Apple picking will always be one of my favorite fall traditions. Ever since I was little my parents would take us every year. I have baby pictures somewhere of me sitting in a barrel of apples, and then as I got older you see me rocking my white washed jeans and a side pony tail. I have to see if my mom can dig them out at some point because those are some real gems.
I wanted to keep this tradition going once I had a family of my own and we’ve pretty much been taking A ever since he was a few weeks old. Here are some past visits here and here. We always end up going the weekend of A’s birthday and incorporate it into all the fun celebrating.
The boys were so excited to go and we decided to make it a little different this year and add some friendly competition into it. Whoever picked the biggest apple got first dibs on the apple cider donuts. This went over so well with them and now I see what motivates my boys. Treats. They were so excited and on a hunt to find those big apples.
Eric and I talked about how we can make it even more interesting as they get older and I think we’ll eventually break out a scale and have it come down to ounces and adding in an even bigger prize. You know, like a real competition thing. We hear a lot that as people’s kids get older they don’t have as much fun going picking or don’t go at all, and that makes me so sad to hear. I never want that day to come. If we can make it a fun thing every year then maybe, just maybe, they’ll be on board with it, forever. Wishful thinking? Probably. But I’m going to try my best to keep them excited to go.
I also take a yearly picture of Eric walking through the rows of apple trees with the boys. I’ve given it the title of seeing my whole world in front of me. Cheesy? Of course, but I’ll take this moment time and time again. A knows that next year Eric won’t be able to hold him because of the baby, but it’s also crazy to think that next year the baby will be almost a year old when we come back. We had to laugh too because I would love to recreate one of these pictures many many years down the road when A is even older and see if Eric could hold him again.
I couldn’t resist a few bump pictures around the apples because I’ve never been pregnant while apple picking. I also kind of loved my basic fall outfit. Long cardigans are one of my favorite things in the fall and my mustard tee has been a staple for me for the past two years. You all know how I love my hats in the fall, too.
After we made our way through the orchard we always stop off at the pumpkin patch to pick up a few pumpkin. You guys, I’ve had complete baby brain over here. It’s been so bad lately. Like not making much sense, at all. I told both of my boys to run through the pumpkin patch to see who could get to the other side first. Before Eric could even get the words out of his mouth, umm babe, is that a good idea? A tripped on some pumpkin vines, his knees went down into the dirt, and the apple he was munching on went rolling. After we went over to help him up and dust him off, we turned around and little nugget was face planted in the dirt. I guess it wouldn’t be an adventure if everyone didn’t fall in the pumpkin patch.
A was mad for a minute because that juicy green apple he was munching on was now covered in dirt, and we didn’t have anything to rinse it off with. Eric asked him if he ever saw an apple fly? In his grouchy just give me back my apple voice, he said, no daddy what are you talking about? Eric took his apple and chucked it across the field turning to him and said, now that’s how you make an apple fly. They both laughed it off and no one cared about the pumpkin patch wipe out.
I thought for sure both of them were going to look for the biggest pumpkins around but instead they decided to find the weirdest looking pumpkins in the patch. A came across one that looked like a zucchini gourd pumpkin type thing, that we still have no clue what it really it is, but he loved it. Little nugget found a smaller pumpkin with a lot green running through it and a flat side. I kind of love that they didn’t go for perfection on these and went with what they liked.
