Apple Picking

Well, it's that time of year again...apple picking time!! Due to some scheduling conflicts, we could not go in September and had to wait until this past weekend. Unfortunately, our normal place in Wisconsin was all out of apples already due to the hot summer we had and a lot of other places we checked were out too. Luckily, we found a place in Rockford that still had apples to be picked. It was smaller than our usual place, but they had a lot of apples and the trees were very close to the ground, which was nice for the kids (and Daddy considering he twisted his ankle last year stepping off a ladder). It was a lot of fun and thanks to Aunt Domi's amazing camera, we got a bunch of great pictures. It was very difficult to decide which ones to post as there were so many great ones, but here are a few of my favorites (some taken from our camera or Aunt Theresa's camera too).

There was a fun apple sling shot that you could try. If you hit the target, you got a dozen apple doughnuts. Unfortunately, they didn't hit the target, but they had fun trying!

Then we took a wagon ride out to the orchards.

Aunt Theresa held on to Abbey and Juliette...

Abbey got right into it carrying the bag and picking apples.


The trees were low enough that Ben and Caroline could climb on them to get the prized apples towards the top.

Aunt Domi and Juliette...

Look what we picked!
Ben and Caroline making their way to the pumpkin patch...

Look at this great apple Ben picked!

Juliette looking for the perfect pumpkin...

Here is my best shot at getting all 3 kids to pose with the pumpkins...

Then we finished the day with some delicious apple doughnuts and apple cider.

Again, our best shot at getting the whole family.

We had a lot of fun. Thank you Aunt Domi, Aunt Theresa, Uncle Brandon, Cousins Tim, Hunter and Caroline for coming with us (we missed you Cousin Andrew). We came home with about 30 pounds of apples, so if you have any great apple recipes, please pass them on!

As a side note, Juliette is still only walking when she chooses to, which is not very often. We were at a friend's house the other night and she was walking all over the place - walking to any toy she wanted and pretty much using that as her mode of transportation. However, that was the most walking she had done all week and hasn't done much since then either. I continue to marvel at the fact that she can do it but would rather crawl most of the time. It's just funny to me, but it keeps her my baby and I am happy with that! She is talking a lot now - new words include apple (from this weekend), Ben, Abbey, yummy, diaper, nap, and baby. She has taken an interest in playing with Abbey's baby dolls and it's really cute when she picks them up to give them hugs and kisses. She knows a lot of the motions to "Wheels on the Bus" and now knows the sounds that dogs, cows, sheep and ducks make. She can point out her nose, ears, mouth, hair and belly button. She is learning so much every day and I am having so much fun teaching her this stuff.