Apple Orchard

On Sunday we gathered the troops and headed to the Minnetonka Apple Orchard. The place opens at 10 am, and at 9:58 we were two* of dozens of SUVs unloading their kids and gear in the parking lot. After one enters the grounds, the traditional first step is to get in line for the tractor/wagon ride to the big field. However, it only took a few words of explanation to Joe of what was to occur before his little bottom lip went aquiver and some tears welled up in his eyes. So we quickly offered the choice to walk instead, which he was quick to choose. Meanwhile, Clara was bundled on Julie's back in the carrier, partly because it was too far for her to walk but also because she was clearly coming down with a cold or ear infection, so we wanted to conserve her energy.

After our short walk, we arrived at the big field where there was a hay pile, corn maze, play areas, and two small barns housing some chickens who run around outside the barns, llamas, sheep, and goats. Much fun was had looking at the animals - Clara pressed her face against the fence, and then Joe tried climbing the fence which only made Clara want to climb the fence so Julie had to eventually help her stand on the fence too. After the animals the kids got after the hay pile, tossing the hay around and generally just wrestling around in it. We had a short time to play on the train playground and then walked back for a donut and cup of cold cider before we headed home for lunch. It was a short but action packed outing and a beautiful day to be at the orchard!

* It required 2 cars to ferry our family of four plus Kate and Nick.