Apple Hill

On Tuesday we went to Apple Hill to spend the day, and find the perfect Christmas tree. Tony's family used to do it when he was little, and although I didn't think driving 2.5 hours to get a tree was my idea of fun, I was wrong! We left around 9:30 - stopped at the Starbuck's and Noah's Bagels and were on the road by 10:00. We got to Apple Hill a little after noon, and drove around for a while until we saw "High Hills Ranch" We walked all over the grounds, sampled fudge, got fun crafts, and I even got some home-pressed apple champagne bubble bath. We had lunch at their apple cafe, fed the ducks and then went on. We stopped at Boa Vista Orchard and bought a ton of different apple things - apple cider, apple juice, apple wine, apple butter, applesauce (in two varieties), apple pancake mix, and three different types of apples - I think we got a couple of other things, but they're escaping me right now.

By then it was about 3:30, and although Leila was still in a great mood, she hadn't taken a nap and we thought we should get moving....BUT we still hadn't gotten a tree. We ended up going to a place where the trees were already cut (Tony had big plans for chopping down our own tree) and found the perfect one pretty quickly. Leila made friends with a nice old man who used to play Santa on the weekends, while Tony loaded up the tree.

We got in the car around 4:00 and Leila passed out within minutes. We stopped in Tracy for dinner at the Olive Garden, and finally made it home around 7:30. It was a long, but fabulous day and I can't wait to do it again next year!

When Leila got out of her stroller, Ramon got in:

Leila loved her grilled cheese dipped in ketchup (yuck!)

After running around the grounds Leila's legs got tired so she hitched a ride on Daddy:

...and then we found an old tractor to play on:
Finally, Leila picked the perfect tree:
My loves:
All loaded up and ready to go: