apple hill

Wow I am so late with this post. I feel like I saw everyone else's pumpkin patch pictures three months ago and here I am, in November like "hey! we went to the pumpkin patch too!" But, in my defense, we did go on October 30th so it was kind of a last minute excursion.


Charles and JC

So a big group of us made our way up towards the foothills to visit the Central Valley tradition of going to Apple Hill for our taste of some autumn fun. There are a bunch of apple orchards, farms, vineyards, breweries, bake shops, pumpkin patches, Christmas tree farms all in one area. So much fun, most of it can be done for free or very little money. Beautiful scenery, all kinds of baked goods, crisp mountain air. What more can you ask for? I really want to try and go again before it gets too cold.


JC and his Grandma Stella


left to right: Charles, Brenda, me, JC, my mom, my brother, Jessica, Damian, and Garrett

The whole gang was myself, Charles, JC, my mom, my brother, our family friend Brenda, and our friends Garrett, Jessica and their son Damian. I was a little disappointed at the beginning because JC was kinda cranky, he was terrified of the cows in the petting zoo (they did smell pretty bad) and wanted us to hold him constantly, did not even want to walk at all. And of course, we forgot his stroller. He hates that thing anyway. After lunch (pulled pork sandwiches, hot chili, and cinnamon rolls) he was in a much better mood. We went to another farm, where there was a pumpkin patch and more room to run around. Then we couldn't keep him with us! All he wanted to do was run around, climb up dirt hills, try to eat apples off the ground, crawl under trees in the orchard. He was out of control. But it was a lot of fun chasing him around, I must say. I love my little toddler.







He LOVED the pumpkins. He had to go around and tap each and every one. He also had to carry a little bottle of lotion around with him constantly.


This "running-in-action" shot almost made me pee my pants







And of course, he had to try and get as dirty as possible in his little khaki cords. He's like "who wants to see those stinky cows? these leaves are awesome!"







I can't wait to go again next year and make this a family tradition. I'm a little surprised at how important the idea of traditions have become to me. My family never had a ton of traditions and Charles's family didn't either. But I feel like this is something really important to do for our family and our son. Plus it's super fun to go run around and eat cinnamon rolls that are the size of your head.