Apples and Pumpkins!

Apple picking means we have arrived in my favorite season, FALL! The crisp air feels so clean when you breathe it in. All the leaves are changing from green to bright reds, yellows, and oranges. Pumpkin spice lattes are out, yum! Plus, it's time to break out my collection of sweaters. And of course my favorite, apple-scented candles!!

This year I planned to take the kiddos apple and pumpkin picking at Ochs again because we had such a great time last year. Again we had a hooky day from school and went first thing in the morning to avoid it being crowded.

We got a bunch of different apples, Golden Delicious, Snapdragons, Cortlands, and a few more. The boys were so excited to pick apples almost as big as their faces. Last year they looked for sweet little red apples. This year it was all about super big red and yellow apples.

The baby, not a baby anymore but always "the baby," took off running in every direction he could. This trip was about running, running, picking an apple or two, and more running. I think he had more mud on himself than we left at Ochs. I am not going to lie; this made it hard for me to relax and enjoy the trip.

I did try to get some of the same pictures of the three kiddos that are still home, but not one of them was into pictures this year. Instead, they listened and went to sit on the rock and jumped into the wooden crate when I asked, all three grumbling under their breath about how this was dumb. I started to get frustrated when there wasn't one picture without at least one sticking their tongue out or making an angry face. But then, as I looked through them, I reminded myself that these are pictures of the actual moments we had together. Years from now, I want to look back and remember these times with them, the natural and sometimes bratty moments.

After we picked apples, we drove down to the pumpkin patch and collected a bunch of pumpkins: big ones, small ones, green ones, and ones with warts. Then, the boys carried big ole pumpkins to the check-out table like it was their job! All the while collecting more and more mud to bring home, for free, of course.

When we got home, we set out to decorate the outside of the house with our pumpkin haul and then stripped off our muddy shoes and clothes. Then, we went inside had some cider, lunch, and a big apple each. Looking over the pictures we took of the day, laughing at those silly faces.

It was not the dream day I had in my head before we left, but it was a fantastic day with my family, full of big apples, funny faces, running, mud, and most important...Family time.