Apple Picking On My Birthday!

 

Apple picking has been a tradition since Noah was a toddler and so we snuck in some fall fun on my birthday this past week and went to the orchard! Noah was a good sport and with Jon working wanted to make my day fun and so we decided to go apple picking. It was the sweetest most simplest gift and I of course turned it into a mini photo shoot. I love taking pictures and capturing the moments especially with this kid. He's growing up way too fast and so far he has made the time to come with me on little dates. They say that between the ages of 14-18 life gets busy with kids and I have to say that so far it hasn't gotten that way....yet! Noah doesn't pack his schedule with a lot of extra curricular activities and I don't have in multiple sports. He just started high school so I'm hoping that he will learn to find a balance in case he gets even busier as he grows older. I'm sure he will but hopefully the lessons I've taught him about how important sleep, time, and family are that he will make those a priority. The overcast day made it a perfect day to go. I'm so grateful for these moments and hope that we will continue to go on little outings like this as long as he is living under our roof! 

Blackberry Picking At Terhune Orchards!

When we came home from our trip to Texas we realized that we hadn't gone to the orchard as much this summer. So after getting much needed rest we went the next day to Terhune orchards to pick some blueberries. Well, as soon as we got there we had a change of heart and decided to pick blackberries instead. The last time we went blackberry picking Chelsea and Noah were ten and five! It had been too long since we went blackberry picking, and I'm so glad we chose to pick those instead of blueberries!

Apple Picking & A Little Video.

Love this time of year when fall traditions begin, and going apple picking is always at the top of our list! We finally got around to going apple picking this past friday. It was kind of hard trying to find a day for all of us to go together, but now that all the kids are in school, and with Jon working, and Lexie having tennis matches almost every day it almost seems impossible for all of us to go as a family. This time around it was just the three of us, and although Jon, and Lexie didn't come you know something...we had a pretty good time. 

I guess I'm going to have to get used to this sooner or later, you know, going with two kids because before we know it Lexie will be off to college, and then it'll just be me, Noah and Chelsea. I'm telling ya, the five year age gap between my four kids can be an advantage, but when it comes to family traditions, it can be a disadvantage. Especially when it comes to seasonal adventures. 

With the season almost over, (because let's face it...fall doesn't last very long), we bit the bullet and drove to one of our favorite orchards near Princeton. Since I snapchatted most of the time I made a little video out of it from the montage app.  It's not as extravagant, or professional as other little films, but I like it. We had so much fun on this day, and as much as I hate to say I'm getting used to not having my two oldest daughters with me on these adventures I am! Hopefully Lexie will come pumpkin picking with us this week as she loves to carve her own!

Here are a few photos, and if you want to see my cheesy little video you can view it on you tube here. 

^^^ eating a golden delicious...Chelsea's favorite! ^^^

I am so glad that I get to go on these adventures with my kids. Even if Jon works I still manage to get myself out there, and do the things that my kids and I love. We all went apple picking last year on my birthday, and that was a load of fun. The kids absolutely love it when their papa comes. Here's hoping that we'll put these apples to good use. The girls love to bake, and so we are hoping to bake apple pie! If anyone has a good recipe please share! 

**You can see another apple picking post here! 

Apple Picking On My Birthday.

Another year, another birthday, and with my birthday came autumn. Where does the time go! There are some days where I'd like to stop this thing called "time" so that I can reflect in that given moment for like "eternity",  but as we grow older so do our kids, and luckily we have traditions that keep us going that makes us look forward to the years ahead. 

Such as apple picking...

As it each birthday passes it seems as if my special day gets simpler, and easier in celebrating (which I don't mind), but I have to say that this particular birthday was one of the best days of my life. After having a pretty rough night in which I won't get into detail this day made up for it in every shape, and form! First of all my husband was off of work so we were able to spend it together with the kids. It was a weekday so we didn't do anything extravagant. We waited for Chelsea to get out of school so we could go apple picking. I felt a little guilty not taking Lexie with us because she was at the school until 8Pm! She has been a busy body ever since school began so this year she missed out on apple picking. I told her  we'd make it up to her by taking her pumpkin picking next month.

We drove out to Terhune Orchards in Princeton, and this was the cutest orchard I've ever been too. It has all the amenities a child can only dream of, and everyone was super friendly! The first thing Noah wanted to do was grab a wagon, but they are only used to hold pumpkins, and even though I could have grabbed one for him to sit on I explained to him that "we aren't here to go pumpkin picking, we're here to go apple picking." His response, "oooooookaaaaay mom...let's go pick them apples."

So off we went to "pick them apples." It's a good thing we didn't wait for the weekend to go because everything looked a little picked over. We did manage to pick a few, and while picking the kids were eating.

^^^No more sitting on papas shoulders  to pick apples. Chelsea has gotten tall enough to pick her own. Those days of having her on papas shoulders picking apples are bittersweet. and over (insert frown emoji face here!) ^^^

Apple picking is such a fun time for the kids. It gives them the opportunity to be carefree, and goof around for a bit which in some cases I did, and didn't mind.

 ^^^ Chelsea pretending to have apple eyes. She picked these two apples, and ate one of them on the way home. ^^^

^^^Noah kept "singing" the words, "get out of my way" (no, it's not a hit) while walking down the orchard kicking apples. We called it "apple soccer." ^^^

After picking them apples we walked around the grounds of this quaint orchard, and every where I turned we saw nothing but color. Color, color, color. Fall is definitely my favorite because of the colors! Oh how I love the colors of fall. Did I mention there was so much color? Including the color of this beautiful calico cat that was roaming around the entire property.

                                                           ^^^ See what I'm saying...color, color, color. ^^^

^^^ One favorite thing the kids like to do in the fall is pumpkin painting, and here a few of the pumpkins a few kids painted while we were there. I'm telling you...pops of color! ^^^

^^^ Noah was adamant in getting a pumpkin. I told him we'll go next month, and pick one out in the field! Stubborn kid. ^^^

   ^^^Huge mums, pumpkins, buckets of apples to name a few which adds color to the beautiful season of fall. ^^^

The kids about died when they saw a mini playground, a swing, and this mini maze made out of hay in which Noah couldn't help to jump around in. 

^^^ love his fly-away hair. ^^^

                              ^^^ and these old tractor trucks in which Noah had a fun time pretending to drive in. ^^^

                                                 ^^^ Noah literally hit "rock" bottom when he slid down this slide! ^^^

                                                                    ^^^ Scarecrow girl, and tractor boy. ^^^

^^^ Every little boy' s dream...truck trikes. ^^^

 ^^^ Let us not forget those apple cider donuts we enjoyed eating while sitting on a picnic table enjoying the view of a tiny pond. ^^^

It truly was a beautiful day...weather, company, and all! Seeing the kids having a good time, laughing, and running around made my day bright with joy. I couldn't have asked for anything more on my birthday, but to spend it in Princeton in an orchard picking delicious apples with a few members of my sweet family. 

I love this time of year!