Lovely St. Louis

We recently had a rare family vacation to St. Louis. Matt was attending a conference and so the girls and I saw the sights of the city. We had a great time at St. Louis Zoo and the Arch and the Riverboat cruise.

Anna loved petting the stingrays. I tried it once and didn't want to do it again.

On the cruise...

We also went to City Museum, which is the coolest museum in the world. We only heard of it because of Matt's sister. Many years ago we took the girls there (so long they had no memory of it) and had a lot of fun. This time the girls were older and braver and the place was almost completely empty. It was amazing and definitely not a good place to get any pictures. I worried about crushing my camera while Matt and I played too!

apple picking means apple pie!

So this year I faced my apples (we had 2 pecks) with eagerness and determination. I was not going to waste any apples on a bad pie filling recipe like last year. I contacted a friend who is super amazing - 9 kids, homeschools, jars anything and everything in large quantities, only spends $150/week feeding her large family and is a fount of wisdom and honesty. I asked her for her pie filling recipe - the one she makes 5,000 times the recipe and freezes it for pies all year long. Okay - maybe not 5,000 but she does make a LOT.

The process was fun since Daddy was in charge of the messy parts. I do not enjoy cooking with kids. There I said it. And I have met other Moms who feel the same way, so it's okay for me to feel that way. I do enjoy helping them pick out clothes, braiding their hair, working on puzzles, coloring, and doing other things with them. Just not things that involve sticky, messy or ovens.

Total: 4 pies. We ate one that night and froze the filling for the other three. Yum!

Apple Picking!

The time came recently for our annual trip to the Apple Orchard. This year it was hot and we didn't last as long as we have before. But we enjoyed picking Gala and McIntosh apples.

she's definitely not afraid of bugs

So proud.

She started preschool. She is so proud of herself.