Summer is Over!

Dang it.
I love the fall but not when it comes early and not when I have the sinking suspicion that the early cold weather means we have another brutal winter ahead of us.  Ugh.
But if it's going to be fall there is no better place to be in the entire world than in New England.  It isn't just a season here, it is a celebration! 
The boys had the day off from school {Voting Day - no I didn't vote and I couldn't even if I wanted to because I had four kids at home instead of in school - dumbest idea ever}.  I had made plans to spend the day at the beach but of course the weather turned fallish over night so we went apple picking.  It was lame as far as orchards go.  Overpriced, small apple selection, and no tractor rides, no apple cider, no petting zoos, or any of those things you'd expect as part of your New England apple picking experience.  But at least we had fun with friends and I had enough apples to make two batches of delicious apple crisp.  The boys kept things exciting by picking up apples from the ground and throwing them as far as they could.  No one got hurt and still my friends' eyes grew wide as they watched my boys unleash their chaos in the orchard.  They have daughters so they just don't get the whole rowdy boy thing.  We took a quick walk through the woods and then ended the apple picking experience with a trip to a local donut shop.  Nothing like eating a donut as big as my face to undo any calories I burned on my morning run.  But it was worth every bite!

Marcus brings his football with him everywhere we go

Remember when taking a family pic in an apple orchard was all the rage?  I never did that but this shot makes up for it.

Landon finally found a branch low enough for him to pick from

A donut that's actually bigger than Parker's head!