Orchard & Co.

We tackled another fall festival this weekend at a company called Orchard & Company.  The main draw to this location as opposed to our top fall festival spot: ECO Center, was the bounce pillow.

I'll admit, I think I wanted to go to jump on that thing more than anyone!  And while Kate and I did get our fair share of jumping in, we were really disappointed with the festival itself.  First of all, it was really pricey to get in and there are NO COUPONS.  Second, the layout was just so, so.  I mean, I guess there was flow but it was evident that people didn't care what it looked like, they just wanted to make money.  There was an orchard that you could pick apples in...for another fee, I believe, but since we had already done that we didn't pick apples.  There was a barrel train that Kate and I rode, a bounce pillow, a pumpkin patch, a couple of tube slides and a large covered pavilion with overpriced food items, like, hot dogs and chips.

We never found the petting zoo area and we never found the corn bin, contrary to both of those being posted on the website, and when we asked a worker about either of them, he said he didn't know what we were talking about.

Sooo, that's false advertising.

In addition, it was "twin" day, or something along those lines, so a ton of families with twins were there and it was semi-weird to be running into two clones of every child wherever you turned.

I don't mean to be negative about this place.  We had fun and we picked yet another perfect fall day to attend and enjoy our time outside, but I don't think we'll be headed back here next fall.  I think we'll stick with our tried and true ECO Center.

Pictures were really challenging today because
the sun was too bright.  So this is the best we got
of our two little pumpkins.

Our littlest pumpkin in the pumpkin patch.

Barrel train babes!

Ready to rock!

We're in the third car from the front and it was bumpy as all get out.

Tube sliding!

Kate and I played a chase game where we each went
down separately and then ran up the hill.  I lost count of
how many times we did this.

Pillow jumping!

Well, pillow jumping and zombie walking...

Fall Fav: ECO Center

Last year we attended ECO Center's grand opening and we knew that we'd be back next fall for more fun!  We decided to invite Kate's very best friend ever, Libby, and she and her mom, Jenni, met us there.  It was a perfect fall day and so absolutely wonderful to support a friend and see how much has changed in a year at this very cool place.

ECO Center is thriving.  In the last year they've added a ton and even gotten land grants to help fulfill other dreams.  They have clear goals for expanding and have done such an awesome job with what they have.  We had an AWESOME time together!  Libby and Kate just adore each other.  Maya was wonderful, as usual, and Jenni and I have really enjoyed getting to know each other through our girls being best buds.  The friendship between these two runs deep and I'm glad we've been able to get them together outside of school!

Kate and Libby rode on the barrel train first!

And this was the best "How Tall This Fall"
photo I got.

Libby and Kate take over the corn bin!

And meet a new addition, a bunny!
By the way, that's Emily too!

On the train again!  Kate in the tiger car, Libby in the zebra!

Or "Libs" as Kate says!

My littlest pumpkin!  Emily let us borrow her
daughter's old pumpkin hat because there was a
lot more wind out than I had anticipated!

Libby coming down the tube slide!

And then Kate!

They went down this slide no less than 47 times each!

And had so much fun every single time!

Just waiting in line for the tube slide...again...

First taste of s'mores!

I would say they were BIG fans!

Best friends!

I adore Kate's expression in this photo!

This is totally one of those photos that needs to
be reenacted in, like, 15 years!

Libby is such an adorable friend and her Mom, Jenni, is awesome too!  I am so proud of Kate for already picking an excellent choice in a friend and I look forward to these two keeping in touch for many, many years!

Aside from my car not starting on the drive home, it was a PERFECT fall day, and we were so happy to spend it with Libby and Jenni, outside, at ECO Center!  Mark my words, we will be back!

Apple Pickin'

We decided to head back to our go-to orchard, Lynd's, to pick apples this year.  They had the Honeycrisp variety available for one day only, and it was a Friday, so Brian took off of work early and we headed on over to pick us some apples!

