The Apple of My Eye

Today we enjoyed our yearly tradition of visiting Deals Orchard with my parents! We went with my parents, sister, niece, and Fred. We didn't pick big pumpkins since this year we grew our own and we have as of now 5 orange pumpkins and 1 green that should be orange before Halloween. We did pick out 2 little pumpkins for the girl to decorate. Kimberly did find a really unique pumpkin that now looking back I wish I would have gotten because it was truly a one of a kind pumpkin. We got several pictures of many of the activities we took part in. They hay ride was first and it drove us around the Orchard and the 3rd generation owner was so kind to tell us some fun facts about the different tree's and pumpkins that they plant this year. We even got to see some of the Christmas trees that they will be selling. We also enjoyed the corn sandbox and wobble cars among other things. Each girl had their favorite parts of the day.

Clarissa- I really liked the hay ride and barring mommy in the corn box. That was so fun and I had a great time.

Alina- My favorite part was the playground, and playing with my cousins Clarissa and Kimberly.

Kimberly- My favorite part was snack time and the hay ride. I really love my pumpkin too.

These girls are the best and they make me smile all the time. We did get a family photo but it happens to be on my dads camera to I will come back and add that later!

Kimberly looking at the unique pumpkin I was talking about.

The girls and the dads

The girls LOVE seeing how much they have grown.

Kimberly played a game of bing bag toss

This wasn't just fun for kids

Having a fun time having a race against a new friend

Clarissa loved the wobble cart

The girls enjoying their yummy apples

But the fun didn't end at Deals Orchard we then got back to my parents house (Mama Mary and Papa Ray) to make some apple sauce. My family has been making apple sauce for as long as I can remember and now we have passed that down to share with the next generation. The girls all had different jobs at different times. Alina and Kimberly where on washing duty. One would hand the apple to the other and then wash it in the sink. Clarissa graduated from a washer to a waist disposer. The parts that are not good to have in apple sauce she was to take to the garden. She was so happy to have a new job and all the girls loved being a part of making the apple sauce with help from the adults. I was mainly a cutter and I also worked on filling bags for freezing and then eating at a later date. My dad was the pro and so he over saw everything and mainly was in charge of the apples on the stove and knowing when they where soft enough for the next part and that was my sister Megan's job. She was in charge of putting the soft apples into the machine that would then turn them into apple sauce we can eat and the waste would go in a separate container for Clarissa to then take to the garden. My mom helped with washing and getting water for the for a new batch of apples and Fred filled in at each station when help was needed. We had a great time and created life long memories of making apple sauce at Mama Mary and Papa Ray's house!