Pumpkin Patch

J's first trip to the Pumpkin Patch was a success.  We went to a farm about thirty minutes away where they take pumpkin patch to a whole new level.  There were hay rides, straw mazes, funnel cake (good call), and pumpkins.  Lots and lots of pumpkins.  And J was the cutest pumpkin of all!

J really wanted to get his hands on this goat.

 

That's his best pumpkin face.

I'm pretty sure some of the ice cream found it's way into his neck rolls.

Annual Julian Trip

This year, Ani and Tess joined us for our annual Julian trip.  We ate a lot of pie, bought a lot of pie, and saw a lot of pie.  Here is what we made it home with; strawberry rhubarb pie, apple cider, bag of apples, chocolate covered honeycomb and chocolate cinnamon bears.

The only disappointment was that we couldn't find the amazing apples we bought last year.  Last year a guy was selling apples at the gas station.  He had bushels of different apples that he cut, with a dirty knife and dirty fingers, and let you try each one.  We found a type of apple that was the best thing we've ever eaten.  Well this year, that guy was nowhere to be found.  According to other apple farmers, he was a thief that was stealing everyone else's apples and selling them.  Where is the thief when you need him?

The Big Apple

Cousins

Aunt Ani

Waiting for Pie!

Our Big Bear Adventure

We just got home last night from our first official family vacation in Big Bear.  It was such a great week of hiking, relaxing and even getting the chance to enjoy some snow.  As we loaded the car up yesterday and started to drive away from our little cabin, I got really sad thinking it was over.  But we have decided to make it a family tradition to do a Big Bear trip every fall.

We loved this little cabin, it was the perfect size for our family.  It even had a fenced in backyard so the dog could run around.  We've turned our city dog into a mountain dog.

We went hiking three out of the four days we were there.  This backpack came in handy and J loved riding in it as we hiked.  He even nodded off a couple of times.  This boy loves the outdoors!

The last day we hiked "Castle Rock" which turned out to be pretty interesting.  On the way there we couldn't find the trail so we ended up just hiking straight up the mountain, climbing over rocks and even trees that had fallen during the storm.  Luckily we found the trail on our way back down.

One of the best things we did was a 3.5 mile walk around part of the lake.  However, it was FREEZING!  We made sure to keep our little bundle bundled.

It's amazing how much gear one child requires!

This was a common scene around the cabin. J, without his pants on.

We spent all day Wednesday hanging out in the cabin because of the crazy amount of rain.  All I can say is cabin fever is real and it is scary.

We had so much fun at the Big Bear Zoo.  It is the smallest zoo I've ever seen but it was very charming.  Scott knew he was in trouble when I asked if they had annual passes.  

We spent a lot of time in the village armed with hot chocolate which we bought everyday.  Nothing like a cup of hot chocolate and a street full of Christmas and candy stores.  Pretty much a dream...or a nightmare, depending on who you ask!

Scott purchased this felt hat and I'm still trying to figure out why.  He keeps threatening me that he is going to wear it out in public which I will not allow.  He justified the purchase by saying I could borrow it and wear it to the Del Mar horse races.  Thanks, but no thanks.

The first of many times that J will be embarrassed by his parents.