Fall Family Fun Day!

The Bower family does not have the most successful track record with apple picking. We had one near-perfect year about five years ago, and then it's been a series of busts--culminating last year when we drove all the way to the mountains only to discover there had been a blight and there were no apples. We were determined to break that streak!

We have been telling the kids for a couple of weeks that Saturday was going to be Bower Fall Family Fun Day. They were both sure we were going apple picking, and they were right! We drove a little over two hours to Morganton to a little orchard we visited as part of our first successful apple trick, and we were not disappointed!

Apple Hill Cider Mill has grown a lot, but we think it has just gotten better. And there were apples!!!

Issa and Dad made a great team:

Evan wore camo pants and a black sweatshirt, and had it not been for the shoes we would have lost him:

There he is:

I always love the walking pictures:

After we finished picking, the boys hauled all of our apples to the car and Issa and took some selfies with the giant hay bale cow:

And then I put my phone away and forgot to take any more pictures. We ate warm donuts and cider, enjoyed the mountain air, and took a hayride through the orchard led by the owner. We all truly loved hearing the history and the nuances of apple growing.

It was a day of so much laughter, and I'm so grateful for the day!