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My dad and I took the kids to the Eplegaarden orchard and pumpkin patch while Bryan was on a Kickapoo River kayaking trip last month.  We collected apples, discovered pumpkins, and braved the crowds for a fun visit.  Andrew was so strong, he even carried a gallon of cider all the way back to the car!

Here the kids were exploring the scarecrow set-up they had.

Sylvie was fascinated with the clothes.

They had a horse drawn carriage that passed us twice.  I just love the hugeness and solidness of those hooves!

Sylvie, Andrew, and Dad check out some over-fed, soporific goats.

Looking for apples, and getting a snuggle.

It works so much better to turn your subjects so you’re shooting into the sun.  Then you avoid all that sunlight-and-shadows-on-the-face nonsense…and you get some pretty rim lighting. 

Hunting through the pumpkin patch for the perfect pick.

The kids did a full examination of the fields of pumpkins before settling on a couple to take home.

 

Thanks for a fun outing, Dad!  Glad we got to do that together!  xoxo

Here’s a little peek of our neighborhood color on the first week of October.  We’re at the tail-end of color now, so it’s fun to look back to see the riot of reds and greens and oranges from just a month ago.  That’s one thing I love so much about spring and fall…you need to look and appreciate things now – then they’re gone.

I like this image with the green and yellow trees reaching across the road to touch.  Like friends holding hands.

Walkin’ down to the preschool.

Then heading back.  As the wind blew, yellow leaves tumbled from the trees like snow.

The kids kick and rustle the fallen, golden snow.

So much fun to run through leaves!

I feel really lucky to live in such a beautiful neighborhood.  There’s no time like the autumn that makes me appreciate all the big, beautiful, mature trees more.

Autumn has been my favorite time of year.  This summer, I was pretty sure that summer has now won the title as now my favorite season.  In May, I’d say it’s spring.  When the air is soft and the trees are full of a painter’s pallet, it’s hard not to feel like fall is #1.

Here are some pretty flowers Bryan brought home for the table.  Beautiful autumn sunset colors.

And here’s the trees in our neighbor’s yard.  They’re some of the first to turn.

Here’s our sedum plant ‘autumn joy.’  When I worked at Carleton College’s Off-Campus studies office, my co-workers Margit and Andrea sometimes brought in beautiful bouquets from their garden.  One that impressed me the most was a late fall bouquet of these beauties.  So I planted some in my own yard:)

The silver maples against the blue sky.  What a perfect marriage of colors.

Here’s our September yard.  The raking projects haven’t yet begun, and the temps are in the 80s!

Here’s me on my hammock enjoying the fall day.

Here’s my girl, swinging from her swing…also enjoying the fall day.  Looking at pictures like this, I have no doubt why I like to be at home with the kids.

And my favorite picture of September (my computer screen’s background)… red shoes, orange skirt, flying.

In late September, the kids and I drove up to St. Paul to visit Maretta and Kyle for the weekend.  Bryan was in New York having a fun weekend with his dad.  Saturday was Kyle’s birthday, and Maretta and Kyle took us to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.  My siblings have been going to “Ren Fairs” for years and years.  They all have costumes and swords, boots, mugs, capes, and jewelry.  But somehow, I’ve been absent from every Ren Fair visit.  I think they started going just about the time that I left home for college.  Anyway, it was my first visit, and it was a lot of fun!

Maretta and Kyle’s roommates, Raderlee and Salsa are part of a fire troupe called the Fandazzi Fire Circus (here’s a video of them from YouTube).  We really enjoyed watching a couple of their shows!

Here’s a skit between Robin Hood and Little John.  Lots of pole fighting!

Sylvia’s wearing Aunt Maretta’s fairy wings and necklace.  Andrew brought his Darth Vader costume just to be silly.

There’s the birthday boy and my sister with her short, lovely hair.

Andrew wanted to take pictures, so I let him…here’s his portrait of Maretta…

…and here’s one of me.

Michael and Lisa drove up for the weekend too, and we met them at the fair. 

All the rides and activities run without power (what a nice contrast to traditional fairs!).   On this ride, the Magical Butterfly Carrousel, two people pushed an axle that spun the carts.

Sylvia had a blast!

And we had fun watching her!

Here’s the scene in the games and rides area.  I loved all the beautiful wooden medieval buildings!  The tower is a climbing wall that caught Andrew’s attention.

Up he goes!

As I was backing up to take this shot, I fell backwards over a hay bale and landed flat on my back.  The camera was well protected, and I couldn’t stop laughing.  Everyone wondered why I was suddenly on the ground!

The kids also got to do a pony ride.  Andrew’s horse was Bullseye…

Can’t remember the name of this pretty girl.  Sure is fun to get a chance to ride on a horse!  Anyone know of a place around Madison where the kids could take lessons on a gentle pony?We ate good food and saw a couple other shows and wondered through the extensive fair grounds.

That evening, we had a great steak dinner with Maretta, Kyle, Michael, Lisa, Josh and Betsy, and their new little babe.

Thanks to Salsa and Raderlee for letting us use their room while we visited, and thanks to Maretta and Kyle for being such fun hosts.  Maretta got Lucky Charms for breakfast.  Ahh, good times:)

xoxo

In an ongoing effort to expose the kids (Sylvia) to girls who are strong and athletic and awesome, Bryan got tickets to women’s Badger hockey, volleyball, and soccer games this fall.

A major draw is the candy:)

I was photographing a wedding, so I didn’t attend this game, but here’s some pictures of the kids having fun watching the girls play.  Sylvia has a poster of the soccer team on the wall of her room, and Andrew has the team picture stuck to the ceiling above his bed (!!).

And here’s a video that I posted a while back that showcases some of Andrew and Sylvie’s stellar dance moves.

[flickr video=6169347753]

Some years we make it to the apple orchard a half dozen times or more.  This year, we only went thrice.  The mosquitoes were non-existent, which was such a better situation than the blood-sucking horror of last fall.  We ate lots of apples, drank cider, but made not a cobbler, pie, or even apple sauce.  Oh well…my friends did!  And I made a few Dutch Babies (recipe here) with cooked apples on top.  Delish!

Have you ever noticed that I love hand-holding pictures?  They’re my favorite:)

Cute boy!

 

Love this picture of Sylvie.  It’s so completely her.

Happy girl with her apple.

 

Both kids love to get boosted up in our arms or on our shoulders to reach apples high up in the branches.

Mr. Andrew man with his bag.  I heard that our main orchard – Door Creek – ran out of apples by early October.  Must have been lots of crowds and an early season!

A little sibling love in the orachard.

“Is this what you want us to do, Mom?”

We said “hi” to the Black Welsh Mountain Sheep before heading home.  Oh, that cider we had was excellent.  I love waiting all year and then enjoying cup after cup of the rich, crisp deliciousness of fresh apple cider from the orchard.Until next year!

~Althea