Apple Picking

We took Ellie & Ben to Fireside Orchard for their first apple-picking experience while they were here. It was a blast! Here is the evidence:

Jess and the kiddos--quick, take the picture before Ben runs away!

Ellie s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g to reach an apple, with Mom's help.

Ben was a little less precise in his picking, so we ended up taking a few leaves with us, too.

I think here Jen is demonstrating to the kids how some apples have bad spots and others don't--and that you should pick the ones that don't. Ellie seemed to get it...and Ben enjoyed picking whatever apple he felt like and then dropping it on the ground--which led to many demonstrations and reminders of how to put apples in the bag after you pick them...

...at one point this part became nearly as exciting for Ben as the actual picking. Then he lost interest in it and went back to dropping them on the ground.

Nathan, Ben, Jen, & Ellie

Grandma and Grandpa with the kids.

This is one of my favorite photos from the whole week--I snapped it just in time to catch Ben's delight at the discovery (or re-discovery) of spreading dandelion seeds!