we love going on our annual apple picking trip every fall!
although i struggled to find a good orchard that we haven’t been to {bad weather and a pandemic to blame}. we’ve frequented a few good ones several times in the past but we wanted to try something different. not that the orchards we’ve been to were bad, i just like to change it up. sometimes it’s a good thing to discover a fun new place or it backfires, but you have to take that risk, non?!
we decided to go to jonamac orchard. it was b u s y. it was hard to physical distance yourself from others {we did go on the weekend…hence how busy it was} and because it was so packed, it stymied our fun. or maybe we were just apple orchard burnt out?! LOL
plus, the apples were sooooo picked over and so many lanes were not ripe. we were given 6 lanes to pick from and that is not a lot when there were that many people there with you. feeling a bit defeated as that was our purpose – to find delicious apples and have fun picking from the trees. instead the trees were bare and we were dodging people left and right down the lanes.
we scored quite a few goodies in their shop though! kettle corn, fudge, drinks, doughnuts, and a bunch of other things we didn’t need. hahaha! that was a highlight for sure! we were all hungry so our family {my mom, sisters, nephews, brother in law} decided to head to a restaurant nearby for some grub as the kitchen at the orchard was packed and there wasn’t a lot of seating and the flies and bees were viciously attacking everyone. gah! we didn’t want to eat and constantly keep swatting away the bugs. that would not be fun!
oh my goodness. yes, i sounded a bit like debbie downer with all the issues that we had but it was fun to go, we did get some yummy apples and spent quality time with our family! ending our trip at the restaurant was a perfect way to cap off our afternoon of fun! relaxing, eating, air conditioning, and drinking!
[the fam…it was so insanely bright…by pictures were blown out!]
[grace and jane]
[about two seconds before she screamed bloody murder there was a lady bug on her arm. LOL]
well, if you go apple picking, ya gotta make apple pie, right?!
every year, after we pick apples, hc and i collaborate and make apple pies! i usually peel and slice the apples while hc makes the pie crust.
i love that olive is at an age where she can really help. we really do have fun together! she’s so cooperative, neat, and listens well to directions {unlike my little nugget ellie}.
we started with peeling 10-12 medium to small apples. i like to slice them more on the thin side as they cook well and it is easier to eat. i measured and olive threw in flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, brown sugar, and mixed it all up.
hc had whipped together the pie crust and refrigerated it for a bit before rolling it out to fit the pie pans. i filled the pans full of apples and hc then threw another pie crust layer on top of it and trimmed it. i rolled the remaining dough to cut out some stars to decorate the top of the crust with and then i brushed the top with some beaten egg, sprinkled on some sugar, and into the oven the pies went!
almost an hour later, we had our finished pies!!! we couldn’t wait to eat them! they turned out lovely and they were baked to perfection. hc preferred his served a la mode while i liked my pie plain {although i am a huge a la mode gal!}. we both thoroughly enjoyed our hard work! the pies were delicious!
baking apple pies is one of the reasons why i love fall!
has anyone seen the snl skit that mocks folks going apple picking?! LOL #truth, right?! but who cares?! we love it anyways. overpriced apples and all.
we won worst parents of the year award though. i had all intentions to grab their cardi’s on the way out the door but we totallyyyyyyy forgot them. ughhhh. i knew it would be a bit cold but when we arrived at the orchard, it was much colder than it was by our house! i was cold and i was so upset that the girls were wearing a dress and socks with no extra layers. i felt like a bad mom. i must say, though…at first they seemed chilly but after running around and running around and running around non-stop, they were definitely not cold anymore. thank goodness for their cousins keeping them active!
we all decided to pay for the ‘other apples’ picking and the barnyard fun all access, apparently honeycrips were extra extra moolah! we gathered together in line and waited for the tractor to come by and pick us up. the girls were so excited and olive couldn’t wait to pick some apples.
i was excited that the weather was somewhat cooperating. it had rained heavily the night before, so it was muddy but it wasn’t so hot like it was last year! last year, it was 90 degrees and this year, it was the upper 60’s…so it was dramatically different but i definitely prefer for it to be cooler. when it is sooo hot, no one is truly enjoying themselves and the kids are miserable, making it a no win situation. it was so cute though, while we were in the car en route, olive said, “i remember when we went last year and it was sooooooo HOT! ellie was so upset” hahaha! that’s right girly.
