Apple Picking 2011

Every year we go apple picking.  It is one of my favorite (pre-)fall traditions.  I can't remember why we didn't go last year, but we have gone every other year and plan to go as long as the kids will go with us.  Two years ago we went a whopping four days before Cora was born!  I don't have any pictures of me (thank goodness!), but check out this picture of little, three-year-old Brennan!

This year was my favorite apple-picking trip ever!!  The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and the kids had a ball.  Brennan was a terrific apple picker, and Cora was content to just ride in a wagon the whole time, which was good because I pictured her picking rotten apples off the ground and throwing them into the basket faster than we could stop her.

After we paid for all 23 pounds of apples(!), we sat down and had a picnic lunch.  The whole morning was honestly like a taste of heaven.  The kids were happy and carefree, petting the farm owner's dog and playing with sticks and running around trees... It made me temporarily forget sickness and financial stress and schedules and Jim's schoolwork.  It was a freeze-time moment.

My mom's birthday was yesterday, and, with the help of my in-laws, we surprised her with a basket of Cortland apples (the best in the world... they had to be bought up there), Hershey kisses, and a copy of these pictures:

Next year there will be a six-year-old, a nearly three-year-old, and a six-month-old baby in the apple picking photos!  It's still hard to believe.