Pick the perfect one!

Today, we went apple picking! It was myself, Jeff, my SIL, my BIL, my FIL and Ally. This was the first time in years we didn't have Zack around. But don't worry, I'm going to send him some apples and pictures so he's not left out.

We go to a local farm who has been opening their doors for many seasons so people can pick apples (and other fruit when its different seasons). So, at the local farm you get your 1/2 bushel bag, climb on a tractor, the tractor brings you to the apple picking trees, you pick the apples until your bag is full, then you return to the tractor pick-up area.

I've never picked apples anywhere else, so I'm not sure how the trees look somewhere else, but pictured above is the trees at the place we go. I think its pretty neat since its not your traditional tree and the low branches allow kids easy access to the apples (as long as they aren't picked already).

The weather was perfect too. It was a brisk fall day, with those marshmallow clouds, but the sun shined bright and warm. The breeze would come along once you got a little toasty standing in the sunshine. What a wonderful day it was!

Ally is helped Uncle Jeff with the high apples. It was so cute too. He would lift her up so she could reach a bundle of apples, maybe 5-6 apples on a branch all bunched together. She would pull one off the branch and the rest of the bundle would fall to the ground. Hey, she didn't mind since she had the one in her hand that she picked herself with a big smile on her face. She also helped her father reach those high, big juicy apples.

Its hard to resist when you are around all those apples, not to eat one while you fill up your bag. At least you can try them out before hand, right? We discovered that the big, dark red ones were juicer and sweeter then the small apples. Good to know!

Ally was helping fill up too bags, reach high for the big apples and search for low branches with apples that she worked up an appetite. Or it could be that she saw everyone else eating the apples. Either way, she had a blast picking and eating the apples.

Me, my SIL Sarah, my FIL, my BIL Johm, Ally hugging him and Jeff

I can't wait until next year! I hope we will have Zack around too. Him and I started this tradition 5 years ago and it just feels weird without him around. But until then, its off to make apple crisp and munch on my yummy apples.