APPLE PICKING!!!

I love this time of year because it means we can go apple picking!!  I used to do it with my Grandpa when I was a kid and it brings back such good memories.  The past two years we went to Lynd's outside of Columbus, but now with us living back in Cincy, we had to find a new orchard.  I was very disappointed to discover that all the farms near us had no u-pick apples this year due to a bad crop.  So I continued my search and it came down to two farms....the one we loved in Columbus or a new one outside of Louisville.  They were both about a 2 hour drive but Huber's in Louisville had a bit more to offer (um, a winery), so we opted to go there.  

We started on the road mid-morning and arrived around 11am.  Normally the kids would be wanting lunch soon so I figured apple picking would be the logical thing to do first.  Since you do end up eating apples along the way......

Fia LOVED this part!  I lost track of how many apples she munched on.

While this part was fun, it took longer than expected and Madeline got pretty cranky since she was hungry.  Getting these shots by the big apple WITH smiles was no small feat.

 

We finally made it to lunch around 1pm.  How beautiful is this?  They have a restaurant here but we opted for a picnic lunch by the lake.  Those are grape vines growing on the hill across the lake.

Once we were all full and happy again, we headed to the kids play area to feed the animals.

Then went down the giant mountain slide.  I'm glad I had a kid with me as an excuse to go down several times because this thing was F-U-N!

 

Madeline was our guide through the bamboo maze and she actually got us through.

She was obsessed with this talking tree inviting people into the market.

Before we left Mommy and Daddy had some of their homemade sangria and Madeline had some ice cream.  We also picked up one bottle of their homemade wine.  They have a loft where they do wine tastings too but we obviously didn't have time for that with the kids with us.  Maybe some other time.

Then Madeline wanted to be an ice cream cone.

Later that week I made Caramelized Apple Pork Chops with our freshly picked apples and we paired that with the wine we bought.  It was excellent!

We had a really great time but we both had mixed feelings about the place.  There was lots to do and you could definitely spend a whole day there.  Heck, we spent almost 5 hours!  But it was a bit too commercialized for our liking.  We like the smaller Mom-and-Pop farms.  So we'll see....we won't rule out ever coming back.

Symmes Fest

Our township held a free Fall Festival this past weekend and I'm so glad we were free to go.  It was an awesome time!

They had a petting zoo....

a straw maze...

pumpkins....

crafts.....

and a haunted trick-or-treat trail.

Shaw Farms

I joined a Mom's Group in my area and I love it.  There is something planned everyday and all the Mom's are great and fun to hang out with.  Well anyway, this was one of our playdates...visiting Shaw Farms for a hayride and other fun!

While we waited for all the Moms to get there, the kids ran around at the play area.  

Then it was time for our hayride.  We were treated like a school class since there were so many of us.

After the ride, we went inside the barn for a lesson in what lives and grows on a farm.

Then we checked out the petting zoo.  The kids got to hear the donkey bray and the roosters, um, roost.

More play fun....

And then I made them be models for a few minutes in front of this old barn that seemed perfect for picture taking.  Fia wasn't the most cooperative kid while in front and behind the camera, but I did the best I could.

Jack-O-Lantern Mosaics

We had a crafty playdate with Nathan last week making Jack-O-Lantern mosaics.  I wish I could say I'm a super awesome Mom and came up with this myself, but that is so not the case.  Anyway, the kids loved this!

Here was my masterpiece to show them what to do.

And off they went....

Madeline's finished piece.

 And Nathan's.

A Buskin's jack-o-lantern cookie seemed appropriate after this activity.

Fia didn't partake in the craft, but she sure got some cookie!

Fia Bia

Oh, Fia Bia. This little thing is a trip. I have a love/hate relationship with this age. Her cuteness factor is over the moon (just look at these pictures), but so is her annoyance factor. She still has that baby charm with her chubby cheeks and cute little feet. Everyone attacks her with kisses.  

She is a walking machine but still looks like a drunk baby and falls a lot.

She still doesn't say much.  She'll learn a new word and use it a few times, but then she stops. She recently added "down" to her vocabulary when she is done eating. She knows my name is Mommy but I've only heard her say it a handful of times.

She isn't the laid-back, no-cares-in-the-world baby anymore. When Madeline takes a toy from her or says "No", she gets upset. When she doesn't get her way, she gets upset.  When she is teething, I miss my day job.  No joke.  Those days are just downright horrendous. I am seriously frightened for her 2 year molars.

Madeline may be a Daddy's girl, but Fia is all about Mommy.  She is severely attached to me. I love it except for when I need to get things done, like cooking, laundry, etc. Sometimes she will literally be attached to my leg while I'm cooking dinner.

She is a cuddle bug.  She will come up to me and just want to lay her head on my shoulder.  She shares her hugs but I get about 80% of them.

She is in LOVE with the doggies. Her favorite thing to do is to go sit on top of Miles when he is sleeping. Needless to say, he doesn't share the adoration.

Her dancing is a trip! She has the booty shake down so we have regular dancing sessions in our Disco-tech a.k.a. the dining room.

She has finally started to leave the mini-blinds alone in the kitchen so I can leave them at a normal height now. Before, I had to always have them up away from her reach. We still have to block the dog bed with the ottoman. Otherwise, she will go lay with them. We also have to leave the laundry room door closed so she doesn't play in the dog's water. Unfortunately for the dogs, this means they have limited access to their water. I'm good about opening the door for them though when the Troublemaker is asleep or locked in her highchair.

She still messes with the dishwasher which drives me crazy. Although, I can finally vacuum the house without having to carry her too. For the longest time, she was scared of it so I had to carry all 26# of her with me. Talk about a workout!

Her favorite song is Happy Birthday and I MUST get her singing it on camera.  It is the most adorable thing you will ever see!

"Don't pity the Fia!"