Pumpkins and Apple Pie

Fall is finally in the air and last weekend we welcomed the season with a little jaunt up into the mountains for some pumpkin picking, hay riding, cider making, and apple pie eating!! This is one of my favorite traditions that my husband and I started together.  We "officially" started dating in September 2003, we were juniors in college, and occasionally we would go on what we called, "all-day-dates." We may or may not have ditched class a few times for these all day dates! One of the first all day dates was to Julian! Thinking back now, its almost impossible to remember what it was like just the two of us! And at that time, we were only dreaming about one day having kids to bring up there to enjoy the beauty of the mountains, the antiquity of the little town, and of course, the apple pie!  Flash forward almost 10 years...and here we are; a family of five and still loving our all day dates.  This year we were lucky enough to head up on a nice cold day. {Today, on the other hand, it is 95 degrees- not so conducive to fall activities}. We almost didn't go last weekend because it was raining a little, but I'm so glad we did!

 It ended up being perfect weather for the Pumpkin Patch!

This is our favorite Pumpkin Patch in Julian! So much to do and it was pretty empty the day we were there- thanks to the rain! It was great! We walked around for a little bit and then went up to the Cider House for the apple cider demonstration.

They use an old-fashioned apple press and let the kids (and adults) help put the apples in! Then they let everyone have a little cup full of the fresh-pressed cider!

After the Cider House we went to see the animals! They take the pressed apples and feed them to the goats! Jack and Claire were not super excited about the goats being right in their faces.  I can understand..I'd be nervous too if an animal my size was coming right at me!

After we fed the animals, we went on a the hay ride! Jack got to sit on the tractor, which he thought was awesome!

Then it was time to head down to the pumpkin patch! 

Mama was sad her shoes got muddy :-(

This little girl is a bit camera shy these days! She doesn't like to sit still for very long, so I have to catch her on the move! It was chilly and she was pretty tired too so that didn't  help! But she sure looked cute all bundled up!

This guy on the other hand is finally coming around will stop and smile at me for a picture! I'm pretty sure he's going to conquer the world someday!

 These two are sweet little friends (most of the time). Jack grabbed her hand and said, "C'mon Claire Bear! C'mon"

When we were done at the patch we got a little early dinner at the little local pizza shop called Wynola Pizza! And of course we ended the day with a slice of Julian Apple pie! 

Sweet memories!

The Bradfords in Big Bear {part 2}

Welcome to Bear Heaven! We stayed in this beautiful 3 story house. There were tons of bedrooms, a beautiful designer kitchen, a pool table, a ping-pong table on the deck, and Jack's favorite, a chess table.  I always love the morning time, but I especially love the kids in their jammies, welcoming the new day with giggles, puzzles, and of course a show.

Daddy helping Jack shoot pool :-)

my little chess master

One of the mornings a group of us went out and took the ski lift up to the top of the mountain.  It was strange seeing the mountain covered in dirt and brush and rocks instead of fluffy white snow, but the view from the top was beautiful. Jack had fun running around, jumping on big rocks and tree stumps. I was a little nervous taking Claire on the lift, so I strapped her into the Bejorn :-) 

On the lift on the way down

 Later that day, some of the guys went out fishing, so Grandma and I took Jack and Claire to meet up with the Moons at the Big Bear Zoo! It was more of an animal rescue, but it was neat to see some of the mountain animals.  It was not like our zoo here, of course, we are spoiled in San Diego, but the animals were so close, like literally on the other side of the chain link fence.  It was a little crazy. We are used to seeing them from a safe distance in their exhibits. There was a large pack of huge, beautiful wolves...definitely reminded me of the Twilight movies, and bears {even a three-legged bear}, and other smaller mountain animals.  My camera battery died while we were there, so I didn't get too many shots while we were there. 

Jack & Ellya ROARRRRRRing like Bears!

Do not feed the animals....your fingers.

Claire was bored....haha. Yawn.

When we got back to the house, Sean called and said there was room on the boat if we wanted to come meet them at the docking marina.  At this point, I tired to get Jack to nap...unsuccessfully, so I figured it would be more fun to be out on the water than sitting at the house waiting for them to get back! So we went! 

Once we were out in the middle of the lake, mostly just floating, or trolling, Jack got to take the wheel for a little bit! He loved being the Captain!

Poor Sean. There were several fish caught that day, but my poor hubby twice had a fish on his line and both times they got away. This is the face he made when the fish escaped. 

We ended up being out for several hours, and my little buddy was so tired (and needed to go potty at one point).  He was getting a little restless at one point so he snuggled up with me and asked me to tell him a story about the little Squirrel Forrest.  This time the squirrels were out on the high seas, escaping from pirate badgers. By the time the story was over, I could see Jacky was fading. He asked me to tell it again, so I did, and he fell asleep. He is such a precious little boy.  I loved having him snuggle up with me. I wish he'd stay little for a while. Time is just flying by too fast!

We had such a wonderful time, and Jack especially loved playing with Ellya all week.  She is Sean's cousin's daughter, and they are only about 4 months apart in age.  They had so much fun running around and exploring the yard around our house. There was a little stream and a bridge they would run across, and a little bench nestled in the back.  It reminded me of Secret Garden. It was so beautiful.  I had fun capturing the two of them together. Such sweet little friends.

Thank you Bradfords, Graystones & Moons for a fun week!

The Bradfords in Big Bear {part 1}

In August (I know, I know....I'm way behind) we were lucky enough to have a second mountain adventure vacay...this time to Big Bear.  We went with Sean's whole family,  and now that our "generation" is having kids, it was really fun for the little ones to really get to play for a whole week together, rather than just seeing each other on holidays and special occasions.  His family is so wonderful and I am blessed to be apart of it. Since I'm actually very shy by nature, it was really neat to get to know them all better.  

Jack was so funny, on the drive up he kept asking when he was going to see the "Big Bear."  And then the last half hour of the drive he was getting bored, so he asked me to tell him a story.  We had so much fun making up adventures of a little squirrel named Forest, his little sister Bella, and his parents, Denver and Sky. 

One morning a group of us rented bikes and took a long bike ride around parts of the lake.  Jack was so excited to ride in the bike trailer, and I love that he brought "Soft Monkey" along for the ride! 

It was really fun, until the bike trailer got a flat tire! Luckily, Sean was a good driver and didn't crash or anything.  It didn't take too long for the bike shop guys to bring another tire so we could carry on our ride!

We were able to go out on the lake a couple times too! Sean's aunt Naomi rented a boat for several days and we all took turns with various groups going out on the water.  Jack was so excited because there was even a real pirate ship out on the lake. He called it Captain Hook's boat.

Jack got to fish with Daddy and Grandpa! It was so sweet to watch the three of them together.  There is just something special about the three of them because Sean has such a wonderful relationship with his Dad; and now to see him with Jack, I know they will always have a special bond too.

More Big Bear to come....stay tuned :-)