we enjoyed walking around, searching for perfect apples, and dodging muddy lakes in the ground. hc brought a little pocket knife to cut apple slices for the girls and they were smitten. hc couldn’t cut slices fast enough for the hungry little monsters.
we filled our bags full of apples as we weaved in and out of the apple rows, occasionally running into our family as everyone individually hunted down the apples their tastebuds wanted. we ran into the asian pear trees and they were severely picked over. there were some good apples sitting high in the tree, so i climbed onto hc’s shoulders and reached for the stars! i was able to pick 4 solid good pears to share with the family!
after we picked our apples, we all headed to the country kitchen to grab some chow. afterwards, we walked over to the barnyard fun area and it was soooooo dang muddy! ughhhh, the girls were like no thank you. there were fun wooden displays the kids could climb up on but it was smeared with mud from top to bottom.
we just missed the pig race. we caught the tail end of it. olive was still able to catch a glimpse of the pigs running. we found the ‘petting’ zoo and olive loved it! she had so much fun checking out all the animals. while olive was exploring the zoo, i was trying to track down hc and ellie, as they had gone ahead of us while everyone was finishing up their meals.
hc discovered the jumpy area and we were dunzo. the girls were in heaven and spent the rest of our time screaming, shrieking, and laughing down all the slides. we finally coaxed the girls away from the jumpy houses and navigated our way to the store. there i bought dish towels, fake pumpkins, and we grabbed a couple dozen apple cider donuts!! yummmmmm!
we were ready to head out when my sister kim text us that they were eating desert. okayyyyyyy, twist my arm to get the girls desserts. i bought olive a big ass apple cookie and ellie an caramel sundae. the girls devoured it. then we were done!
we moseyed on our way back to the car after saying goodbye to everyone. all of us satisfied with our time there, happy with our goodies coming home, and feeling the love as a family.
cheers to overpriced apple picking my friends!
[ellie is so silly]
[goofing around always]
[i love olive’s attack face and ellie’s wtf face]
[keeping up with the big kids]
[on our way to the orchard trees!]
[my tribe]
[enjoying all the apple slices dada is cutting for them]
[coming in hot…watch out apple!]
[putting her goodies away]
[my little punk]
[they make my world go round]
[agata and dan]
[the sweetest]
[my silly girl]
[the girls with their super aunty]
[silly aunt thuy]
[the coolest crew]
[get it olive]
[gourmet meal]
[kim and lan]
[
[candid pic by my sis]
[picking some asian pears]
[hc found the bouncy house area and that was it. we were dunzo. nothing else mattered. LOL]
our annual apple picking adventure has come and gone. and boy oh boy, it was a hottttt one! we had planned it with my mom, my brother dan, his girl agata, our family, my sister’s family, and my sister. it’s hard to coordinate a day with that many people, so we had settled on a sunday {the weekend before fall officially arrived}, where honey crisp apples were ripe for picking!
the temperature was not in our favor. i was hoping, everyday leading up to the day, that it would change but it did not. it was going to be 90 degrees and humid. ugh. i don’t mind it being hot but when you have two little kids and one who is high maintenance, it’s literally a sticky situation.
as soon as we got there, ellie was having a fit. her cheeks became extra rosy and she was sweating profusely. oh goodness, she was so grumpy and uncomfortable!
we met up with everyone in front of the restaurant area and once we were all there, we headed to the line. it wasn’t as long as when we first got there {everyone rushed into line when the orchard opened} but it was still long and you definitely don’t wait in the shade! ellie screamed and cried and wanted to be held but it wasn’t comforting for her at all. oh boy.
we finally paid for our bags and got into line for the tractor wagon {and the workers there warned us of the mosquitoes in the orchard, they said it was realllllllll bad and to top it off, honey crisp apples were not available to pick. whaaaaaa?!}. they dropped us off in the field and we walked down a row of trees and boom! the mosquitoes attacked!!!!! bzzzzz zzzzzz zzzzz bzzzzzz. no joke. they landed on us left and right. buzzing in our ear. biting us. bleeding on us. bouncing off my face. biting us through our clothes. i swatted mosquitoes off the girl’s faces non stop. five mosquitoes landed directly in the middle of ellie’s forehead! holy crap! it almost looked like child abuse, i was hitting the girls so much just to get the little blood suckers off their bodies! my sister and family came running at us {they were a bit further down the orchard row} and said they were leaving and ran away! ohmergawd! it was so bad!
