The Orchard Outing

I love this pic- it shows the beautiful blue sky that you only see in the Fall and the color of the apples just adds to it!

Emmaline and Annelise must have climbed a hundred trees looking for apples.....

These apples were the prettiest in the trees. They were called "Arkansas Black" and they were so beautiful - but, taste-wise, not my fave.

This was the store at the Orchard. They had all kinds of yummy stuff, but my favorites were the apple donuts (heavenly), the chopped apples with fresh, warm homemade caramel poured over them, and the apple slushies. (No, I did not eat all of those myself- my parents and the girls and I all shared....)

This is one of the girls running wild down one of the rows of apple trees, looking for a good one to climb. They were worn out by the time we left! It was a huge orchard.

Fruits of our labor- literally. ;0)

The girls resting on some hay bales. Notice their apple shirts. It's one of the cheesiest
things I've done in a while.

Looking out of the Pumpkin House in the parking area.


We had a good time this past Sunday at the orchard. The first thing I noticed was the smell. They were making homemade cider and the apple donuts were rolling "hot off the press". I bought a dozen so I could take some home to Brian- who was on call. You could smell the hot homemade caramel they were pouring over apples and apple wedges. Mmmm- it was so awesome. One of those smells that could never be duplicated in a candle. We had a picnic lunch and we stayed for about 2 and a half hours. My parents went along, so I wasn't totally overwhelmed with the girls. We did the hay ride, walked 8 million miles through the orchard looking for good apples to pick, played on the playground and went through the store. There were a lot of people, but it was a big place, so not too bad. The weather was perfect and the sky was just gorgeous. A pretty good trip. Even though the girls were in meltdown mode by about 5 pm, it was still worth it. I have been going 100 miles an hour since then. So much to do.... I packed up all my fine china today- even though we have not broken ground yet, I do not like to wait until the last minute and I have done this so many times- I know what I can go ahead and pack!! This week will be short for the girls- they are out this Friday, so I am excited about that. One more morning I won't have to get up early! For now, I still have a couple apple donuts left, and I hear one calling my name.........