Apple picking

We had wanted to head north for sometime to do some apple picking but with Zane having Tball games every Saturday afternoon, we had not been able to fit it in. With the season drawing to a close in a couple weeks, we decided we would head up after church on Sunday. However, we ended up heading out yesterday morning since the twins had runny noses and a bit of a cough.

Our first stop was Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge, GA about 20-30 minutes north of Ellijay where we went last year. We paid for our bag then hopped on the hayride(it was more of a tractor/trailer shuttle) to the apple picking area. The boys had a great time picking the apples.  Jude particularly enjoyed picking them up off of the ground. They were all very excited when we let them eat the apples.

 Cole

Jude

 
Once our bag was full we got in line to get back on the hayride to head down the hill. Thankfully a nice lady agreed to take a picture of us together.

Soon it was our turn to hop back on the hayride and head back down the hill. Another lady took a couple of pics and this one we thought seemed pretty typical.

 Poor Zane was having a hard time because we think he got stung by one of the many yellow jackets that were feasting off the fallen apples. Luke had to knock an apple right out of Jude's hand so he wouldn't chomp down on one that had landed on his apple. But not to worry, Jude ended up eating from at least 4 apples- he thoroughly enjoyed the apple picking experience.

Once we were off the tractor shuttle, we bought some kettle corn (the boys love popcorn) and I took the twins to the car while Luke and Zane stayed and picked out some pumpkins. Since the twins were happy eating popcorn and playing peek-a-boo in the stroller,

 

 I was able to take a few pictures of the beautiful fall surroundings...

 

 love all the beautiful fall colors

Next, we drove around Blue Ridge, GA checking out the downtown area and the nearby lake/dam.

We weren't quite ready to head back home so we decided to head a little further north and ended up in Blairsville where we stopped at Rib Country to get a late lunch to go. We found a nearby park where we ate our picnic lunch at a table overlooking the park.

The weather was so nice and we enjoyed our time outside. After we ate and let the boys expend a little energy, we loaded up and headed home.

 Jude entertained himself with a wipe and playing with rocks

 Cole had fun with Luke

 Zane loved posing behind the tree

We were so proud of the boys who did really well all things considered. They enjoyed watching a movie all the way home. We were thankful it turned out to be a relaxing outing and a great way to end the weekend.