Yummy apple crisp

I saw this recipe not long ago on Donna Boucher's blog, Quiet Life, and had to give it a try. I love apple pie so much, but this recipe is quick and easy and satisfies my apple pie fix a lot quicker than rolling out dough and baking a pie! This one was made with apples purchased at the local farmer's market.

On a completely different subject, I posted some "rules" in our playroom today. They are all very positive, be kind, talk to each other, share, etc. I went over them with my kids and our neighbor's daughter and told them the rules were to help them enjoy their play time together, so they won't spend it fighting and angry with each other. So far it is working. Every few minutes one of the girls will remind the other of one of the rules! They seem to be getting along very well, which is just a huge blessing!

Dark Hollow Falls Hike

We took the kids up to Skyline Drive this past week to do some geocaching. One of Mark's co-workers gave him a GPS so we decided to give it a try. We found some coordinates near Dark Hollow Falls and went to find the box. The box was located off of the fire road, which is just not a hike for small ones. I think the total loop for that hike is 5 miles. We ended up hiking as close to the bottom as we could go (and still be able to hike up without carrying kids) and got to see the falls. Peyton and Liam really liked scrambling on the rocks and looking for deer. Some of the other hikers told us they had seen a bear near the trail, but we didn't see it. There were so many people hiking that it probably got scared and went deeper into the woods. So I've still never see a bear in Shenandoah National Park. I have seen loads of deer, but that's pretty much it.

After we got back up to the top of the trail, I hiked a mile to the Big Meadows' lodge and saw another deer and a bunch of butterflies. I'm glad that we are exposing our kids to the joys of hiking. Mark and I really like it and we are looking forward to being able to do longer and longer hikes with our kids. They can only do short ones now, but they're getting better. Peyton walked the entire Dark Hollow Falls trail that we did and Liam only had to be carried twice.

School starts tomorrow. Peyton is so excited. I realized last night that I have nothing to pack for her lunch, so I'm going to be running out to the store this afternoon. I'm feeling less anxious now that we have met her teacher, but I am not looking forward to having to get her up and going every morning from now on.......

Fun new toy

My neighbor, Jan, has two daughters who are in elementary school and she likes to hand down the things they are not using. Of course, I LOVE hand-me-downs. In the past she has given us an art easel and a Little Tikes outdoor car. She called last week and told me that she had some fun collapsible playhouse things that she wanted to give to the kids. We set them up in the basement and they are a HUGE hit with the kids. They spent several hours this weekend crawling through the tunnels, dragging toys into the tunnels, chasing each other through the tunnels, etc. Such a fun toy and the possibilites are endless!

I have finished a few projects since I learned how to crochet. I have made the kids and myself new hats, and I made a granny square scarf. I love making things and have a bunch of patterns ready for my next projects. Mark wants a hat, so he's next and then I'm going to try a simple felting project. I told him the other day that I may have to get a job to afford all of the yarn I need/ want!