and pretty much nothing beats fall in new england. the brilliance of the trees and chill in the air fill my heart with coziness. and i eagerly anticipate what autumn ushers in; the holiday season and all it's glory.
yes, i love this time of year.
some of our favorite family traditions every fall are going to pick apples, and a visit to treworgy orchards. with nick coaching football in the fall, we have to be strategic about fitting in family time and these are two days i look forward to every year.
this year, nick was sick for our apple picking trip. we were pretty disappointed. we go every year with my mom and sister and brother in law. the kids run endlessly through the trees and eat as many apples as they can get their hands on. i spend my time picking, but mostly snapping photos...because who can resist a picture of cute kids in an apple orchard? i know i can't. and i have a million of them. i decided rather than staying cooped upat home with the kids and wallow in my disappointment over our altered apple-picking-day, the girls and i would still go and let nick sleep off his flu. wasn't the same without him, but we still had fun. the trees were drooping with beautiful, bright red beauties and i easily filled up a bag within minutes, while still getting plenty of chances to take some pics. the girls and i always have fun using up our apple supply to make applesauce, crisp, pies and muffins. any chance they get to help me in the kitchen, they love, so we really enjoy our cozy fall days at home after a trip to the orchard.
already looking forward to next year!
we met my sister and brother in law and their family again at treworgy's a few weeks later. we love going there throughout the year, but fall is our favorite. and the girls were giddy to have their cousins join us. we took a hayride through the grounds, which is the girls favorite part. they giggled the whole way as we sat on bales of hay and bumped along through the fields. my girls love feeding the animals and were excited to show jude and lucy how to fill their hands with food and let the goats nibble it right out of their little palms. my germ conscious niece and nephew were less enthused :) the highlight of our trip to treworgy's every year is an ice cream cone. while the kids sat lapping their cones, us adults warmed our hands around steaming cups of hot cider. we browsed through the pumpkins and the kids climbed on an old vintage tractor and it was time to head home to corn chowder and biscuits and more cousin play. love watching these little ones grow up together.
my heart aches a little as i type these memories, for i know all too soon i'll realize that these days are gone. their squeals of excitement as they chase each other through the apple trees, or their giggles as they hold hands and ride along on the tractor filled with hay... these days are exhausting but the memories are so cherished.
i never want to forget. thank you, jesus, for these precious days.
