Nothing Says Fall Like an Orchard

The apple orchard is one of those things I look forward to all year. The hay, the apple-picking, the cider and donut-eating...I can't think of a more fun tradition to ring in the fall season.

This past weekend we decided that sunny and 62 was perfect weather to head to my favorite orchard, Blake Farms. Not too hot, not too cold...fall-like. So we made plans to go and this year we invited my mother-in-law and my husband's step-dad to join us for our fall adventure.

When we got to the orchard, it was anything but sunny. The sky promised rain and the wind was strong. It was a balmy 54 degrees and who knows with the windchill. We got out of the car thinking "why in the world are we here today?" But, after looking at the hundreds of other cars there too...they were all promised the same weather we were. I hate weather people. Especially when they are wrong and it messes with my plans, which seems to be a lot.

I had jackets for the boys, but I had to improvise and bust out some spare socks to use as gloves for the smallest one. He didn't mind chewing on them, so it worked out.

One of the things I love about the orchard is the hay. The kids love to play in it and it just has that "fall" kind of smell to it. You know, musty & dusty, lol. But, an apple orchard wouldn't be the same without it. Luckily, Blakes has tons of it. So we put the boys in it.

Another thing I like about Blakes is that they have tons of things to do for the children. For example, they have a petting zoo. Ethan loves it and I know Lucas will too once he can see over the stroller :)

They also have these cool tricycles for the kids to ride around a "race" track. Last year, Ethan could hardly make them move. This year, he was showing the other kids what's up :)

They have a pretend cow the kids can "milk", learning about udders can be interesting when you have boys, by the way. Might be a good way to explain breastfeeding? Not sure there.. Anyhoo-Ethan gets a kick out of it. I thought it was cute how Papa was showing him how to do it. Moments like these will last forever. And for the record, if you look at the bottom right-hand picture...um, yeah. We had to explain to him why you would NEVER milk a cow from there.

They also have a playground, "duck" races, and a barn with moving, musical plays put on by life-like characters. They also have a bounce house. Which is where the trouble began in our adventure this year. This is the last picture I took before I lost my iPhone and all "hay" broke loose. It's actually such a dramatic story, I think I'll share more about that in it's very own post :)

Skipping the phone fiasco for now, we finished up our trip with the glorious apple-picking. You know, despite the sub-zero temps and my injuries..wait for the phone story, it's good. The picking was still the perfect ending to our orchard adventure.

I love fall..