The Denton Den: Fall in the beautiful NW!

PUMPKIN PATCH & APPLE ORCHARD

(this is unedited due to no time....read at your own risk)

This past weekend was full of fall fun for the Denton Family! Saturday afternoon we set off to the Green Bluff area. It's just NE of Spokane located near Mt Spokane. It was a dreary day with lots of rain and a few sun breaks. This was not the most ideal day to go picking apples and pumpkins, but our calendar is pretty packed, so we thought we'd bundle up and make the most of it. Taylor talked about picking apples the entire way. Apparently Curious George made him an expert during just one 30 minute cartoon. He said, "you just twist and pull, twist and pull". Well, Green Bluff is full of close to 40 farms that all are open to the public. It is an amazing place! We decided to go to a pumpkin patch first and the kids had a great time selecting the most perfect pumpkins. Taylor went on a little train ride, but Makenna opted out of it (a little too intimidating to her). Taylor also was able to go in a corn maze with Travis. It was a spectacular maze that has lots of pretend animals in it, a graveyard, castle and you end up on a pirate ship! You have to slide off the ship at the end of the maze. They had a good time, but also took a LOOOOOOng time, so we missed the "u-pick" apple orchards and settled on selecting apples from a bin. We tried to tell Taylor that he was picking the apples, just out of a bin instead of off the tree. Well, as expected, he was a bit bummed. He actually handled it quite well, but I had a bad mommy feeling in my tummy. Oh, and by the way, it didn't rain the entire time we were there. Turned out to be a perfect day since the crowds were scared off by the morning rain.

The next morning Travis had to go to work to get started on a grant. He was flagged down by a co-worker on his way there. It turns out the co-worker lives 1/4 mile from us and was having an apple cider party. He invited us and of course we said yes! So, we once again packed up the kids and this time walked to the fun! To our surprise this guy lives in a little hidden paradise with an apple orchard in his backyard! So, long story, long...Taylor got to pick apples!!!! We had so much fun! We picked apples and helped make cider! Makenna picked two apples and then sat in the wagon and ate them, so I'm not too sure if she was of any help. Taylor picked lots of apples and so did Travis and I. We were so pumped about apples that we came home and made apple sauce with the apples from the apples we "picked" from the bins the day before. The kids enjoyed taking turns using the apple peeler, corer, slicer. We patiently watched them cook in the crock pot and blended them up with a tad of cinnamon. That's it! Super easy and delicious! The kids ate it right out of the bowl while it was warm and then finished it off for breakfast. Looks like we'll be making more this evening!

We had a fantastic fall weekend together as a family! Next project....carving pumpkins and Halloween, so stay tuned for more fall fun from the Denton Den!

Here are some pictures of the fun!

Hmmmm. Did we get the best pumpkins?

This is the one! Makenna finally picked the perfect pumpkin and she looks kinda proud of her choice.

Looking cute in front of some corn.

Look we climbed to the top of the hay!

Taylor's top pick! Not bad (round and a stem).

Taylor pushing the cart with his pumpkin in it.

Makenna is double fisted (with apples)

Daddy picking a bunch of apples. He was on a mission to pick a bunch of apples, make the cider and still get home to see the end of the Nascar race (mission accomplished).