The beginning of fall has been full of activity. We started out peeling and preparing the apples that we picked at the orchard. The girls each love to help with the apple peeler, taking turns with turning the handle.
This year, Ezri and Alora found fun in eating the peel "Lady and the Tramp style, by each taking an end and munching away until they met in the middle. This went on for quite some time!
We have had the opportunity to enjoy a picnic in a park, where the girls enjoyed playing checkers on the picnic basket and feeding the ducks and geese in the pond.
One exciting part of this fall was that we got to see baby Pip for the first time when we went in for a fun only ultrasound. Nope, we don't know baby's gender and don't want to! Pip was very cooperative for our session, moving a lot, and giving us plenty of facial expressions. Ezri was very engaged in the viewing, enjoying it a lot, the other girls to a lesser degree.
We even got our "first family picture" taken with Pip :)
Back at home, things go on as usual. Barb is now a very regular part of our family. He has been able to enjoy some time outside in the yard with the girls, as well as his daily free time to hop around and explore the house. We have lost a few blocks, pencils, even a crayon to Barb's appetite, but he sure is fun!
Another big event for our family was the purchase of a new truck! After much searching and prayer, a truck kept coming into our searches. Though there was not much info about it, only that it needed work, and it took a few attempts to reach the seller, the guys finally got a chance to take a trip to look at it one dark Sunday evening. When the seller revealed she just wanted it gone, had no idea what was really wrong but that it worked when she had used it and then lowered her price even more, we prayed again and felt we could not walk away. So, with the help of our good neighbor Barney, we towed it home the next day and began to clean and search for the cause of it not running. A week later and a whole new set of brake and fuel lines, it came to life!
The girls are very excited about the new truck because it has four doors and six seats and lots of passenger space, so our whole family can ride in it together, even when Pip arrives.
Daddy spoiled the girls this fall with new child sized rakes for each as well as a shovel, hoe and rake. They have put those garden tools to work! I have flowers re-planted in many places and Ezri has just loved to go out and rake piles with her own little rake that is just the right size.
Last Sunday, we ventured out into the cold to Grand Rapids to watch Uncle Andy run in the Grand Rapids Half Marathon. It sure was cold!!! Winter gear was necessary and the girls grew tired out sitting out and waiting. We explored a little while we waited.
The riverfront offered us some fun places to climb.
And then we found a spot to watch and cheer Uncle Andy on!
Thankfully, the day warmed up significantly after that chilly morning, and by afternoon we were rather warm in the sun. We took advantage of the warm day to carve pumpkins.
Ezri and Alora were all about digging in and getting dirty...
Tierney, however, was not going to have it at first. She did warm up after some time, but was happy to hand the work off to someone else.
Once the pumpkins were cleaned out, Becci lent her expertise on carving with patterns (the girls wanted princess pumpkins this year, so we had purchased a carving kit). A few hours later, we had three princess pumpkins for our three princesses!
That night, we celebrated Andy's success with a visit to a nearby Chinese buffet, where Tierney set about to entertain with her antics.
