Tehachapi orchard fun

On Saturday, we drove up to the orchards of Tehachapi, about 100 miles away, for a family day of apple picking. We last made the trip two years ago, when I was pregnant with Violet.

Cora, veteran fruit-picker that she has become, was looking forward to the trip for days. Her pronunciation of "Tehachapi" was especially cute.

Violet also enjoyed picking the apples, a word she can say very well. She excelled at picking up the apples from the ground beneath the trees, however, so we had to give a close look at all the apples in our pint bag.
Tehachapi is a beautiful place, very serene and peaceful, with rolling hills surrounding the orchards.

Apple inspection time. Stace threw out ones with bad bruises and worm holes, while Cora knocked and listened for that special sound. Or something like that.

We sure love these girls. They mean the world to us!

Just look at that sweet face!

Determination.

Violet really wanted to carry the bag by herself, all 11 pounds of it. There was a bit of fussing when we needed to help her with it.

At a neighboring orchard, we bought some apple juice, and since it was such a special occasion, we let Violet have a try. It was her first time having juice, and she loved it.

After our long drive home and a quick dinner, Cora wanted to make the apple teeth shown in an issue of her Highlights "High Five" magazine. You cut thin apple slices, spread them with cream cheese and place mini marshmallow teeth in between. Charming, huh?
At the Apple Shed restaurant, we bought an apple pie to take home. It was as yummy as we could have hoped, especially with some freshly whipped cream.

All in all, a very fun family day out! I love my family and we are so thankful for days like Saturday, when we can enjoy each other, being together, learning and having fun.