The Leaves They Are A Changin'

It has been a beautiful fall in Kentucky. All the rain over the summer and some rain over the past months has led to a bright array of colors all over Lexington. But as you well know, we are not the types to just sit around and look at the pretty colors. We tend to be on the go. And it all starts with our enjoyment of orchards.


We begin at Evans Orchard, where Callie had a play date with one of her favorite friends Iain. It is really cool to think that they have literally grown up side by side. And it gets better every day. Callie looks forward to seeing him, she says his name as we get close to their house, and always has to give him a hug/squeeze. It's still unclear if Iain appreciates the squeezing part, but he'll learn soon enough.


The play date entailed quite a few activities. First we picked some apples and then we took a rest while enjoying apple slushies and apple fritters.(It was probably more sugar in one sitting than Callie has had in the past three months combined) Then we moved on to picking pumpkins.




Callie and Iain loved the wagon ride to the field full of pumpkins. But the ride was even better once they had a few pumpkins in the wagon with them.


Because you can never have too many pumpkins, the search continued. Callie generously tried to give this small pumpkin to Iain. Unfortunately she dropped it at his feet before he even had a chance to grab it. They just have to work on their timing and their passing game. It will come with practice, and because we live down the street from Coach Calipari we figure he can give Callie some pointers once the basketball season is over and he has some time on his hands.


So did we mention that Callie likes pumpkins? She really enjoyed just climbing all over the piles of pumpkins the folks at Evans Orchard had on display.



This was also a lot of fun because it marked the first time Callie was willing to turn around and say cheese for her paparazzi mama. You would think that she would have learned this lesson a long time ago. But better late than never.


Iain also had a good time climbing on the pumpkins. His mother also happens to have a love affair with the camera, so he is used to the constant flashes and the snapping sounds of the camera in action. But it was also starting to get a bit late, and we all realized the time may have come to wrap things up at the Orchard.





But there was time for one last photo of the group involved in the excursion. All in all it was a fabulous day. It's a bit sad to think that the season for orchards is now behind us. And it will be another seven months or so before we get to go to Reed Valley Orchard to pick some fresh blueberries.





Of course October ends with a very special day. It's a day where parents of young children get to dress up their little tykes in the cutest outfits they can find. Then they use those cute kids to collect tons of Halloween candy that they will not be allowed to eat. This should be the perfect formula for the parents to obtain a variety of tasty treats for the next month. Therefore, we present to you this year's cute little tyke - Callie doggie. That, in fact, is how she referred to herself while wearing this outfit.




Unfortunately, the formula for candy collection was not bulletproof. Although we enjoyed a couple of festivities where Callie got to dress up, the night of our big score (Halloween), Callie got a slight fever and we felt guilty using her as a pawn. So we stayed in and now will never know if Coach Calipari and his family were giving away good stuff or just apples. Hopefully next year the plan will come together. The only problem is she might be old enough to catch on to our scheme.


We have often talked about how much we love our neighbors the Chrismans. One of the many reasons for this is the opportunity for impromptu activities right across the driveway. In this picture we see Callie learning how to make creme brulee with Sharon. This is obviously something she would not have learned from her mother or father, so it's good that she has other people to turn to for such domestic guidance. However we must point out that Sharon's creme brulee contains Amaretto, which explains the bottle in the foreground of the picture.



Another great thing about Sharon is that she not only teaches Callie how to make fancy desserts, but also believes it is equally important to teach Callie to clean up the mess that has been made in the process. And of course, Callie is far more willing to take such instructions from Sharon than from her parents.





But Callie doesn't only like to help Sharon. She also has a soft spot for Chris and was very excited to help rake leaves in their backyard. This is only fitting since Chris and Sharon gave her a small rake and broom for her birthday. Based on the amount of raking that needs to be done in our yard this time of year, we can't wait until both Callie and her rake are bigger so that she can pull her weight around here.



It's hard to believe it is November and we have already dealt with one major fall holiday. Next up is Thanksgiving in California, and you can be sure there will be plenty of pictures to share from that trip. Then before you know it Christmas will be here and we will all be in Connecticut. But we won't just be celebrating Christmas with the Bowes family. We will also be raising our glasses to toast the recent engagement of Suzy and Brian! So many things to look forward to...