APPLE FARM!

Sunday September 28th, 2008

Today was a VERY special day for the Juntunen kids (and not too shabby of a day for the adults either!). While at the lake one day a month or so back, we happened to drive by an Apple Orchard on Lake Ida...Parker read the sign and was SO EXCITED, "Mom! They have NINE VARIETIES of apples, can you BELIEVE it!?!?" I don't know much about apples so we stopped in at the little store, but alas, they were closed (it wasn't apple-pickin' time yet!).

Since Parker never forgets anything (uff-da!) and I had PROMISED to go back when the apples were ready, one lazy Saturday he harrassed me so much we looked to see if the orchard had a website...and they DID!

I promptly made a call and scheduled an appointment - you have to do that you see, if you'd like the experience of picking your OWN apples in the orchard. AND! They also offered a nugget of another sweetness...you could grind and press your own apple cider! That sealed the deal! We had an appt for the next Sunday afternoon. Next on the list was to call Grandma Pam and Great Grandma Pat and invite them as well (have I told any stories about GMa Pat's FAMOUS apple pie!?!?).

These are only a FEW of the 78 pictures I took that day. We went to Turtle Lake early to have lunch with Gma Pat and Gpa Al, Gma Pam and Gpa Emmett...then OFF we went (just the kids, the ladies...and Chad...o.k., I MADE him come...Family Time is important ya know!). The kids actually got to grind and press the apples for the cider, we got to take home a 1.5 gallon and it was the most DELICIOUS stuff!! And PURE, nothing added - like nothing I've ever tasted from a store...trust me, it was G-O-O-D! Then we ran through the orchard picking our own apples. I got each of the kids a bag, not knowing that they could fit between 20-25 apples in EACH one!

The press...it was pretty neat...

The grinder...also very cool!

The kiddos pickin' "Sweet 16" variety, it was one of 3 varieties that were ready for pickin' that day. They are super sweet and super juicy and the perfect small size for little hands!
Yeah, pretty sure I wasn't supposed to be messing around with the trees; HOWEVER...you know me, couldn't pass it up!!

The FAMWhat a PERFECT day! After we got back to Gma Pat's lake cabin, she had a suprise for Parker. She had the crusts all ready to teach him how to make apple pie!! His FAVORITE! He was STOKED!