing in the dragon bounce house. She also enjoyed riding on the little train pulled by a John Deere lawn mower (as you can see below)

This year she registered nearly 4 feet next to the apple! By spring I bet she surpasses 4 feet.

We also enjoyed the hay(less) ride around the farm and got a daylight glimpse of the "Fright Farm" haunted house.

Right before we headed to the barn to paint our white gourds, I made Morgan pose for one last picture. Trip, success!

Mountaineer Football vs. UCONN

On a beautiful day in October, our little cheerleader made her way to her 3rd (and last) game of the season. She enjoyed playing with the younger crowd at the tailgate, and coloring and playing with Josh during the game :) While she enjoys going to the games, she is really looking forward to basketball season, where the games are shorter and inside, and she can pay attention more.

Hugs for cousin, Shannon

The next generation of tailgaters!

Her hair is long enough to go into a ponytail finally!

Indoor Pool Fun

Morgan and I took a business trip to Charleston while Morgan was off from school yesterday and today. We took advantage of the indoor pool at the Embassy Suites and invited Kole and Julia to come swimming with us. The girls had a wonderful time swimming independently with the help of pink swim rings. Kole enjoyed the water, but it was a little too cold for his little body. His poor lips were blue!

Practicing her "big arms" swimming

Love this little fishy!

Enjoying a moment in the hot tub before leaving the pool.

Toweled Beauties....they loved having their hair done "like Mommy's"

Morgan always loves when she gets to come with me to Charleston. She got to spend the night with Julia and spent the day with Aunt Amy while Mommy worked. It's been hard for her to understand why she can't come with me every time I go to Charleston now that she is in school. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and four to five consecutive days with the cousins.

Happy Birthday Julia!

Morgan's best friend (and cousin) Julia turns 5 today! On Sunday we traveled to Julia's house for a Hawaiian themed birthday party. It sure was hot enough to be Hawaii! We had a great time at the party. Morgan and Julia played a lot together and Morgan helped Julia with the gifts (Morgan passed them out to Julia). We didn't get to stay long, but it was fun. The girls can't wait to get back together and play some more! They sure do miss each other a lot.

Julia showing off her limbo-ing skills

Thought this picture was cute/funny!

Happy Birthday Julia! We love you so much.

Football Game, Take TWO!

It was another beautiful day in Morgantown for football on Saturday. The day started out a little chilly, but warmed up quickly. Our beloved Mountaineers came out flat and had us all worried at halftime. But 45 unanswered points in the second half brought home a raucous win. Morgan had a good time at the game. She colored a lot with Josh and made friends with the little boy who sits next to Josh. His name is Tyler and he has been going to games as long as Morgan has. I believe he's about 5 weeks younger than Morgan. They played with cars and enjoyed ring pops and shared the coloring book. Morgan had a great time at this game, and thankfully there was no rain!

Morgan enjoys listening to the band, when we can hear it over the crowd :)

Fly by after the National Anthem by a C-130

Toward the end of the game it was really hot and Morgan had just about had enough. Thankfully her best bud, Josh, came to the resuce with his hat and gave Morgan some "shade".

Morgan will miss the next home football game (a big one vs. LSU) to go to Nannie's for the weekend. Up next on Morgan's big agenda, Julia's birthday and birthday party!

She is ready for some football!

Football season has come again to Small Town USA, and we couldn't be more excited! Morgan loves going to the games and the tailgating and seeing all of her football friends. She dug out her pom poms early this morning and made sure I packed them first in the bag to go to the stadium. As usual our season kicks off with in-state rival Marshall University. Morgan's Great-Aunt Lola came up for the game. Morgan was really excited to have Aunt Lola spend the night with us!

Our Future Cheerleader

At the tailgate Morgan met up with her "tailgate family" which consists of both real family and good friends that we have tailgated with for many years. She is now old enough to play with the big kids, which makes her very, very happy. It also makes me happy because I know that for the most part a) she won't get out into the road or in front of cars and b) the big kids are responsible enough to keep an eye on her. Not that I don't, but I am sure you get what I mean.

Morgan and her cousin Shannon

Four of the younger generation of tailgaters

What a ham!

Morgan was certainly ready when it was time to go into the stadium. She wanted her frozen lemonade (Zul)! As you can tell by her hair, it was ungodly hot and humid. We were all roasting in the stands. The Zuls didn't last very long (of course Mommy knocked one over spilling about 1/3 of it, so that didn't help).

It was so hot Morgan didn't even want to smile for a picture (gasp!)

Singing the National Anthem with Daddy
She's trying to find some shade with Daddy's seat cushion!

Silly Girl!

Morgan with her two favorite people, Josh and Anna!

Our Mighty Mountaineers ended up winning the game 34-13 after some very odd weather delays and a smattering of football in between lightning strikes. We are hopeful that this coming weekend will be nice and we get to see an entire game of football!