Fall Kick-off

I swear, I was trying so hard not to let the hot weather here spoil my fall fun and make me think it was never going to get here. I mean, 90+ degree heat in October is just wrong.

But thanks to a tropical storm, last Monday brought cooler temps and happy vibes.

So on to what we've been up to...

(which I kind of feel is starting to become a little redundant to blog about since I post pics on FB... but whatever).

A little over a week ago, we took a little day trip up to the mountains. Which is weird because technically, we had to go down to SC, then back up to NC. Apparently that was the quickest route.

Anyway... Brad, Chase, Noah, and I decided to go apple picking. There's an amazing farm in the mountains that, according to every (local) friend I have on FB, is the place to be. The only down side was that it was hot. But other than that, I think it was the coolest apple orchard I've ever seen. Watching Noah and taking decent pictures is proving to be a very difficult feat lately, but I did the best I could. This kiddo is b-u-s-y.

The place had three rules:
1. No eating apples in the orchard.
2. No throwing apples.
3. No riding on the wagons.

The only rule we didn't break was the third one, and that's because we didn't grab a wagon.
But at least the one doing most of the rule-breaking is really cute... and can't read.

The guys tried to give me a hard time for dragging them almost two hours away to trek through the mountains picking apples that we could've just as easily bought at the grocery store.
And they have a point.
But dangit, I was going to have my perfect Fall apple-picking memory even if it was unseasonably hot and out of the way. And so what if someone spotted a bear hanging out near the Jonagold trees. Or that Noah had a fit on the mountain because I wouldn't let him run into the woods.

The guys may have had a fun time picking on me, but I think they were surprised at how fun it actually ended up being. Especially when all the really good apples were up high, and they had to figure out how to get them down.

We went home with an insane amount of apples, some apple-cinnamon butter (which btw, you paleo peeps should make... no added sugar, and it's amazing), apple jelly, and apple cider doughnuts. I'd never actually had apple cider doughnuts before, and I'm glad they only seem to exist in remote areas, because I could've devoured that whole box. Thankfully I had three boys to fight over them with, so I only had two. :)

The whole day was awesome. Definitely worth it. And the apples were way better than store bought. Even the guys had to admit it.

Our church recently had a big "Family Fun Day". We didn't get to go last year, because it was all rainy and Brad had to work. So I was really excited about this year. They have an enormous field for soccer, relay games, etc. Noah's obviously a little too small for all that, but they had some big blow up slides and bouncy houses for the little guys.
Any time we go anywhere crowded, I usually put Noah's autism shirt on him. It's amazing how people are immediately so sweet and patient with him once they see it. The girl at the top of the slide helped coach him up the stairs, and in order to get him to go down the slide, she counted down 3-2-1-GO. Worked every time.

He's getting so so good at waiting in line (which he really doesn't like), taking turns, and learning to be patient. He still gets annoyed when he has to do it, but he does it regardless. I'm so proud of how far he's come even in just the last couple of months. And no, I didn't hold him in line the whole time. lol. Just long enough to help him wait and go over the whole "First her turn, then Noah's turn" routine.

I usually come prepared with snacks for Noah at events like this, since I know he won't eat meals like BBQ or mac n cheese. However, when the three of us adults went through the line separately, we all grabbed Noah a bag of his favorite chips, not realizing the others did too. Yeah, he's not spoiled at all.

 

I love seeing how Noah handles himself now when there's too much sensory input for him to deal with. Instead of having a meltdown, he calmly finds a spot to chill for a little bit. Some days he's all about being in the middle of the action and plays with the other kids, and other days he needs to just hang out on the sidelines.

As long as he's having fun, that's all I care about. :)

Happy Monday!