After breakfast this morning, we went apple picking in a nearby orchard. It's becoming a fall tradition now that we've settled into New England. We picked a bag full of golden delicious apples to use for baking and another bag of gala apples to eat fresh. I think I've eaten more apples these past three months of my pregnancy than I have in my whole life until now! Norah always likes to sample the produce while we walk around the orchard. Below are some pictures from our trip to the same orchard last year. My parents were staying with us in '07, so Norah's Grandpa Evans came along last year and they walked around together. You can see a little of how Norah has changed in a year.



-Check out and read the book An Apple Tree Through the Year by Claudia Schnieper with your kids this time of year. Like the title suggests, this book follows an apple tree through an entire year. The text is simple and the detailed photos and diagrams show how the buds turn into flowers that then grow into apples, how growers will care for the trees through different seasons, how certain birds and insects use (or damage) the apples, etc. Includes several relevant vocabulary words for older children throughout the book and the definitions are collected in a glossary. This book is a useful tool for families who would like to turn the activity of apple picking into a more formal lesson without using a dull textbook.