Apples

Last weekend, we were trying to come up with something to do with the kids, that was pretty much free. I had just come back from my provident living meeting earlier that day, where we happened to be talking about apples. Did you know, there is a TON of stuff you can do with apples? I didn't. You can make applesauce, apple butter, apple jelly, apple syrup, apple pies, or just plain bottled apples. So, I decided we would take a drive up to Zoin National Park. Right before Zion, is a little town called Springdale. They have an apple orchard there. You can pick your own apples, and then pay for them. We ended up picking almost 60 lbs of apples! I don't have any pics of us picking, because I forgot the camera, but I do have a picture of what I did with them. For the next 2 days, Jared and I sat at the table, and peeled and cored all of those apples! I made and bottled applesauce and apple butter. They are sooooo much better than the store bought kind. I think I have spoiled Natalie a bit, and now she won't even eat the store bought kind. So, you are probably wondering how much applesauce you can make with 60 lbs of apples. Well, I will tell you.


All of this is applesauce. There are 24 pint jars, and almost 9 quart jars. I did end up using 4 of the quart jars to make the apple butter. I don't have a picture of that though. Jared keeps joking about us going back and getting more apples. I think he has forgotten how much work goes into it. :) I think he is suffering from a case of apple-picking amnesia. Don't they look pretty though? They are different colors, because I added cinnamon to the first 2 rows, the next 2 are natural, and some of the big ones, I added apple pie spice to. We all like the natural ones the best. The cinnamon is okay, but I think it kind of dulls the sweetness of the natural apples.

Patriot's Day

In celebration of Patriot's Day, Cody's school did a little flag ceremony. They had one student from each class stand in a line between some police officers, firemen, and military personnel. Cody was the student that was picked in his class. His teacher called me the night before, and told me that she picked him, because his behavior has been so excellent in class, and he is just doing great! I was very glad to hear that, since we have been struggling with his behavior at home a bit. Anyway, here is Cody standing in his place in line. He is close to the flag pole end of the line.

They started passing down a folded flag, and as the flag was passed down the line, they would salute to the next person in line. Here is Cody recieving the flag from a police officer. I didn't get a picture of him saluting to the next one in line, because my camera is too slow. :( After the flag reached the flag pole, they had the kindergardeners help raise the flag, and then the ceremony started. I thought it was pretty cool, and an honor to be picked. I am glad for Cody, and I hope he remembers this for a little bit. At least I have pictures for when he does forget. :)