It was exceptionally warm, like, hot even, which kind of didn't make it feel so fall-ish, but we got us a good bag of delicious honeycrisp apples and even left some at Mary & Tom's house.  (We did a quick stop by so Brian could take a call and we could wait out a passing storm.  Kate, Maya and I played downstairs too!)

Kate was not into smiling this trip, she just wanted to eat apples.  Granted, we went smack dab in the middle of when she'd normally be napping, so perhaps that was it.  Or maybe it was just our nearly three year old practicing her independence.  I vote the latter.

If we could pick honeycrisp every time we go apple picking, I'd be a happy camper.  They are the BEST.APPLES.EVER!

Happy Girl Everyday.  Her shirt says it all!

I love this little clip.  Apple PICKIN'!

Our little apple eater!

She loved being able to eat apples!

Would you like one?!

There's something about this photo that I really like.

And this one makes me smile!

Daddy looking for an apple...

Be still my heart.

Me and my girls - part 1.

Me and my girls - part 2.

Our best family photo.  We're working on that.

Leaf Piles and Pumpkins

We spent our weekend diving right in to some of our favorite fall duties and some of our favorite fall excursions!  First, we raked leaves upon leaves into to huge piles.  And pile by pile, we placed our leaves on a big, blue tarp and dragged said tarp to the street where the leaf vacuum will be making its rounds in the upcoming week.  Jack, of course, supervised our entire chore, so in between raking and piling we were also throwing the ball!  We were definitely happy to have cleared some of our leaves from our yard because we are still attempting to grow some grass, and we were slightly concerned that the leaves that had fallen may have hindered our grass from getting sunlight, water, air, etc.  Now, we are leaf free!  At least for the time being!  (This won't be the last time we rake and pile leaves this year!)

In addition to our pile o' leaves, we also headed to a local pumpkin patch called Kuhlwein's to pick out some pumpkins!  With all due respect to the Kuhlwein family, we were not that impressed.  We definitely picked out some winners, but the overall excursion could've been a little better.  Then again, we are used to heading out to Lynd's, which is a hard place to beat when it comes to fall activities!  We may still make a trip out to Lynd's.  Fall is not over yet!

Last but certainly not least, we added Monster Mash to our iTunes queue to start getting into the Halloween spirit!  And if you are looking for any sort of Halloween spirit, this song is your ticket!  It.is.so.much.fun!

Enjoy the album below, and Happy Fall!

Underneath the Walnut Tree

We have had the most unbelievable fall weather recently!  This weekend was no exception - it was beautiful and perfect in every fall way!

With Brian out of town supporting the Buckeyes in Nebraska, Jack and I kept ourselves occupied making three separate trips to Northam Park to play ball!  It was fantastic!  The leaves are turning, the fall colors are spreading like wild fire, and the leaves are starting to pile up in the most perfect of fall piles!  We have been enjoying this fall weather thoroughly, and we plan to do so as long as we can!

Wonder Fall!

Today was the most perfect fall day!  The air was crisp, the sun was warm, our puppy played ball until he was tired, and the leaves fell gently to the ground.  It was a nice transition from the high of 50 degrees that we had experienced the day before!  My body typically needs a transition into the cold weather, and the sudden turn in temperatures threw me for a complete loop and had me wondering how I was going to survive the winter.  Fortunately, I was reminded today that while we have bid farewell to summer and our days are growing shorter, we do still have one of the best times of the year to experience!  Ladies and Gents, fall is upon us!

In addition to the most perfect fall day yet, we also updated our centerpiece to get a bit more into the fall spirit:

(I would just like to state for the record that while I have been accused of being akin to Martha Stewart this does not represent my interior decorating skills as well as it could have.  I could definitely use some centerpiece lessons... And, while we are on the topic (kind of) of who I have been accused of being, Monk is also on that list.  Both accusations were from my very best friend, Tamara, who sometimes knows me better than I do, so there probably is some truth in both.)

The forecast for the remainder of the week is for temperatures to gradually increase into the upper 70's, lower 80's.  Perhaps we've got a little Indian summer on it's way, but if not, we welcome fall with open arms!