trying to embrace the traditions

There are certain things that we are outgrowing in this household. We have a very well stocked craft room, for example, that no longer sees as much love. Gone are the days of junk journals, scrapbooks, coloring, sewing, and all things girly. It's okay, for now. Aging brings progressing and my little teenager has progressed into a lovely child who crafts less and wants to hang out more.

Gone also are a lot of the cutesy holiday traditions. We have not colored Easter eggs, painted them, or decorated them in at least 2 years. We still have egg hunts, but it's the decorative plastic eggs or the ones filled with fun directly from her Easter basket. That's okay, too. That one always confused me. How did we get from the true meaning of Easter to a bunny to egg hiding? 

No longer do elves hide on shelves for us, either. We do get him out from time to time and hide him from each other. She now enjoys hiding our elf before smaller children come over, so they can laugh at whatever shenanigans our elf is up to. Passing on the joy is part of the fun. We enjoy that part now. 

On to Halloween. Our little town hosts a Main Street trick-or-treat complete with a party and we outgrew that about 2 years ago. Now she trick-or-treats with friends and I pick her up with just enough time to spare to watch her trick-or-treat at 2 amazingly decorated houses on our street before it ends. This one hit me in all the feels. For 3 years now she has gone to a friend's and years 1 and 2, mom and dad trailed behind at a safe distance. Last year they walked the neighborhood alone. 

Halloween has never been my favorite. I appreciate the costumes and decor, but ehhh. Not my thing. I enjoy creating my daughter's costumes and for a while, she would let me go as her matching pair. That was the best. We were Ariel and Irsula. We were Gamora and Groot. We were Alice and the white Rabbit. We were Wonder Woman and Super Woman.

Now that is gone, too. So no matching costumes, trick-or-treats, and no party. Even the pumpkins got the shaft! Last year's pumpkin sat on the porch until it rotted because it was supposed to get painted and never was. Same with the year before. It has been almost 3 years since she willingly carved a pumpkin.

Insert: younger cousins! They wanted pumpkins, they went and got them. She actually enjoyed carving this pumpkin until it came to the goo part in the middle. She says EW to the goo. But she created a design and carved it all by herself. So not all is lost in the land of wonderment and childhood. I have hope yet 😀

it's apple orchard time this week!

There are certain things that happen in the midwest that remain pretty unclear to the rest of the world: shirtless men at football games in December, mini skirts with snow boots (NOT MY look-I will never understand this), cheese hats, all the cheese-beer combinations your heart can desire... You know. THOSE things. And finally, one of the greatest of them all... Apple orchard season!!! This Friday starts the season. Yep, it's going to be high 80's this weekend, but I guarantee there will be lines at the orchards.

Now it appears as though Oreo has jumped on the midwest bandwagon. I won't tell you what to do, but really?!? Nope. No. Nuh uh. Not in my house. Drive your booty to one of the numerous orchards, pop up orchards, or wineries that also sell baked goods and get the durn donuts! No judgement. They're part of a balanced breakfast, snack, dessert, or quick bite as you run out the door. Once upon a time, my friend had her husband stop at an orchard when they lived out of state and fly home with said donuts. It's that real. 

Our personal favorites are from Curran's Orchard because they also boast their award winning apple cider slushies. Unfortunately, we are gone this weekend, but there will be donuts in our future really, really soon. Nothing else compares! It doesn't matter if you're sweating it out at the orchard or sitting in front of a crackling fire with a fuzzy blanket, apple cider donuts go with all occasions. And please, if you try the Oreos, let me know!

apple orchard fun

The apple orchards are open, so it is game on for unlimited donuts, fun snacks, and general leisure time! At one point, Curran's apple orchard had award winning apple cider slushies. They still taste amazing! We were disappointed the bee hive at Curran's was gone, but they added more cuteness, so we were okay with no bees. Even getting away for a quick hour to have a snack and some fun is a long enough outing to make it enjoyable. I mean, these places are down the road from us, so why not?!

In addition to mini mazes, wood cutouts for photos, animals to feed and apple launching, they brought back the bags sets to play and they now have huge tic tac toe tables. The dogs still roam free and face painting is a must. Check out the loft upstairs for kitschy coffee mugs and other assorted gift ideas with funny sayings.

Of course, after we got a snack and played we decided to hit up Edward's West. We were still able to see animals and play, get lots of photos and more donuts. And, just like Curran's, you only need a mask inside. We got the picture in front of the big signs and the size charts, which are a yearly must. We will be back soon. In the midwest, any day at the orchard is a good one. Even though it's not brisk yet, it's something about the donuts and cider slushies that keeps us happy!