Center Grove Orchard

Orchard Pit Stop

mildlygranola, , 4 Comments

The kids and I drove up to visit my parents yesterday. It is a two-hour drive, so we usually stop at some point because my kids are small and two hours is a long drive for them.

Instead of stopping at a rest stop yesterday we made use of our season pass to Center Grove Orchard. The orchard is only 5 miles off the interstate on our drive back to my parents house. It is about a quarter of the way into our drive, which is perfect for car naps.20180924_1119272959868064732549028.jpg

We spent about a half hour exploring the farmyard. It was a great way to wear them out.

They learned how to milk a cow.20180924_1139266436608292976159587.jpgThey drove tractors.

They played in the corn pool.

Audrey even went down the dump truck slide with the big kids. 20180924_112939(0)8615374697558427391.jpg

After wearing them out we had lunch before hitting the road. I’m posting this picture so you can see how tired they were. 20180924_1205493940418993455185143.jpgDid they nap? Of course not. Did they complain when I didn’t let them listen to The Laurie Berkner Band for the entire ride? Of course. Do I care? Not really. We were able to play in the sunshine on a beautiful fall day. It’s OK if they skipped a nap yesterday (it is really easy for me to write that because they are both napping well today).

The Perfect Day

mildlygranola, , , , , 5 Comments

Greetings from the end of a wonderful day. The weather was perfect today, and we made the most of it.

We started our day at Center Grove Orchard, about 40 minutes from our house. Calling it an orchard doesn’t do this place justice. It’s full of entertaining options for little kids. We got season passes this year, so we will be there often.

We visited last year, but the kids were a little too young. This year Audrey is loving every part of the orchard. The jumping pillows were a hit with her.20180911_104239(0)1244462636535434436.jpgShe even braved the huge slide – all by herself!

We took a hayride to the train. Elliot was terrified of both rides. He has no issue with the train at the zoo, but this one was too much for him. Audrey liked it. She got to blow the whistle at the end, which she thought was very cool.

After the ride out with a terrified Elliot, I decided we would take the trail back to the farm-yard. It had a couple of hills that were steep for little legs, but it was worth it because we saw a turtle on our walk. After our walk we headed home for lunch and naps. We will be back again soon – we didn’t even play in the corn pit or feed the goats or ride the pedal tractors or visit the three little pigs houses. I think we’re really going to enjoy having season passes.

This afternoon we headed to our neighborhood farmers market for the last market of the season. I really wish the market would go later in the year, it’s still nice in September, and there is still plenty of produce to harvest. I picked up a tote bag (I have a tote bag addiction – they work so well as project bags) from the neighborhood association. I love being able to get a new tote bag and justify its purchase because I’m helping the neighborhood association.20180911_1924323089708464773164937.jpgWe had a picnic feast of all sorts of foods – a falafel wrap, a bean and cheese papusa, egg rolls and pad thai. We brought baklava home for John. The pad thai was awful, Elliot ate the eggs out and we threw the rest away.

I love it when we are able to spend most of the day outside. Warm, sunny weather and fresh air are good for my soul. So is not having to cook dinner. I hope your Tuesday was as joyful as mine.