Apple Picking!

Sunday ended up being a perfect day for heading out to the orchard. Overcast and cool, but not uncomfortably so. I was excited to see how the kids would like it. I don't think we ever ended up making it last year. We'd gone two years ago with my dad and stepmom. Jake and Liz were a little over a year old and not yet walking so they got to ride in the stroller. I remember Alexa going overboard and picking lots and lots and lots of apples!

This year I took the kids solo as Chris had to work the night before and hadn't gotten much sleep due to soccer and a wedding. Of course he ended up not being able to sleep anyways because the realtor woke him when she came to show the building.

Most of the orchards are 45 minutes from us, as is most anything (or it feels that way). I ended up going to one that was just about a half hour away that I've always driven past but never stopped at, called Country Fair Farm. And I'm glad I did! They had a wagon ride to/from the trees. While you waited there was a little playground area, pumpkins to check out, and baby animals (pigs, pygmy goat, and lambs) to pet or feed. Once we arrived at the trees I set them loose with their bags.

Alexa originally tried to hand everyone 1/2 bushel bags. I told her that I didn't really need that many apples. Instead we ended up with a 1/2 bushel bag and 3 pecks.
I think that I picked maybe a dozen apples myself, the rest were all the kids. There were lots at just the right height for them to get themselves, but it was also fun to lift them for higher ones, or watch Alexa try to pick them up. Or watch them try and jump for them.


We stopped at dad's on the way home to pick up some canning supplies and his treasured KitchenAid mixer. I set to work the next day making some applesauce. We've still got 3 pecks left, to eventually be turned into other yummy treats or just munched as is!

picking apples, and eating them is quite tiring I've been told
showing off their haul but not their lovely faces!