Webb Ranch

Our fall outings continued over the weekend at Webb Ranch in Portola Valley. Between pumpkin picking and apple picking, we can't seem to get enough of visiting farms. It is harvest season after all. In addition to a pumpkin patch, they had all of the usual kids' activities that one would expect at a farm.

First up, the train ride, or should I say empty plastic barrels on wheels drawn by a tractor?

There was also a hayride that turned out to be surprisingly fun. We thought it would just take us around the farm, but it took us to a cornfield and we were allowed to get off and pick (and taste) as much corn as we wanted.

Of course I had to go on the pony ride. 

Finally, I tried the WoW (Walk on Water) bubbles for the first time! I couldn't get myself to stand up inside, but I loved it! I couldn't stop talking about it afterward.

It was another successful farm day (and much warmer than the Half Moon Bay pumpkin farm)!

Pumpkin Time

For the fourth year in a row, we returned to Half Moon Bay to get our pumpkins. Even though it was sunny and in the 70's back home, it was overcast and chilly in HMB. And of course, Mommy had accidentally left my sweater at home. Luckily I was able to borrow hers. We didn't stay long, since it was so cold. Also, I pretty much picked out pumpkins for the entire family within the first fifteen minutes and threw them into the wheelbarrow. I wouldn't even let Mommy or Daddy trade them out for better ones. Lopsided or not, I don't discriminate.

We all know what Colin's thinking. He just wants to chew on that stem!

Mommy's Birthday

There's nothing more I like than to celebrate a birthday. Really, they are a HUGE deal to me. So when I learned that Mommy's birthday was coming up, I immediately started to prepare. I decorated homemade party hats and party blowers, wrapped presents, and collected items for her "surprise birthday party." I gathered everything into this big basket, covered it with a bed sheet and then "hid" the basket on the shelf, telling Mommy that it was a surprise and not to look inside.

After weeks of anticipation, Mommy's birthday finally came! At preschool, I made sure to tell all of my teachers it was her birthday, and drew her these pictures during class.

"The most beautiful picture ever." Rainbows for Mommy.

Mommy and Kaitlyn. The letters spell "Happy Birthday to Mommy."

When Daddy came home from work, I made Mommy go outside so I could set up her surprise birthday celebration, which consisted of taking everything out of the basket and laying it on the dinner table. Poh-poh and Goong-goong came over, and we had birthday cake. Then, Mommy opened her presents, which were random objects around the house that I had found and wrapped in plain paper. I think she liked them ("Oh, I was looking for that nail clipper everywhere!").

I made Mommy wear that tiara.

This is the book I chose for Mommy's birthday party. As in, she had to read the book aloud to me while we ate cake.

Blowing my homemade party blower while wearing my homemade hat.

Mommy was very touched by all the effort and thought I put into making her birthday special. After cake, Poh-poh and Goong-goong babysat while Mommy and Daddy went out for a quick sushi dinner. I got to stay up until they came home around 9pm, which made me really happy. I'd say her birthday celebration was a success this year!

Homemade Apple Pie

Mmm...homemade apple pie. After our apple picking trip, I couldn't help but make one (or three). It turns out my parents have a pretty good apple tree in their backyard as well (which made them wonder why would we drive another hour away to pick apples somewhere else?), so we've had a steady supply of apples the past few weeks. Here are two recipes that I've tried. Both came out fantastic, but you really can't go wrong with apple pie, no matter what recipe you use.

Apple Pie by Grandma Ople: This takes an extra step as you have to cook the filling before pouring it over the apples. It's basically like making your own caramel sauce, which is delicious! I could just make the filling itself and dip raw apple slices in it. I cheated on the crust in the picture above and used a store-bought Pillsbury crust. It looked good but really didn't taste that great (the crust, that is). Make your own crust!



Apple Pie by Smitten Kitchen: The filling was simple and quick. The crust was simple and not-so-quick, but worth the extra effort. I omitted the lemon juice and zest (most of the comments said it was unnecessary) and probably could have used less allspice. I wanted to be all farm-to-table and use whatever apples I had on hand, but ended up going to the store and adding in some granny smiths, which retain a firm texture even after being cooked (the fujis I used in the previous two pies got too soft). No wonder all recipes tell you to use granny smiths.

Really the biggest pain about making an apple pie is peeling all those apples! But if you have a really good peeler (not like the dull vegetable peeler from the 1970's that my mom still uses, ahem), it's not so bad. Kaitlyn enjoys helping to make them too. We could easily just pour the apple slices directly from the bowl onto the pie crust, but she insists on arranging each slice one by one, which keeps her busy for awhile. As long as it makes her happy.

Yum! Don't forget the vanilla ice cream!

This Year's Preschool Photo

I'm loving the genuine smile this year. Turns out the photographer asked her to say "hot dog" right before the picture.

Alyssa's Birthday Party

We went to Alyssa's fourth birthday party and guess who was there? I've been to many Frozen themed birthday parties this year, but this was the only one where Elsa showed up. Did you know she is Asian?? There were just a few girls so we got lots of one on one time with Elsa. She also did face-painting, made balloon animals, told us a story and, of course, we sang and danced to Let it Go. It was a great time!

Mommy called me a mouse and Daddy called me a cat and I got mad. I'm a rabbit!

Let it GOOOO....

Apple Picking

Last year we took a trip to Apple Hill and had so much fun apple picking, we couldn't wait to do it again this year. We've been studying apples all month in preschool - talking about them, coloring them, tasting them - so I was really excited to go. This time, we headed north to Watsonville to Clearview Orchards, an organic family-run apple farm.

Since we were by the coast, it was overcast and drizzling when we got there but we went ahead and started picking anyway. There were several varieties to choose from, but we went straight for the fujis. They were super sweet and crispy.

There were enough low-hanging apples for me to pick myself, although it was hard to find apples that didn't have any brown spots or bruises on them. Each person was allowed to sample one apple on the spot, so then I became more focused on eating my apple than on picking them!

After filling our bag, we went back to the farm stand for a refreshing apple popsicle and a ride on the swing. We also met Jethro, the resident turtle. I wonder if he gets sick of eating apples all the time.

I loved apple picking and have been eating an apple a day since we went! We're loving this new fall tradition!