Columbus Day tradition!

Happy Columbus Day (yesterday)! Columbus day seems like one of those bonus holidays—a day off of school, without the other stressful holiday obligations. However days off of school for a mother of five, are stress inducing in and of themselves, as I wrack my brain trying to figure out what I can do to keep everyone entertained for the day! Over the years we've started to form a couple little holiday traditions for these smaller holidays, Columbus day being one of the lucky ones--family apple picking day!

The last few years we had headed to Charlottesville to spend the day with Aunt Heather, picking apples at a mountaintop orchard there in C-ville. However since Aunt H has moved back to the Crain homeland of Minnesota, we decided to find ourselves a closer orchard to our home. Homestead farms in Poolesville, Maryland--only 45 minutes away and still all the perks of an apple orchard, like free apple cider, farm animals to pet, a country market, and lots and lots of apples to pick!

We eat a lot of apples throughout the year, but there's something so divine about the crisp juicy apples of autumn time…especially right off the tree. I always think we've picked too many, but somehow we never end up throwing any away. This year our apple haul weighed in at 22 lbs, and that was significantly lower total for us compared to years past, which I will blame on the 95° heat and humidity that sapped our energy quickly (so much for pleasant autumn weather). So sad, because I had to go to Safeway to buy our Granny Smiths that I use for apple pies and other apple treats!

Clearly I can see now that our apple supply most likely will not even make it to the end of the week, as we're already down to half in just 24 hours! And just so you know that that would be just from us snacking on the apples, since I haven't even done anything fun with the Pink Ladies yet!

Only half of our pink lady apples left!

(Sadly, this is the only picture I have, as Glen still had the camera from his trip to Utah)