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!

Pumpkin Patch-ing!

I love fall, and I love pumpkins and pumpkin patches!  This year we wanted to go to a patch where the pumpkins actually grow on ground :-) so we made our way back up to Julian with my sister and brother-in-law and their four kids! We had such a fun day! 

We picked pumpkins, made apple cider, fed the farm animals, made candles, and went on a hay ride! 

Is it weird that I love this picture? Its cool right? Baaaa.

All that's left to do is carve them! 

Happy Pumpkin Day!

Apple Picking & Bluegrass

Fall is finally here! To ring in my favorite season, we took a little drive up to Julian in the beginning of September for apple picking! We had lunch in the town and then drove to a nearby orchard called Raven Hill Orchard.

Jack had a blast running up and down the rows of apple trees, and since they were all dwarf apple trees, he could reach the apples himself!

Of course I helped him reach the ones at the top of the trees :-) 

He thought it was so cool that he could eat the apple he picked!

Claire helped Daddy pick some apples too!

At the orchard there were also two little wineries where you could enjoy a little wine tasting after the apple picking. They even had "apple pie" wine made from the apples grown there. Jacky enjoyed some actual apple juice :-)

After our apple picking adventure, we found out there had been a bluegrass festival going on in Julian that was finishing up, and the musicians were heading to a little pizzaria called Wynola Pizza.  So we headed over for some pizza and bluegrass! 

With a big red barn as the back drop, we listened to some really good bluegrass as we enjoyed our dinner. Jack was so cute and clapped along the whole time!

Little Peewee conked out after a long day of festivities.

It was a really special day with my little family.  And we took home a huge bag of delicious, fresh, apples, so of course I had to make something yummy out of them! Recipe coming soon :-)

Happy Fall!

Baby Bump: 22 Weeks

 Although the idea of documenting my growing belly kind of bothers me, I figure that it's fun to have a few pics along the way. I am more than FIVE months pregnant already, and finally have a bump to show for it! Just like with Jack, it has taken me a long time to really show, which is a good and bad thing. Good because hopefully I won't get too big and uncomfortable when its all said and done, and Bad because for the past several months I basically just looked like I was putting on the lbs. for no good reason. But luckily- there is a good reason. An amazing reason. There is a little miracle of a girl that is growing, kicking, punching, and turning in there.  It literally feels like womb gymnastics, but that is my favorite part of pregnancy. I love feeling her move all around!

 I'm Five months, and falling in love.