Fall!

Fall is probably my favorite season of the year.  There are so many fun family activities to do, and the Schmidt family is known to pretty much tackle them all every year!  I found this tiny little apple orchard that is close to our house a few years ago, and we have come back to it every year since.  It isn't fancy, and doesn't have a ton of stuff, but it is perfect for small kids, and the apple pies are fresh and amazing.  This year, I realized the two older ones are maybe getting too big as Hannah looked at me and said 'mommy, is this all there is??!!'.  That girl...

So last Saturday we visited Iowa Orchard.  We met Danielle and Leah there, and Hannah's friend from preschool Alivia.  It was the perfect day!  The kids got a hay rack ride, got muddy, played in the corn, and climbed up hay bails to the slides.  We also picked out big pumpkins, and left with some baked good.  

Besties. 

Luke trying to push Leah out of the way to poke his head through.  

Cousins. 

Fun on the slides!  We had the place to ourselves.  

We found corn in so many places!!  I think Luke had 3 or 4 more in his diaper!  

Field Trip Volunteer

I knew Henry's preschool class was taking a trip to the apple orchard this fall, so the second I saw the sign go up that volunteers were welcome, I jumped on it.  Working full time I miss out on some of the stuff they get to do, but I am so fortunate to have a flexible job that if special occasions come up at school I can block off my calendar, get away from work and attend.  I wouldn't work full time if I wasn't able to do that, and I make it very clear at work that my family is and always will be my first priority.  Plus, I've been around for quite a while now, so most people know that about me.  So today I finished up my meetings at 10am and drove up to Center Grove to meet 40 other 3/4/5 year olds at the apple orchard. 

Henry's favorite - the tractor ride!

We walked around and saw and learned about different animals.  Our tour guides name was Kaye and she did a great job keeping the kids entertained.  And aren't those matching green shirts just hilarious??!!  Henry's was a dress on him!  They had Kids Company on them with their phone number - very smart. 

The huge jumping pillow.  This one made me a little nervous with 24 kids jumping on it!!  Only one kid got a minor bump to the chin, which is pretty good considering how close they had to jump next to each other!

The kids loved the corn pool the most.  They had so much fun running and swimming around in it.  It is so much fun watching these kids grow up together - Henry has been with the same kids for almost 2 years!!

The Turtle room.  Audrey, Nathan, Henry, Aiden, Dylan, Charlie, Kaitlyn and Kota.

I even jumped in for a short while. 

Corn pile.

All in all it was a great time.  The weather was super hot, and some of the kids had long sleeves and pants on and were just dying of heat.  The other thing was they were all so thirsty.  So note to self for next year - pack Henry a water bottle not just a juice box that he drinks and lunch and throws away.  Another lesson learned was talking to Henry about what my plan was for the day instead of just surprising him and showing up.  Andy and I talked to him last night about how I was just meeting them up there and not riding the bus, so that way when I went to leave, he knew I wasn't riding on the bus back with him.  It worked well, and though he came close to a crying breakdown, he held it together and was so strong!  So proud of my big boy.