Apple Picking

Growing up, September always brought apple picking at an orchard in Weston, Missouri. Every year my mom, brother, and I would spend the day picking apples and eating their fresh treats. We brought that into my adult years and would go with my brother and mom and my oldest son. And then, we transitioned from that apple orchard to the one across the road, it was more of a pumpkin patch. My point is, I love apple picking season.

Sadly, there’s no such thing in this part of Texas, or if any part of Teas – I’m not sure they can grow apple trees down here? I looked and looked for one last year and couldn’t find any. There is the arboretum and little pumpkin patches but nothing that rivals the amazing apple orchards of Missouri and my youth. But even so, I still love September and look back fondly on those memories that date back to my little kid days.

When I stumbled upon a beautiful apple kit by Flax and Twine it sparked an interest in me to crochet an apple. or several! I needed a free pattern though so I went on the hunt for a free apple pattern, which I found at Grace and Yarn.

Picture credit: Grace and Yarn

I decided on skipping the face and just making it into a generic apple. But the pattern was perfect and made a sweet red apple, which was quickly snatched up by my youngest son.

I have dreams of making several in different colors and adding them to a clear bowl for my kitchen for the month of September. Will I make the time for that? I don’t know but it’s a great idea! ha!

This pattern was SUPER simple to understand. I recommend it if you’re a beginner. Check out the free pattern.

What is your favorite part of the season changing from summer to fall? Do you have sweet memories of the month of September? If so, I’d love for you to share those in the comments below!

Happy fall, y’all!

Gary the Happy Snail

My middle son has always been a nature lover. He adores nature, animals, bugs, and the like. While walking home from fishing a month ago he stumbled upon a couple of garden snails and asked if he could keep them at the house in a container. And me being the cool mom, I said, yes.

That was a month and 12 snails ago and we still have a snail colony going strong. He loves the snails, takes care of them, makes sure they have a nice clean home etc. And he leaves them alone for the most part, as not to upset them with too much holding. He’s really good at taking care of nature. He’s also a gardener, plays the french horn… so what I’m saying is, he’s pretty dang cool!


So when I found a snail pattern on Etsy, I knew I wanted to make it for him. After all, if I know how to crochet animals, what better way to use those skills than making gifts for my children?

I used a larger hook size than the pattern so my snail is quite large, which Zane loves. The pattern was pretty easy to follow and put together. One thing I had to do differently was the shell. I stitched it correctly but instead of gluing it together, I stitched it together, so you can see a couple divots that indicate that. I don’t have a hot glue gun.

Zane has named him Gary. The snails are all Gary’s with one Larry, the smallest snail. Right now, the crocheted Gary resides upon the container of the snails. He is their leader. And he will be well loved.

If you want to buy the pattern yourself, you can click here.

Homeschooling 2.0

Just like the rest of us, we’ve been thrown into “homeschooling” for the rest of the school year. We’ve not gotten the official word that school is out for the rest of the year but the writings on the wall. And that is okay. We usually get out of school in May so it’s not that big a deal. I do hope we can get back to normal by August for my older boys sake, as they miss school, their friends, a girlfriend, teachers, etc.

Homeschooling is going well. The two older boys are doing well with their assignments, zoom calls and so forth. Dash had a really good day schooling today. He seemed to really enjoy it. I can foresee him loving homeschooling long term. I don’t know if we’ll do that, though he is asking that we could homeschool him. I really do see him thriving with being schooled from home but it’s a matter of my husband and I both feeling we could help him and his online teachers make the best out of it. So, we’ll see. It’s all at the very beginning of talks right now.

Dash’s assignment today included writing elements of a story, which he included a dragon in his story, so we used Raising Wonder’s YouTube tutorials to learn how to draw a dragon. It went really well. Very helpful! So today, day whatever it is now, of homeschooling went great. It’s a cool but lovely day today. We’ll grab a family walk and bring Tuck with us, too.

I hope you’re having a great day!

A Day in Time

It’s February and it’s been a very up and down winter this year with the weather. A lot more clouds and cold and rain so when we got a rare day where all of us were home (from school and work) AND it was warm and sunny we knew we couldn’t waste it.

Little Elm lake and park is our favorite outdoor place to take the boys. There’s a beautiful lake beach, a cool park, ducks to feed, walking trail and more. While the trip wasn’t without whining and arguments between boys, it was still a very enjoyable day.

We tossed the football and kicked the soccer ball around, walked the trail, took pictures to humor me, and got some good exercise in. Afterward, we tried a new-to-us diner called Leo’s and then dragged the boys to the grocery store.

The older the boys get, and boy are they growing up fast, the more I treasure these family days. I realize that I’m going to wake up one day and my boys are going to be in college, or moved out and living their adult lives, and these will be just distant memories. Although I’m not the absolute best at soaking up each little moment with them, I am fully aware that they’re going to be grown men before I know it and I must enjoy it while I have it – this elusive thing called childhood.

If anything comes across online from my blogs and social media I hope it’s how much I love my family. I want to be known for my love. I’m not the most loving and outgoing person to the people around me – I admit it. I’m a total introvert, I’m hard to impress, but when it comes to my core unit, my boys and husband, I hope my love is evident to them in their memories and in their lives.

The World Has You

My kids are going back to school tomorrow. Each summer with them goes faster than the one before. I love my boys and want the world for them. Sadly, the world I’m handing over to them is pretty broken and messed up. Even with the broken world that they’re inheriting, they will walk in it a shining light.

They’re kind boys, brilliant, respectful, and dedicated to their studies and music. They’re normal, too, and will mess up and make mistakes but that is what being human is all about – making missteps and learning from our mess-ups. Adam and I will always love them, support them, encourage them, and accept them. It’s a love like no other. And I feel much better about the future of the world with them in it.

I can’t wait to see where life takes them, or where they take life. I long for nothing more than that they chase their dreams and are kind while doing it. So, here’s to a great sophomore, 7th grade, and 5th-grade year to my boys!

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