As I’ve mentioned previously, I despise the fall, for a number of reasons. But in the spirit of the season, we embarked as a family on the customary, New England required fall family experience:
Apple & Pumpkin Picking.
For those of you that have not had the thrill of participating in such an event, please let me share it with you. You know the apples that come in a bag in the produce section of your local grocery store? Well, in the fall, those are simply not.good.enough. Why buy those when you can drive out of state, hit a field, and pick them yourselves?? Why buy 3lbs of apples, when you can pay far more for, say, 10lbs?
(I know. I don’t really get it, either. But like parenthood, I end up doing a lot of things I don’t quite understand…)
And don’t even get me started on pumpkins. I’m not a fan. In my area, there are signs dotting the major roads that simple say, “U Pick”. They’re indicating that there is a pumpkin picking farm nearby. And do “u pick”? Yes, but forget the fantasy of wandering into a green, vine-clad pumpkin patch. Nope.
It’s a bare field. With pumpkins. Just.sitting.there. On the ground. You don’t “pick” them, as in pluck them off the vine. Nope. You “pick them” as in,
“Hey. I want THAT one.”
Now, pick it up.
You’re done.
But in the interest of family bonding, we loaded our kids into the family truckster and heading up near my sister’s area in Connecticut for a day of picking fun.
(And for the record, it’s nearly impossible for every single child to be happy on any given family outing. So what starts out as an enthusiastic, “Yay! Let’s go APPLE picking! Whoo hoo!” inevitably dissolves into a car ride more like this:)
We had beautiful weather for our outing, and the kids did enjoy the novelty of picking apples right off the tree*
(*for $20 per bag, they better have enjoyed it!)
Eating them straight off the trees was fun, too…
And the fresh air must’ve done them some good, because the apple farm was the one place where I didn’t end up lugging everything on my own.
It’s never easy to take six children out, but it is always worth it. No matter how much work is involved, there are always those brief pauses when I take a step back and marvel as I watch my kids enjoy the moment. I love being able to provide them with experiences that they will remember as family traditions. I want to help them make fun family memories. And you BET I have the photographic proof!
But lest my description seem too “facebook-y”: as in the perfect family experience, I will admit that yes, #6 DID disappear into the apple trees briefly, triggering the parental:
“I thought YOU had him!”
“Noo.. I thought YOU did…”
(We found him quickly. Eating apples, of course.)
Or the hallowed “family shot”… please note #1’s death glare directed at #2, who pushed her seconds prior…
Now, note #2’s ponytail being yanked by #1…
“Now, SMILE, everyone! SMILE, dammit!”
But a great time was had by all, and we have the apples and pumpkins to prove it. Yup. Lots and lots of apples. About 10lbs worth.
But no worries; they’ll go quickly…. clearly.…
Haha!! Love it! We haven’t been in a few years just because it’s still 90 degrees and the “fall” spirit just isn’t there. The family photos are priceless LOL!
Thanks, lady!
I’ve never been apple-picking, but I do have a weakness for the pumpkin patch! Love your pictures, and your “realness.”
Apple picking is overrated; I’m with you. Give me a pumpkin patch anyday! Thanks for your kind words, Leslie! 🙂
You’re hilarious! I love your writing style. With four step kids ranging from male/female 18 year old twins, a moody pre-teen 12 year old, and a 6 year old, I can relate to how it’s hard to please everyone in these outings. Add a 5 month old these days and it’s extra interesting. At the end of the day we can just hope that they somehow all walked away with a good memory out of it. 🙂
Also LOVE the Vacation reference!!!!
Thanks for the compliment, Emily! And as a step mom/mother of five, you KNOW what I’m talking about!
This post was so fun! I like to hang onto summer for every last second too! It looks like your family had a lot of fun picking apples!
Oh, I wish I could hang onto summer with every last breath! We had fun- lots of work, but fun, too.
Such a cute post. Loved it!!
Thanks for stopping by, Gunjan! 🙂
We never get to things like this over here! The only time it happened was when we went overseas and picked strawberries. Such fun!
I’ve never picked strawberries, but I think that would be more fun than picking apples! Thanks for your comment, Agatha.
Love, love, love this. I love taking my kids out to pick their own produce. It helps them appreciate it more. They know where it’s coming from, and I like to think picking our own is a little better for the planet too. The best part is, the kids think it’s a great adventure.
I agree; the kids thought it was a fantastic adventure! They loved the dirt, the plucking, the hauling of the produce. I wish they enjoyed such manual labor at home!
Your family is adorable! Looks like y’all had fun even though you had a brief moment of panic not knowing where the kiddos were. I would love to go Apple picking one day, that’s great your family goes to the pumpkin patch and Apple picking together!
I love apple picking! We’re in Upstate NY so it’s like a rite of passage for the kids to go to the pumpkin patch and the apple orchard. Although we still have our fair share of “pick” your own pumpkins hosted by local churches in their parking lots. Why “pick” pumpkins from pavement…you got me there! I don’t know why we get so excited to buy an overpriced bag of apples since in my house most of them are only half eaten or never eaten at all. The real reason I go apple picking though is to wait an hour in line to get freshly made apple cider donuts. SOOOOO good!
I just had the cider donuts for the first time; I’m not even a donut fan, but I have to agree- SO GOOD!
Your pictures are great. I feel like all family photos even the picture perfect ones have a degree of drama to them. Lol! Our pumpkin patches are true pumpkin patches with the vines & getting tangled & the whole nine yards. We skipped the apple picking this year, but we did get very lost in a corn maze & picked a pumpkin. Enjoy the rest of your fall.
I’m an adult, & still skeered of corn mazes! ????
great post!! Apple picking could be so much fun for all. I love your kids, they are all so cute.
Thank you, Shweta! And thanks for stopping by!