apple hill with my everly mae

with school starting earlier and earlier, I find myself back in the classroom right around august first.  which means, by the first weekend in october, I am beyond ready for a long weekend.  everly and I took advantage of our friday off by heading up the hill to apple hill.  she hadn't been since she was two and we had taken our family portraits with sarah!  the reason - this place is INSANE on the weekends, and I am not about any of that.  we started our day early and beat most of the crowds.  yes, there were people everywhere, but we also found parking and never had any traffic, it was a win for sure.

we started off our day by immediately getting apple donuts at high hill ranch.

and the second was face paint.  she always gets so excited when I let her get her face painted because I only let her once at disneyland, because disneyland prices are insane!  however, it seems to make her really LOVE me when I say yes anywhere else ;)  her 'face painting' face is always the same -  she's always the best customer

and this was the weekend when this tooth just wouldn't come out, so, this was the smile she was rocking for about two weeks.  it came out exactly one week after this photo!

and of course a giant suspended apple makes for the perfect photo opportunity

we also visited abel's apple acres and ended our time at the larsen apple barn where we finally picked up a giant box of yummy apples to get us through fall!

and even though I had the best intentions of getting some pumpkins while at an apple hill location, we ended up stocking up with an entire cart of pumpkins at the save mart just a few minutes south of apple hill.  their prices were insanely good, and they had all the good ones!

here's our mini-film of our day:

make sure to listen to the little bits of everly talking, she is most likely going to follow in my footsteps with her love of videography.  I always wish I could add more audio in our films, but there are always SO many crazy conversations happening around us in the real world, laying a nice song over the audio just makes sense...

 

Apple hill from Lyndsay Lewis on Vimeo.

shot on our gopro hero7 black 
edited on my ipad, because I was lazy and wanted to lay on my sofa while doing it
music: Coraline Soundtrack - Exploration [it is one of our favorites, and it just feels like fall magic to me]

ten on ten [10.10.16]

I can't help but participate in my favorite months of this project
the holiday months

I haven't been as loyal as I was in years past

but I love getting to pick up my camera

and catch a little extra beauty in the day

and when it comes to sharing my halloween decor

well, I just can't get enough of that

so, here's my set, and yes, I am that obsessed with my dahlias

because, wow, I'm growing dahlias

and two, they are flourishing, and I'm proud

happy tenth everyone!

here's a look at last year's set

and even the year before here

Rickey Ranch [a trip to the pumpkin farm - local lovin']

This week finally cooled down to temperatures that can pass as fall.  I've checked out a few pumpkin patches since becoming a teacher and mom, but never found "the one".  This year we were told about Rickey Ranch in Granite Bay, and it was a perfect fit for us.  We went on a late weekday afternoon, and there were just a few other families there.  Everly had the entire pumpkin field to explore to herself.  At first I was thinking there weren't many pumpkins out to choose from as we drove up, but the selection was more than what we needed.  The variety of pumpkins was great, so many different colors, shapes, and sizes to select from, we took a good ten minutes to pick the perfect ones to come home, for the record, we got five. 

Everything from goats, bunnies, and horses kept Everly jumping with glee and pointing in various directions with a smile on her face.  She even "accidentally" pet a goat or two.  Once she realized that petting a goat wasn't much different than petting her Luna cat, she was actively seeking others to pet. The people at Rickey Ranch are delightful; the kind of people that welcome you in like family, and make you realize how the people that drive our agriculture in our state really show the true heart of Californians.  Everly even got her own private lesson on some fresh chicken eggs. 

 ^oh my faces^

 ^proof she's sure she can do anything^

 ^her reaction to the horses, priceless^

 ^so many photo spots^

 ^we toted this wagon around for a good while^

Really, it was such a simple and amazing afternoon.  They also offered a tractor ride and haunted house, and it seemed like Pony Rides on the weekends, but we took the "explorer" option and had fun that way.  My little one just couldn't get enough of it; I might need to schedule another visit this season for my fall baby who is almost two!

Details:

Rickey Ranch
6950 Cavitt Stallman Road
Granite Bay, CA 95746
916-899-3162
*Free entrance
*prices vary for attractions