Rainy Day at Apple Hill

For those of you unfamiliar with the Apple Hill area, it is located in Coloma, CA, up Highway 50 on the way to Lake Tahoe. Lucky for my family, it is only a short 15-20 minute drive from my Mom's house. It's usually a family tradition with the girls to take all of the little kids up on Columbus Day to avoid crowds and enjoy each others company. This year because of scheduling issues we decided to go in between General Conference sessions, which meant bringing the dads along. Despite the rain, we had a good time...although the men decided they didn't want to be included in next years outing. I guess they didn't understand the importance of getting the pictures in the pumpkin patch and having to go to 4 different farms for the best of everything...
Our first stop was Plubell's Family Orchard. Usually they have TONS of animals, and is where we have the infamous picture from last year of Logan kissing a cow. My sister heard a rumor that the family is trying to sell the farm, so overall the farm wasn't up to par. We were a little bummed, but it didn't also help that it was muddy and down pouring while we were there.
Stop #2 was Honey Bear Ranch. This is the normal lunch stop. We packed lunches for the kids, while the adults were spoiled with Chicken Strussle or Pulled Pork Sandwiches (the have a pig roasting outside), Waldorf Salad, and fresh Apple Pie. mmmmmm Makes me hungry thinking about it. After lunch it finally stopped raining (for a while) and we were able to enjoy a beautiful fall day in Apple Hill. Logan loved seeing the fish in the pond and playing with his cousins.
Aubrey "talked" Logan into picking one of these beautiful flowers.Anissa (my SIL), brother Noah, sister Rebecca, Mom, very pregnant me, and Art (my BIL)
Grandma Smith & all of her Grandkids: Ashlyn (7), Davis (6, almost 7), Kylee (9), Logan (2), Preston (3), Tristan (11 1/2), Aubrey (1 1/2), and Autumn (4).
Logan in the pumpkin patch....he was so cute! He also LOVES pumpkins.While walking around Tristan stepped on a frog. Art picked it up to make sure it was ok, and the kids were fascinated with it!
Chasing the frog after it decided to run away...Stop #3: High Hill Ranch. Home of the BEST apple donuts (chunks of apples inside), fritters, etc. Logan was dead tired, so I just ran in to get the donuts, but there is a lot of fun stuff to walk around and see at High Hill. It's usually one of the most crowded.

We usually end the day buying apples at Larsen's...but they are closed on Saturdays (they are 7th Day Adventist, so Saturday is their Sabbath). They have a great selection and the best prices.