Bumper Crop!

 

Ahh, the sweet traditions of fall, well sort of fall.  This year we were afraid that with the baby coming so close to apple picking season, we would not get to make our annual pilgrimage.  But we were pleasantly surprised to find that because of the mild winter and early spring, the  apples were in three weeks early this year.  

 

Of course we were thrilled at the prospect of apple picking even earlier than usual and we certainly were not disappointed.  It seemed like the whole orchard belonged to us, with only about a dozen other people in the field at the same time.  It helps that we went on a Friday!

 

The trees were LOADED with all kinds of apples.  This is the first year we were able to get five different varieties!  For those of you that are curious they were: honey crisp, gala, early Macintosh, ginger gold and Asian pears.

Everybody needs a little help sometime:)

 

With such easy picking, we quickly got to two bushels of apples

 

and headed out

 

after admiring the view.  

 

 

The kids ran through the bamboo forest...

 

and fed some ducks

and goofed around.

 

It involved a group effort to bag them up.

But that just helped work up an appetite for apple cider slushies and cider donuts...and lunch!

 

YUM!!!

Summer Gardens

With the school year fast approaching we decided to make the most of the beautiful summer days and head to the gardens at Biltmore.  While the house is massive and remarkable the grounds are no less impressive.   A nice stroll through the rose garden and the koi ponds with my favorite people in the world, a memory that can't be beat!




Elijah enjoying some time to run in the rose garden. 

Me and my boys

Daddy and his girls

Every year the kids make me incredibly nervous at the koi ponds.  With the fish so close and the ledge so small, I am waiting for the year one of them falls in.  But this marks another amazing trip where everyone stayed dry!

 

  

 

Jeff even pointed out a HUGE bullfrog in the lily pads! 

  

After a quick rain shower, we stopped in the food court for a cookie snack.

  

The girls found some beautiful sunflowers while the boys found...corn.
 

A beautiful view to say goodbye...until fall that is!

Dinner Reservations: 4 Adults, 12 Children

This past Saturday was Jeff's 35th birthday and we had the honor of sharing it with some great friends, the Walfords at the Biltmore Estate. For those of you waiting until your children are older, calmer, less destructive to visit, I say "embrace the challenge:)".

And because we thought this wasn't crazy enough, Jeff enjoyed his birthday dinner at one of the beautifully appointed restaurants on the Biltmore property. Linen tablecloths and napkins, soft classical music and a very attentive and professional staff. I was expecting a few stares gazes as we walked to our tables (which we got, along with whispers and some pointing), but all in all the kids behaved marvelously and even received a few commendations from guests and a few sighs of relief from the servers!

Finally we went outdoors to walk off some of our delicious meal.

Breathtaking!

Boys will be boys!

Elizabeth and Calla being cute:)

Micah wandering aimlessly.

A wonderful day making memories and spending time with friends. I would have called it a success right then, but Ginger couldn't stand to let Jeff's birthday pass without a cake. Once we got back to the Walford's home, Ginger prepared a fantastic buffet as well as decorated an ice cream cake, all in 30 minutes!

YUM!!!

I am not sure there is a better way to spend a birthday, great friends, great food, great memories!