August Extras

In August:

* Levi learned to climb up the stairs
* Michael's Grandpa Schmidt came for a visit
* Elizabeth returned home from her mission
* Levi started to love coloring
* Miriam got her first manicure
* We went on a vacation to the beach
* Simon practiced doing cartwheels
* Miriam started first grade

Picking Apples

I love that picking apples has become a yearly family tradition. Last year by the time I thought about picking apples we had missed my favorite apples. This year I was determined to remember to go early in order to get the honeycrisp. We drove out to Marker Miller Orchards so we could pick our own. Miriam and Simon really love picking the apples off the tree. Even Levi tried to pick a few. After all the hard work picking apples the kids played at the playground and ate ice cream.

Apple picking video:

Since we drove all the way out to Winchester we just had to stop at Sonic for lunch.

Hunting Island State Park

On our way home from South Carolina we made one more stop at Hunting Island State Park. We read about it being really good for finding seashells and shark teeth. Miriam collected a lot of really great shells. However, we didn't find any shark teeth. Simon's main plan was to see how many things he could throw into the ocean. We were soaking up every last bit of sea breeze.

right as we were getting ready to leave we spotted a horseshoe crab

Due to a later than planned start that morning we ended up not having time to see the lighthouse. Ever since we saw the lighthouse last year in San Diego, Miriam has been interested in lighthouses. She was sad we didn't have time, so we quickly stopped and took her picture in front of it.

Here is our video from our morning at Hunting Island: