Apple Pickn'

Fall is my all time favorite season.  Sure I love all the seasons, but fall has something special in the air that I get excited about.  Growing up, I used to go to Apple Hill with my Mom as soon as the air turned crisp.  We would drive up there for the day and check out all the cool crafts, eat apple pie, drink apple cider and enjoy all that it had to offer.  Without a doubt, we would head home with two large boxes of sweet and crisp apples every time.  My Mom would then make apple pies, apple sauce, apple pancakes, and just eat them plain until we were sick of apples.  Such a great memory for me. 

Since Apple Hill is sadly over 10 hours away from Santa Barbara, it was not an option to go this year.  So, we went to Seeing Spots Farm in Santa Ynez instead.  The best part about this farm is the animals!  They are known for their miniature donkeys, which are ADORABLE.  They are like big dogs that lean into you and love to be pet.  Besides the donkeys there were turkeys, chickens, a tortoise, and a friendly goat named Buddy who is quite the menace and always hungry, but he is well loved.There is even a zonkey (part zebra and part donkey). 

This little cutie is only 9 days old!  She wasn't even named yet.  She was so soft and loved all the cuddles she got from the kids.  What a treat to get to meet her. Emily was about the same size as this donkey : )

 The kids even got to ride a donkey named Max. 

 After all the animal fun, it was time to do what we came there for....pick apples!  It was no Apple Hill I'll tell ya.  They had very few trees and it was the end of the season with slim pickings.  The kids had fun anyway and enjoyed the apples they could find. 

 Not satisfied with my apple mission, we stopped at Apple Lane Farm in Solvang to pick apples from a huge orchard.  Again, it was the end of the season and there wasn't a ton to choose from, but it was the experience.  Owen liked spotting them and putting them ALL in his bag : ).  We had a fun afternoon.

 After naps in the car on our way  home, it was time to dig out Halloween costumes for the next day!

Adam dressed up for work that night as Speedy Gonzales : )

Lane Farms Pumpkin Patch

Every year, since Owen was a baby, we go to Lane Farms for their awesome pumpkin patch in October.   I LOVE pumpkin patches.  I have a lot of fun memories of going to them as a kid.  In Vacaville, where I grew up, we would go to the Nut Tree's pumpkin patch every October.  There was a scarecrow contest that tons of people particiapted it every year.  People got really creative and it was fun to see which one's won.  I would scour the patch for what seemed like hours, to find the most perfect pumpkin to carve when I got home.  We usually finished our day with the Nut Tree's famous pumkin ice cream, which was the BEST pumkin ice cream on the planet! 

Now it's our turn to create fun fall memories for our kids, and Lane Farms is a great place to start.  I am hoping we can make it to one or two more patches before Halloween!  I love Avila Farms as well!

 Here is the best (well, funniest at least) picture I could get of Nana and the kids.  Owen was trying to crush Emily, and she was complaining about it and Nana looked like she was about to kiss the scarecrow...It was not a day for siting and posing for pictures.  I hardly got any good ones of Owen since he is so fast now and was all over the place running around.   But Emily is still a little slower, so I could get some cute shots of her : )

 Here's an oldie of us 2 years ago at the farm.

Owen at 2 years old at Lane Farms

Adam is quite the juggler with baby pumpkins!

Team Work. Owen pulls, Emily pushes : )

 Here's Owen at 2 yrs. driving the tractor.

Owen and his co pilot driving the tractor.

Emily got to pet the sweet donkey : )

Owen Turns FOUR!

The first thing out of Owen's mouth these days is "I am four!" He is very proud of this fact. He has been talking about his "Four Birthday" since the day after he turned three! He can't wait to grow up, sniff sniff.... He had quite the birthday celebration this year. I think tonight was his last little party (he had three!) The first was just family at home on his actual birthday, Sept. 21st. We hung out at home, opened presents, had home made cake and a nice family dinner.

He broke his last piggy bank, so he got a new one and got to put in a crisp $5 bill from Granny Anna's card!

His big present this year was two wheel bike! Adam couldn't get the training wheels to fit the night before, so he got to ride it without. He did OK on it, except it was a little too big for him still. So, instead of taking the bike away (which will fit him one day) to exchange it, we got on Craigslist and got a 16 inch bike with training wheels that fit him perfectly the same day! Now he tells everyone that he got "two bikes" for his birthday. Sounds so spoiled!

A few days after his birthday was his party with his friends at the beach. Sadly it was a cold and windy day, but we made the best of it and I think he had fun. We made the party a sea theme. Nana made the sugar cookies and we both did the decorating of them late the night before. We had octopus, starfish, seals, seahorses, fish and turtles. They turned out so cute!

After lunch, we headed to the beach for some games.

Duck duck goose.

Three legged race with the Dads. I think Andrew and Keira won!

Emily has finally come out of her shell and is giving Andrew a high 5!

Nana made the yummy sand castle cake which turned out darling!

We are so proud of you Owen! You have grown into such a sweet, funny, charming little boy who makes our family so happy. We love you so much big boy!!