Pick a good one

When the temperatures cool, and the late day shadows lengthen, we find ourselves hungering for the traditional colors, smells, and flavors of fall.  Last Wednesday, well after the sun had gone for the night, we sat bundled up on our deck, huddled around a smoky fire drinking hot cider.  On Friday we went through our recipe box, moving all those warm weather recipes to the back and replacing them with those rich and spicy fall recipes, like squash dishes, and stews.  Then today we made that oh so cherished seasonal trek to the apple orchard down the road.  It was the opening weekend of their annual Country Fair, complete with petting farm, pony rides, play areas, apple and pumpkin picking, haunted outbuildings, and, of course, fresh cider and doughnuts.  The trees and grass might still be green, and the warmer days of Indian Summer still ahead of us, but we just couldn't wait any longer to enjoy that wonderful grocery list of fall pleasures.  For some reason Calvin doesn't seem to remember having been there last year, and he greeted the occasion with wonder and excitement.  He loved the llamas and the swings, was flabbergasted by the corn, and was perhaps a little too enthusiastic about the apple picking (it was hard to explain to him that we were supposed to wait until later before eating apples we picked).  An orchard, particularly this orchard, is a very pleasant place to be during the changing of the seasons, and this visit will certainly not be our last. 

The classic apple picking pictures are in our Sept 15-21 photo album. 

 

A saving grace

We will be the first to admit that our beloved Michigan Wolverines have fallen short of expectations this year, although to be truly candid we are not sure who set such high expectations for them in the first place.  Ranked fifth?  Honestly, our quarterback has been questionable from the beginning and our number of experienced and talented players has been greatly reduced recently.  Every program goes through rebuilding years, we can accept that.  In fact, we expected it.  The losses might be disappointing, but they are not crushing.  When was the last time State even went to a bowl game?  That's what we thought.  And besides, in the mean time we have our beloved Michigan Marching Band to fulfill our need for talented performance and tonight we took Calvin to see their Friday night rehearsal.  It was his first encounter with the big band that his mother marched in during her college years, and it was clearly a hit.  He clapped and danced, and every time they stopped playing he would frantically sign "please music please" to the amusement of his parents and other onlookers.  This was, perhaps, his first real lesson that even the word "please" will not bring one everything they desire.

Halloween down on the farm

Thankfully last week's snow turned out to be just a teaser, and today a bit of true fall visited the area:  bright blue sky, wispy clouds, temperatures nearing 60, and a light, crisp autumn breeze.  We were on our way to the grocery store to stock our pantry and deck our front porch with pumpkins when we decided to completely reschedule our day in order to enjoy the beautiful fall weather.  What were we thinking, trying to buy pumpkins from the grocery store when there is a famous pumpkin patch literally two minutes down the street from us???  So instead of cleaning and lazing about after unloading groceries (sans pumpkins) we headed off to Wiard's Orchard for Calvin's first taste of this fun fall activity.  What an amazing way to spend a fall day!  There were animals (which Calvin is too young to pet), basic carnival games and activities (which Calvin is too young to take part in), and, of course, fresh cider and donuts (which Calvin is too young to ingest).  What Calvin could do was play with pumpkins, and this he found fascinating - until he found it exhausting, after which he merely conked out and slept through the rest of our visit.  But whether he enjoyed it or not, we did, and we even came home with a small family of pumpkins (not from the national chain store, but from our local centennial+ farm) that we chose directly from the patch (the Halloween equivalent of cutting down your own Christmas tree, just warmer).  And fall really lends itself to beautiful pictures the way that no other season does, so we also came home with a plethora of photographs, a favored handful of which we have posted in Calvin's nineteenth week album to share (yes, those are just a handful).  We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Isn't it October?

Don't worry, you didn't miss out on the Halloween fun, it isn't time to go buy the turkey, and Santa isn't at the mall yet (well, actually he might be but you'll have to talk to the money grubbing retailers about that).  No, it really truly is still October, it just doesn't look (or feel) like it.  We often talk about whether or not the first snow will come by Thanksgiving.  Sometimes we've even talked about whether or not it will shower flakes before Halloween, but this is ridiculous!  We realize that it won't stick (or, at least we're hoping), but since I have to clear the snow and ice out of the dogs' feet before they come in from the yard I think it counts.  So here is Calvin's first snow.

Beautiful weekend for celebrations

On Saturday we received two "prank" phone messages, one on Cortney's cell phone and one on our answering machine.  We're not talking heavy breathing here.  Worse, they were, quite simply, the Michigan State Fight Song.  We overcame the horror of said messages quickly, or at least by 5:00pm.  We won't dwell too long on the victory, just long enough to rub it in for the State fans that LOST on Saturday.  Now, if the State players had even a touch of the athletic talent that Calvin displays here, it might have been a different story...

Sunday was an all together different kind of celebration.  For months our church has been planning an "all church supper" to celebrate the beginning of a new season and a new stewardship kickoff.  We have to admit that when we heard they were planning said supper to be held in the great out of doors in the middle of a Michigan October we were skeptical.  We were, however, pleasantly surprised by the Indian Summer weather, with sun and 70 degree weather.  This was a celebration not only for the church as a whole, but for Cortney and her committee, which was in charge of planning and putting on the event, and her fellow deacons, who were challenged to bring in and host at least 300 of the church's almost 2,000 members.  Well, the event, complete with meals served at the tables and a live band, went off without a hitch, and over 500 members attended!  Cortney hosted 14 people at her table alone, and Jon found himself acting as part of the entertainment - not with a piano, with Calvin.  Most people cannot resist cooing at a cuddly baby!  As our pastor noted to us over supper, many people have begun to refer to Calvin as the church's baby.

And what is celebration without cake?  Since Jon's birthday is October 10th we also took advantage of the beautiful weekend to sneak in double birthday celebrations.  On Saturday night we celebrated with Jon's parents, and enjoyed a wonderful post-game tailgate style dinner (mmm...) and a fantastic homemade carrot cake (Jon's favorite).  On Sunday night we celebrated with Cortney's family, where Jon shared the candles on a yummy chocolate ice cream cake with Curtis, who shares the same birthday.  So we have a wonderful football team (shh...don't burst our bubble just yet), a wonderful church, and wonderful families - that was a lot to celebrate.