we all left, although, we actually did a decent job picking apples despite the circumstances {my mom, agata, thuy, and dan decided to hit the other side of the orchard to pick}! the rest of us walked back to the main area and debated on leaving or staying. we weren’t sure what we wanted to do but i definitely didn’t want it to be a wasted trip. ellie was a mess. so, hc took her to the car to cool down. my family and i decided to get food. we walked into the restaurant, ordered food and sat in an enclosed area…it wasn’t air conditioned but it was covered, there was no sun shining directly on us and no bugs!!!
we cooled down, relaxed, and really enjoyed ourselves. after filling our bellies and imbibing some cool libations, we were feeling good. we all decided to head on over to the shop and peruse a bit. {i text hc to bring ellie and meet us} we nabbed mini apple cider doughnuts, bought too much candy, toys, and random knick knacks. after hanging out in the shop with my family for a half hour or so, we decided it was time to leave. we had apples, we had pictures, we had doughnuts, we had fun! we really did!
here’s to hoping that next year’s date is a lot cooler and less buggy! happy fall y’all!
[apples on the market]
[ellie started to burn up right away! she was so uncomfortable!]
[here comes the tractor and wagon]
[mom and thuy]
[my sweet family]
[collecting apples!]
[she’s sweet as pie]
[my current favorite picture of her…she’s so tumultuously sweet]
[the only moment where she wasn’t crying…]
[me and my babe…i can’t express in words how wonderful she is]
[hey girls…let’s take a picture together. girls: let’s look the other way!]
[yup…ellie cried, they were melting from the heat, and olive asked me if she could stop itching from the mosquitoes bites]
[cooling off and eating bug free. she had pink spots all over her face and neck from the mosquitoes]
we went on our annual apple pickin’ outing this past weekend!
i was so excited…i love this time of year! i am happy it is october, i am happy the weather cooperated {70+, not 90+ as it was the prior weekend and the previous years we’ve gone}, and i am happy!
we arrived at the farm and as we were walking towards the main area, terry and famille drove by! yay, right on time! everyone met up by the apple picking lines but we decided to go eat first, the boys and olive were hungry.
i was quite surprised, with it being such a nice day, that it wasn’t busier. don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of people there but i really thought it would be packed. it was the first weekend of october and a beautiful day, but there were no real long lines anywhere. when we got into the line for the food, we were first {well, there were people in front of us but they were served}. when we got into the line for the apple picking, there was no one waiting in front of us to buy tickets and the next tractor wagon ride that came by, we got on it right away! sweet! that was pretty awesome!
my heart was so full seeing olive so excited to pick apples. she was learning all about it in school the week prior, so i prepped her before our outing and told her we were going to pick apples. she was so stoked to do this! when we were driving in, she saw all the apple trees and couldn’t wait to get out to pick some. she’s so sweet! i love her innocent ways!
we picked golden delicious, empire, and jonathan apples and had a lot fun doing so. yum, yum, yum! i honestly can say that this time around picking apples was the best time we’ve had since we’ve done it. in the past, it’s either been too hot or olive was not having it and it was at times, miserable {but still oddly fun because i love picking apples so much}. this year it was a combo of all good things and that really made it enjoyable.
after we picked, we {as usual} perused the shop and bought a few yummy items. we never leave without apple cider doughnuts! {helloooo, that’s definitely our second purpose} we bought some chocolate covered pretzels, white cheddar popcorn, and apple butter. all items we don’t need, don’t need to consume, but hey, it’s fall y’all!
we hung around for a bit more {relaxing, being silly, and having fun with the kids} and then decided it was time to leave. my how time flies when you are having fun! more than 3 and a half hours later, we were ready to go! we left happy, satisfied with our bags of apples, and all the extra delicious goodies we bought. it was a successful and super fun time apple picking!
happy october!
[ellie sitting in the dirtiest high chair we’ve ever seen…thank you hc for cleaning it]
[“ohhhh snap, did you see what she was wearing?”, said ellie…hahaha!]
[she’s getting excited!]
[the tractor is moving]
[godmother godchild]
[she LOVED picking apples!]
