Family Fun

This past weekend my family came to visit from Chicago. My brother came to go hunting with my husband, while my sister in-law and I got in some one on one bonding time (Kris, I truly had a great time with you), later my parents came to join in on the fun. It was definitely a great time filled with laughter, activity, and lots of food. We started out by braving it alone to the apple orchard (two moms, and 5 kids ranging from 5yr to 6mo can be pretty risky) in a very spontaneous style (it was supposed to be rainy, so we weren't planning on it).

We managed to get FIVE car seats in my van and headed out. After a few wrong turns (probably not a great idea to put two directionally challenged people together), we made it. And what a blast it was. The kids had a great time playing together and riding in the Cinderella like pumpkins.

The favorite part though, was the apple picking. I think my little Katie was enjoying her apple a little too much, because when I threw away the core, she kept sobbing and reaching back -"apo! apo!"

The next day, we carved pumpkins in the garage. Unfortunately, I did not invest in the actual pumpkin carving knives, so it made for a pretty challenging job to be too creative. They were cute though, and the kids enjoyed watching them glow in the evening.

The following day, we managed to get 11 people out of the house and in church on time (now that is pretty impressive). We came back only to have shortstop's greek pasta (raves by all!) and some bruschetta like casserole. The whole weekend was overloaded with food (pumpkin cake, apple pie, cheesecake, etc). The best part though was just watching the cousins run around playing and having a good time. And although it may have been stressful at times, it was spent with family, and I couldn't ask for a better family. Can't wait to do it again.