the hills are alive...

...with the sound of...apples. Okay, so that doesn't really work.



To kick off an incredibly busy October (can I even remember all of our activities?), we made a quick trip over to Apple Hill with some homeschooling friends. Unlike on a previous trip, we were actually able to pick apples this time -- a whole big fat bunch of them. Mmm.



Other than apple picking, we also had lunch and checked out some craft booths. At one booth, the kids made their own candles. I can't remember the name of the booth, but the women there were fabulous! They were so great with the kids, being very helpful and not condescending. Pic kind of pulled the wick out of her candle (oops), but somehow some is left for us to burn.

Pic's candle is the one on the left in the glass with the flowers.

The kids chose a glass for the container and then filled it with little wax granules. They could also choose a scent for their candles and Pic chose a banana nut bread aroma that kind of makes me ill, but it's her candle.

We went through a very short corn maze (unlike the crazy one we tried later in the month) and the kids rolled down a grassy knoll. As our visit was winding down, we stopped for chilled apple cider and apple doughnuts. Again: mmm.

I forgot to pick up any apple butter or honey. I get a little overwhelmed by the whole Apple Hill experience and we went on a weekend so every place was pretty crowded, so I tend to forget things. This year, I am hoping we'll be able to go on a weekday. We'll see.

On the way out of Apple Hill, it started to rain and there was an incredible rainbow arching across the sky. I was hanging out the window trying to get a good picture of it. It was difficult with the curving road and the evergreens, but I did manage to get about six billion pictures of the rainbow. I'll only share one.



I'm thinking we'll need to go berry picking this summer.

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In the meantime, it's winter here, but you'd not know it. We went for a walk this morning and were shedding layers. I was tempted to shed my shirt, too. I was really longing for my sandals. It's strange the have temperatures in the sixties (and later in the seventies), but it was great to be able to get out for a walk.