apple picking

Steve is away on an extended business trip - eight days, from Wednesday to Thursday. It's the longest we've been apart since before we had children, and the longest either of us has been away from the family. We miss him. Liesl keeps running into the apartment and saying, "Daddy?" And Seb keeps asking how many more days he'll be gone.

But we spent today out and about, regardless. I went to frisbee this morning and managed to play while Seb and Liesl entertained each other on the playground and in the sandbox. I bribed them with promises of fresh bagels and butter if they'd just let me play until the end, and that worked remarkably well.  And there are some older kids (9 year olds) who also come with their parents and can be trusted to keep an eye on small fry.

We came home and got packed up, and then headed north to our favorite orchard, Wilkens Farm. We rode the tractor wagon to the orchard, picked lots and lots of apples, taste-tested five or six, climbed up various hills (of wood chips and hay bales), and ate cider donuts. Many of Liesl's old friends from Happy Harbor had decided to meet up for a reunion apple picking excursion, and it was fun to see them all again.

Pictures from the apple orchard below and in our September album.

After lunch and long naps (we hit the trifecta from 1-2:30! woo-hoo!), we biked over to Dobbs Ferry for the annual Festa. The kids raced twice through a ladder/slide/tunnel contraption, got two turns inside a bouncy castle, and slid down a giant slide together three times.  There was live (loud) music and we got some roast pork and corn from one of the vendors. And some cupcake pops, which Liesl adored. We then hopped onto the train to come back home, in time for baths, stories, and sleep.