Wasem's Orchard, Lakeside Park & Pumpkin Carving 2010

It was yet again a beautiful Fall weekend so you guessed it; off to the orchard again! We actually didn't plan on going, but it was so gorgeous (and we were out of cider) we figured what the heck! Justin's favorite words these days are car, apple & pumpkin so as imagined he was using those words quite frequently throughout our adventure. We went out to Wasem's which isn't as "touristy" (is that a word?) as other orchards. By that we mean they don't have all these estravagent bells and whistles, charging up the ying yang type activities. Not that those other places we went to weren't fun, but Wasem's is very relaxed, down on the farm. This place is nestled away in the country with the meat and taters being you pick apples and pumpkins and eat some donuts (amazing by the way) and drink some cider. Simply put. We went out and picked half a peck worth of granny smith apples and let Justin pick out his very own baby pumpkin (RIP to the baby pumpkin Grammy Hawes got him; it had a run in with a very evil and hungry squirrel). We took out cider and donuts and went over to Lakeside Park enjoying our treats and playing on their awesome playground. I'm telling you, mommy and daddy had a blast too! BUT As mama was twirling around with Justin and rolling in the leaves she was quite disgusted to realize she rolled right into some dog poop! Oh joy. The fun pretty much ended there as at this point mama was cranky about the poop and Justin was ready for a nap! So, home we went and napping we did! Later that evening it was time for pumpkin carving and Justin was super excited to be able to participate more helping pull out the guts and seeds. And of course he made the decision on the pumpkins name......and....it....is...Ta-Da! Yes, he named it Ta-Da. We looked at it and surely it did look like a "Ta-Da" so that became its name :) Enjoy some pictures for our festive day and of course, Ta-Da! ;)


Justin baking and decorating cookies with daddy

Justin and Mommy.


Pumpkin guts!

Want some?

Muah, love ya baby!

Proud daddy & his little helper...and Ta-Da of course.

Yes....we paid for that apple...really we did :/

"Say Cheese"

Daddy helping J-Man reach for those apples.

Finding that perfect pumpkin.

On a mission....

Jungle Gym

Weeeeeeeeee!

Cutie-patootie!

Working those muscles on the climbing wall.

Apples, Pumpkins & Hayrides-Oh my!

It's our favorite time of the year in the Hawes household-FALL! With that comes a plethora of fun and visits to as many orchards and farms as we can visit. Here we are only a few weeks into Fall and we've been to 3 already and we're hoping to go to a few more next weekend. So, maybe we enjoy it a bit too much but how can you NOT have fun!? Crisp cool air, fresh donuts and delicious cider oh and the hayrides! Perfect family time activities if you ask me ;)

Last weekend we were on our way to visit Grammy & Grandpa Hawes and stopped at Uncle John's Cider Mill near Mt. Pleasant. This place was great-free parking, everything was reasonably priced and they had a huge kids area. They also have a winery for "big kids". ;)

While visiting Grammy and Grandpa we went to Heritage Farms in Fremont. Grammy and Uncle Bud (Uncle Butt as Justin calls him) came along too. We had a hayride and saw some buffalo & elk. We took the cider and donuts back to Grammy & Grandpa's house to share with Grandpa since he couldn't join us. As you'll see in the pictures below Justin was pretty pooped after the long day and fell asleep snuggling his baby pumpkin from Grammy.

Yesterday, Justin's godparents (Mike & Tracy) and their son James were visiting from Grand Rapids so we all went to Three Oaks Orchard in Northville. That place was an enchanted storybook land with a nursery rhyme themed play area where live animals roamed. The kids loved it! They also had tons of toys and playground climbers for the kids. Again, great prices and lots of fun and yumminess!

Enjoy some of the pictures from our festivites and enjoy your Autumn season! Cheers!

Justin & Nana Kapla


Mama & Justin snuggling to keep warm on the hayride!


Auntie Tracy, James, Uncle Mike & Justin


Hey, are you talkin' to me?!


Yummmmmm, Fresh Cider!


What did we tell ya, pumpkin snuggler!



Justin picking his first apple with a little help from dad; twist & pull!



Hope on! I'll give ya a ride!



Justin & Daddy


I want that one!


Uncle Butt & J-Man


Daddy, Justin, Grammy & Uncle Butt ;)

New Rocking Horse, Random Cuteness & Sing-a-Long

Grammy and Grandpa Hawes got Justin a new rocking horse which he absolutely loves!


Here are some random cute shots this week. Simply put, he's adorable as usual :)

Finally, I snapped some footage of little guy singing a little diddy and justin giggling away. Enjoy!

Bath Photos...The finale....

Well folks...Justin is 2 years old and we figured he's getting to the point monthly bath pictures are starting to look the same and he's a "big boy" now.... Please enjoy the final installment of the monthly bath photos. I'm actually a little sad. :(

4th of July Weekend 2010-Part 2

We went to Ludington and watched the fireworks from the beach on Lake Michigan. We had to go really early to find parking and get good seats so for about 2 hours before hand Justin was running up and down the beach and in the water and played on the beach playground. He even climbed some of the dunes. He was a happy camper (and pretty pooped by the end of the evening-it was waaaay past bedtime by the time we got back). We had been gearing him up for the fireworks and watching his expression was priceless. I think we spent more time soaking in his happiness and enjoying his smile more than we did watch the fireworks ourselves! It was a great evening; enjoy!

We couldn't tear him away from this thing!


He had a great time until the sand and sunscreen got in his eyes! :(



Swinging. A favorite pastime.

Beautiful Sunset :)

Beach starting to fill up!

Can you see little buddy almost to the top?!

Keeping his eyes on the prize and not giving up! He was a determined little guy!

Daddy, Grammy & J-Man anxiously awaiting the big booms!

Daddy & Mommy taking a moment to enjoy eachother :)

FINALLY! The natives were getting restless AND cranky! The fireworks were beautiful!

4th of July Weekend 2010-Part 1

Oh my gosh, we are so far behind on our blog adventures. I'm going to flashback to 4th of July weekend (insert flashback sequence & music)......

A bunch of the family got together at Grammy & Grandpa Hawes's house and it was a great opportunity for Justin to reconnect with some of the family we dont' get to see very often:
Aunt Gail & Uncle John from the Chicago, Uncle Brian "Bud", Aunt Melissa & Uncle Shane and Great-Grandma Irene. Grammy & Grandpa's house is in the country so it was a weekend full of bonfires, grilling, playing outside & visiting with everyone. Here are a few pics of Justin hanging with the fam.


Here's Justin saying Buh Bye to Uncle Bud as he heads back to Ludington. We're thinking as Justin gets older the 2 of them are going to partake in some shenanigans and nonsense!


Here's Aunt Melissa, Justin & Uncle Shane enjoying the bonfire after the family marshmallow war. Justin was a key soldier in stealing marshmallows so mommy and daddy could reload on ammo.

Here's a cute one of Justin and Uncle John who came to be best of buddies.

Justin and Grandpa were checking out Auntie Melissa's brother's new Harley. We tried to get Justin to take a seat, but he didn't like how loud it was....he was very curious though!

Here's Great Grandma and Justin taking a breather on the porch.

Story time with great grandma!

Here's mama and Justin at Veteran's Memorial Park in Fremont.

The boys taking a quick pic on one of the bridges at Branstrom Park where we went for a nice walk and played on the playground.

My monkeys on the slide.

Here's a pic of the kiddie pool Grammy & Grandpa got him. He LOVED it!

My water baby, er, big boy!

Stay tuned for part 2 of the blog for our trip to Ludington for the fireworks on Lake Michigan!