Yesterday was one of those days.  You know the kind.  It was a fighting, naughty children, put-their-pajamas-on-at-6 kind of day.  A countdown-to-bedtime kind of day.  Angie was coming down with a cold and she had no tolerance for any of the rest of us.  Little Princess was determined to push all of Angie's buttons and a few of mine too. I had a new pressure canner and 50 pounds of apples to make into applesauce, so I was impatient with my lovely children and I forgot that colds and bad moods do not put themselves on hold to respect my agenda.

Despite the trying day yesterday, the weekend was filled with special moments and it is one of my favorite weekends in a long time.  On Friday, I met Kaeley at Lake Sacajewea in Longview and she took some spectacular pictures of the girls.  A little preview:

She captured Angie's spunk and energy perfectly.  I have a few others but have to keep them to myself to protect Little Princess' privacy.  We had such a nice evening and we shared dinner with friends afterwards.

On Saturday, Toby and I took the kids to a u-pick farm to pick apples and pears.  It was a rare day with all four of the younger kids together and we had so much fun.  I wish we had done this sooner.  We got a little carried away-thus the 50 pounds of apples.  That was kind of spontaneous and a little ambitious.

 

Angie was not able to walk for long and Josh was kind enough to drive her around the orchard in the wagon with our fruit.  She was happy to shout orders at us from her throne and she didn't seem to mind not being able to pick the fruit as long she had apples to hold on to.

When we were done picking, we drove down the road to the Cooper Mountain Vineyard.  Toby and I had a glass of wine and the kids played, picked grapes, and chased the chickens around the grounds.  It was a beautiful day and I loved that we did not have to hurry to go anywhere.

Many families have days like this often.  For us, though, it was precious and rare.  We do not take the time to simply spend unscheduled time together.  We should, we just don't. It was perfect.  As Rose Kennedy said, "Life is not a matter of milestones, but
of moments."