This Is It

Yes Christmas is coming, but let's not forget about fall.  Wouldn't be winter if we didn't have fall first.  

Wouldn't have all these photos for our Christmas Cards if we didn't take pictures in the fall.

Yes, the most wonderful day of the year!  We're talking about the trip to the apple orchard of course.

That morning was the first fire of the year.

After some warming up

We got right to it.  Juliet, she quite literally glowed with excitement during the hay ride.

While Lydia basked in the glow of autumn, of a day at the orchard.

This wasn't any just apple orchard, oh no.  Not just any farm.  We drove over an hour to get here, to Anderson Farms.  My hope was the long drive would take us past the commercialization (remember the bungee jumping farm?).  We're done with that.  The girls are getting older, this needs to be real.  We wanted to really get waaay out there in the country for a apple picking hoe down with some of the originals.  The girls are old pros you know, 

we don't mess around with the apple pickin.

You've heard of Christmas miracles, well this was a Fall miracle.  A much rarer miracle I'd dare to say.  The place was, 

miraculous.

It was just an apple orchard, I know, but a guy gets older, jaded.  So it can be important to get outside it all 

and cast the light of a gorgeous fall day directly onto our girls to see and enjoy them clearly.

Silly, perfect girls.

Get them in that light.

and enjoy it with them.

Something happened while we were out there.  Something that has never happened before.  

For the first time ever, Evelyn took the camera and shot the photos.  The first picture of us in, oh four years?

Evelyn was owning it and the girls were hamming it

Made for some interesting angles

and perspectives

It was just an apple orchard, but the girls are more beautiful and more amazing than ever.  They've been like that for a while now.  When our October schedules grind Heidi and me, it's so good to slow it down and just hang out, 

have an apple.

or two

as many as you want.

It was just one day of the year

at the apple orchard

and these are just three girls.

But it was good to take that one day, declare it a miraculous day, and enjoy the heck out of it.  

The light was perfect, and those apples were delicious.

All the days happen only once a year.  And in the spirit of Christmas we hope you all enjoy the build up, the errands, the decorating, the shopping, the whatever you may do just once every year.  Have fun and enjoy the heck out of the whole season.  We'll be trying, we'll be enjoying.  We'll see you soon.