Fake-Out

Before Will has gone back to work for the past two years, we have pitched our tent for a fake campout.  This year we grilled hot dogs and made smores and said goodbye to our summer.  One day, we will brave the actual woods with these two.  No time soon though.

Mountain View Orchards

We had a urge to pick fruit this morning, so we headed to Mountain View Orchards in Jemison.

There was a short wait to pick, so we explored the general store, which was  filled with fresh jam, apple butter, crates of apples and peaches, candy, cold drinks, and novelty toys. Then, we let the kiddos jump around on the bales of hay just outside. When it was our turn, we rode on a trailer hitched to a gator tracker.  Our first stop was to the peach trees.  Today, they were picking the early August prince peaches.  Our guide explained which peaches to look for when picking, and she even picked some ripe ones for the kids to snack on while picking.  After our baskets were heaping with ripe peaches, we loaded them in the back of her tractor, and she took us to the apple orchards.

We switched guides there, and our new guide demonstrated exactly how apples are properly picked.   We were free to roam one long row of trees and pick whatever we could find.  Once again, the kiddos had fun snacking on ripe apples while they picked.  After we filled our basket full of apples, we loaded it on the tractor and walked back to the general store.  The man working the store filled our baskets even fuller when the tractor returned with them.

The kids are having fun on apples and "apple peaches" which is what they call the peaches.  I have hopes of making peach salsa and apple butter.  We will definitely be going back soon.

Clara Update

Clara will soon be 22 months old.  I really can't remember a time without her here.  She is full of life and so friendly.  She is constantly saying hello and waving at strangers.  She still loves animals and often asks to hold bees and earthworms.  She is still a huge fan of her art time and is often covered in markers and paint.  She likes to jump on the trampoline and dig in the dirt, but she equally loves pushing her babies around the house.  She still sleeps with 1000 things in her bed and notices if even one is not there.  Perhaps the funnies thing right now is her morning appetite.  She eats more for breakfast than a grown man would in the course of a day.

Her favorite book is  Goodnight Moon.  She loves bubbles and dress up clothes.  She has a big collection of words in her vocabulary but prefers to scream and point.  Her favorite game is ring around the rosie.

She has become her daddy's biggest fan and often prefers him over mommy.  She rarely cries when we leave her with a babysitter or in the church nursery.  She usually has tangled hair and a dirty face. So thankful for the spirit she brings to our family!

 

#patridgesummerbucketlist

 



 



 

Our summer so far has been rich and full.... many days at the pool, visits to the movies, McWane, and zoo, long mornings out in nature, house repairs and painting, adventures at the waterfall and creek, and lots of popsicles and ice cream.  Excited about another month with Daddy home with us.