Caleb in action at a fall soccer game in Norwich. The kids running around with other siblings.

Sweet little Isaac

Happy brothers

One of the joys of lovely weather is visiting with neighbors outdoors. Duane stopped over with Sadie when Daddy got home from work.

Happy face on the way backwards, "I have to close my eyes, and I can't breathe" on the way forward! So funny!

The boys always beg for a creek walk. When I have other kids to keep out of the water it's not the most fun adventure for me as the only adult.

Lydia helped me out this day by not even wanting to climb down the bank. So I stayed up with Lyd and Isaac and gave the boys boundaries and let them play.

Just one of many applesauce making days!

Caleb tending to Isaac - in front of a movie, of course

Enjoying the fall weather. Here are my WORM hunters

A true WORM hunter. Doesn't he look like a chicken? This is ball toss game given new life by Joshua.

And the bookWORM. Can't keep Caleb's nose out of a book!

Outdoors I keep this wiggleWORM buckled in to keep him in one spot.

Apples, Apples, and more apples. Karen, Michelle & Ellie and Mom & Lyd & Isaac and I picked a TON of apples. The orchard was beautiful. The people were wonderful (because we came on a day when they were closed, and they had pity on us and let us pick). I came home with 10 Bushels of lovely apples and spent the whole month of October processing applesauce. I have well over 150 quarts stored for the coming year. It sounds like a lot, but that will feed 6 mouths for 52 weeks. That's about 3 jars a week. And when we open a jar it very seldom finds its way into the fridge - we empty it.

My tomato crop failed this year. That stinking blight again. I had two plants in pots in the front yard that survived, but didn't give me a booming crop. My mother in law sent me home with a basketful, and Caleb helped make a few sets of spaghetti sauce. A few years ago we had tomatoes coming out of our ears. We didn't know why we were canning so much salsa, sauce, whole tomatoes... After two bad years (and still eating the booming year's supply) we reap the benefits of our perseverance in keeping up with the previous crop.

Fun at the farm!

Soccer. Caleb plays fall soccer. We are lucky to have the field within walking distance. I send Caleb down alone while I wrap up dinner and get the kids together, then we drive down to pick him up and watch the second half of practice.

This was a Saturday game. Josh rode a bike, and I pushed the little ones in a stroller.

Caleb helped get the bike up the hill from the foot bridge