[she totally groaned at me after this pic…she was so exasperated i was taking a picture! ha!]
hc helps out with the apple pies every year. he’s very good at it and now that we have a new baby and a toddler…multiple hands at multitasking is a must! we tried our best to make the apple pies while ellie was sleeping…she is the one we have to hold if she gets fussy, otherwise, olive is easy! she just entertains herself with her iPad or toys.
we got pretty far along before ellie woke up. i had peeled and sliced all the apples, hc made the batches of crust, and he was on to the walnut base. i took care of ellie and then wrapped her up in the carrier to finish making the apple filling.
we have made the same recipe every year but next year, i think i might want to replace the walnut filling with almonds. i think it’ll be a better compliment! every year, we get better and better at it…one year we had too many leftover apple slices but not enough to make another apple pie, one time we were short on the dough to make the top crust but this year we hit the nail on the head! we had the perfect amount of apples {pulled less than what the recipe called for} and we had copious amounts of pie dough to make a hearty and healthy sized crust for both pies {we doubled the recipe}! i even made cute little leaves for the tops of the pies…something i didn’t get to do the years prior because we would never have enough! hahaha!
we assembled our pies, brushed the crust with milk and sprinkled it with sugar, baked them for an hour, and let them cool down on baking racks. later that night, i sliced the pie and served it with ice cream ~ yummmmmm! it was delicious! i must say…it was our best pie yet!
yet again, after apple picking…the gratuitous apple pie baking begins. i used the same recipe we used last year that you can retrieve from this post here. it’s a walnut apple pie recipe that is quite delish. we make everything from scratch.
we started with cleaning and peeling the apples…about six apples per pie. as hc did that part, i started mixing together the crust ingredients. flour, salt, shortening, and then some, all mixed by hand. after i finished the crust, i stored in the freezer until we were finished with all the other ingredients and we were ready to assemble the pie.
i started next on the walnut layer. i crushed three fourths cup of walnuts and mixed it with brown sugar, butter, and vanilla. once hc was done coating the apples with cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, and vanilla, we were finally ready to assemble the pies!
i rolled out the crust and covered the bottom of both pie pans and then smoothed on a layer of the walnut mixture. i filled the pans all the way up with the apple slices, dotted each pie with cubes of butter and then covered it with the crust. i was a bit disappointed because last year we were a bit short on dough, so this year i doubled the recipe and still ended up short! boo! i know i didn’t thin out the dough enough! anyhoo, after i placed the top crust, i then brushed it with milk and sugar and popped them in the oven for sixty minutes {or until the crust is golden and it’s bubbling!}.
[ingredients]
[peeling and slicing apples]
[watch out! she’s got a rolling pin]
[roll with it]
[the finish product]
i really enjoy making the apple pies every year after we go apple picking! i mean, what else should you do with them apples?! hahaha! no really, it’s always fun to bake something delicious and i can’t wait until olive is older and we can bake pies together!
i made some caramel apples! so easy peasy. annndddd, i was able to finish out the bag of apples we had from our apple pickin’ outing. woot. woot.
i had to only pick up a few ingredients. i really wanted to use branches for the caramel apples but, honestly, i wasn’t about to go into the yard and hunt for sticks. although, i am really digging the aesthetics of it but not enough to treasure hunt. hmph.
so, lollipop sticks it was. i purchased a bag of sticks, a tub of marzetti’s caramel sauce, and sprinkles. i washed and dried the apples, then removed the stems. once that was done, i took a lollipop stick and tried my best to center them into each apple. i pulled out a sheet of parchment paper {what i had on hand} but you could also use wax paper if you have it.
[stick it to ya!]
i then warmed up the caramel sauce in the microwave. i did it in ten second increments because the sauce heats up quickly. between each interval, i would stir the sauce to even it out. once that was complete, i took each apple and dipped it around and around in the tub, evenly coating the apple. i then placed each apple on the paper to cool off.
i decided to do a variety of toppings. i crushed animal crackers, i crushed nuts, and i had halloween colored sprinkles. i then pulled out another sheet of parchment paper {it’s easier this way and neater!} and would pour the toppings onto the paper. i rolled each apple around and around over each topping. i covered the base first and then slowly rolled each apple until i got to the desired coverage.
i did tricolored toppings. just sprinkle toppings. mixed toppings. simple toppings. all sorts of yummy flavored toppings. i had a lot fun decorating each apple! i then cut out little squares for each apple to settle on.
[pummeling some animals…crackers that is!]
[walnuts and almonds]
after i decorated each apple, i then placed them all in the refrigerator to harden. after that, i wrapped each one in cellophane and finished it with a black ribbon. woooo! i was done and super happy with how they turned out. it’s so easy to make, totally festive and fun, and of course….yummy to eat! sweet and tart. a perfect combo!
[reaching for the stars]
