Apple Sunday

Today started out wonderfully with our service at church.  Jesus continued his miracles with a visit to Blind Bartimaeus.  It was a funny version we did four times over the course of the morning, one time in front of Madison's group at KidPak Jr.  The acting cast we have is so much fun - they took a script which was pretty good, and then made it even better with so much energy!

After church, Daddy got home and saw Mommy and Madison ready to go off on an apple hunt!  We drove in the car over to Ellijay, which was a little over an hour away - it's apple season!  Along the road, we passed about eight family orchards, all with signs that read "U PICK IT."  They weren't talking about their noses, either.  On weekends, one of the big tourist attractions in Ellijay - on weekends - is to go out and pick your own apples in the numerous orchards in that area.  We've never gone on weekends, so we've never picked our own apples yet - until today!

Here's Mommy showing Madison the ropes, explaining how to properly pick an apple.  Madison was listening to the guide though:  cradle the apple and gently twist.  Don't bruise the apple.  Madison carried the bag along for a while, but of course it soon got pretty heavy with apples!

She needed a lift here to reach some of those apples higher up!  Daddy remembers going to apple orchards in upstate New York - and even using great big apple pickers.  They were these claws at the end of long poles, and they made it easier to get those apples that were very high in the trees.  Of course, with this photo above, Madison has discovered an easier solution!

Golden delicious!  There were plenty of these, and of course we had to sample one along the way.  It looks delicious, doesn't it?  There were many different varieties at this orchard, which made it fun to go and look around at.  We picked several different kinds to sample later.

It was a nice experience there at the orchard.  It was off the main road - in fact, they took us there from the parking lot with a tractor.  We rode the tractor out there over a bumpy road, and hopped on the tractor when we were done and ready to return.  When we got back to the apple barn, part of our package included apple cinnamon doughnuts, and of course cider.  So the three of us sat at a picnic table overlooking a large field with pumpkin patches, having our apple-themed meal.  It was all very nice.

We left Ellijay, passing by once again all the other orchards - so many family businesses out there.  We arrived home in time to get some more homework done with Madison:  piano practice!  We keep getting more and more advanced, and Mommy and Daddy have to do all they can to catch up.  It's funny how we too are learning as we go along.

Madison went to bed early tonight - we have school tomorrow.  It was a full, adventurous sort of day, which is just the sort of day we like.  Mommy and Daddy concluded the "Back to the Future" trilogy after she went to bed, watching Marty and Doc go back to the old west.  And soon after that, it was happy trails for all of us.