Epic 24 hours (Tuesday pm to Wed PM): Where's Waldo, Rainy Run, Hair Cut, Sweet Baby, 35 quarts of Apple Sauce and a niece who ran (41/60)

(And this is another day late . . . our internet is totally messed up and just didn't work at all last night!)


So, I think this is the third year in a row, John and I were asked to help out in our church's youth activities "Where's Waldo" at the mall.  We hide in open site dressed up .  .

I looked the same (and everyone found me right away (ug) . . . but John . . . 

He looked super creepy (especially when he hid in the children's little automated toys . . . )

Creepy John . . . 

And this is us together (see the toys in the back . . .).  We both had our earbuds in and chatted back and forth strategy.  But mostly . . . I just burst out laughing whenever the kids found me and talked about if I was someone they knew or not.  I am THE WORST at games like this!

We fell asleep Tuesday night to loud rain, but woke up at 5:40am to gentle misty sprinkles, so we decided to brave the cold and run.  It was beautiful . . . until the last three minutes where it actually started raining.  But we were home . . . so . . .

Then I got my hair cut (this is me . . . pre hair cut).  I loved it sooo much, but I totally forgot to take an after picture because I was so anxious to get to my Lil Hen . . .

And here he is . . . for reals, could you stay away?  NO.  And the best part was that he fell asleep in our arms.  Honestly, there is nothing sweeter than a heavy little baby who just sighs and flops in your arms.  Best Part of my day . . . NO YEAR!

Sweetest thing ever, right?  EVER!!

And then John called to remind us, as we were in the middle of apple saucing, that Ellis, (who doesn't walk farther than she needs to) who has taken up running cross country this year, has her final race at the middle school right by us.  So we threw down our towels, took off our aprons, and flew down to her race.

And got there just in time to watch her race beautifully . . . and finish with the strongest KICK I've ever seen.  And being TENDER as I am, I cried the whole time.  I was just that proud of her!

The two Cutie Cousins together.  Yes, she's a foot taller than Piper (not that that's very hard).

And we came back to finish up apple sauce making . . . it was cold (but thankfully not wet) and perfect for the hot stick job of making the sauce.

(you really have to wait for a cool day or the bees are so bad they literally swarm around you)

Here's Finn showing you how it's done (the pot he's dipping a cup into is full of steamed, smooshy apples--with the seeds and skins and everything).  You take the apples, and plop them into that white funnel thing . . . then crank the red handle and out comes apple sauce down the shoot.  And the icky stuff comes out the top (see the little silver bowl with icky stuff . . . being the highly educated, well behaved people we are . . . we call it the poop of the apple sauce)

And I love this picture . . . look at that sky . . . dark stormy fall.  Can you smell the apple sauce?  I can just looking at the picture . . . soo delicious!

And I forgot to mention we dried apples as well . . . here's Sweet Hannon getting the apple slices ready to be dried . . . 

And here's a above view of the apple sauce production . . . Thank you Piper for modeling for us (even if you didn't know you were . . . )

And here's the magical Jonathan apples . . . THE BEST!

And here's me . . . (you can see my hair!) taking my saucing turn . . . and yes, we all wear rain boots.  It's messy work . . .

Wheph.  It was a lot of hard, sticky, hot work . . . but the product.  DELICIOUS.  We've already eating two quarts.

And now . . . to bed.