apple picking 2013

One of my favorite fall traditions is apple picking.  We have this quaint little farm not too far away from home that we try to go to a few times every fall.  Normally I love this little family outing, but this year, after that HOT summer, in my rush to get into all that I love about fall we jumped the gun and went apple picking too early.  It was 85 degrees and the apples were mushy.  Not the crisp fall day that makes those hayrides, hot apple cider and cider donuts tell your bones that fall is here.   As you can see, Jeff wasn’t exactly thrilled. But, no worries.  We went again, and again.  Our wildest and most true to form trip was with Joyce and the Krucks…..loaded down with books so that we could pick apples while doing a little back to school photo shoot.  In theory a good idea, but boy, living in that afternoon was crazy!   Lots of chaos as moms tried to corral kids who were really only interested in each other by being silly.  Silliness is a little hard for me sometimes.  It was the perfect apple picking weather though.  And, look at these happy kids.  I wish I could see the picture of me doing things with my kids as I’m doing them.  The picture always makes me realize how beautiful the moment really was.  It strips out the loud noises, the raging emotions, the kids whines, the loud screeches and you just see the happiness beaming out from a day in the sun.     Joyce came with us into the orchards until the chaos got to be a little too much for her and she decided the afternoon might be a little more pleasant sitting on a bench watching the alpacas.   Peter had a grand time, eating apple after apple and trying to mimic all the craziness around him. We did manage to take some ‘back to school’ book shots.  My idea (well, the one I stole from pinterest) is to take pictures of the kids each year with their favorite books from the year.  So, here they are (Kruckenkids too):   What I learned from our chaos in the apple orchards?  to Relax.  Try to stop in those crazy chaotic moments and visualize what the pictures are going to look like.  Instead of seeing the craziness and hearing all the noise and trying to control it I’m going to stop and look at my kids faces.  If I look closely I’ll see the childhood spilling out of them.  The delight of a perfect September afternoon radiating through their silliness.

Like my sister in law tells me, you have to “live in anticipation of the memory.”