Cider, Donuts, and Apple 'Picking'

I am SO HAPPY that autumn is finally here. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE summer! But, I've been living in a constant state of summer for a solid two and half years and this autumn has felt like it'd never come, (especially yestereday walking home from the bus stop in 90 degree weather.) But, as you know with seasons, one day you're in and the next day you're out! So, Auf Wiedersehen Summer!

We have met the absolute greatest people here! Their names are Brian and Carly Dilley and they have two amazing daughters and they are seriously our lifesavers! They have been here a year so they know all the best stuff and they drive us to church every Sunday and take us out on their fun family adventures! We are so lucky! Aven and Emi remind us so much of our nieces back home and its so fun to have them interact with Gunner. I know he really misses cousins, so it is such a treat when we get to play with them!

Today they took us up to Wilken's Fruit and Fir Farm. It was seriously just what we needed! It's about a 30 minute drive from our place and it's one of the most beautiful drives I've ever taken! Within like ten minutes you're completely out of the city and into the country. The best kind of country! It was breathtakingly green with bursts of colored leaves! The homes were far apart with huge yards and giant trees, the kind that are old and would be perfect for tire swings. If felt like the sweet fresh air breathed new life into my soul. It was TRULY refreshing!

Wilken Fruit Farm is SO neat! It's a "pick your own apples" kind of place with fresh made cider and donuts. Oh. My. Gosh. These apple cider donuts were... UNREAL. I'm sitting here on my couch and its taking an extreme amount of self control not to get up and eat the ones in my fridge for tomorrow. It's like a country store where you can see the entire process of making the donuts as you stand in line then get up to order and they hand you a bag of hot, steamy, cinnamon-sugary donuts. (You can also get chocolate covered which I didn't know about until it was too late!!) They are like the physical, culinary manifestation of the fall season. Gunner basically had a hay-day with these donuts. He was straight munchin, just like his dada!

^^^^do you guys see the resemblance here?!?!^^^^

They also serve hot or cold apple cider which was delicious except we were being chased by bees because of it; I could barely enjoy it. I just chugged it as fast as I could so I didn't have to keep fending off the little jerks. So, naturally we bought a gallon to take home and drink in the comfort of our bee free home.

We took a quick little walk into the orchard just to see the trees and obviously it was gorgeous. Gunner's a little young to really appreciate the excitement of picking our own apples... like off of trees. Right? So we just picked our apples off of the table in the country store. But, I hand selected which bag I wanted so I feel like it still counts as apple picking...right?

Plus, I'm planning on turning my new apples into an apple pie tomorrow so I think that will make up for it right? Whats more fall than fresh apple pie? Nothing.

 The orchard also had a grove of Douglas Fir trees, which I suspect are for the Christmas season (OMG! Now I can't wait for Christmas!! It's too soon.)

We obviously had to take a zillion family pictures because I have all these empty frames in my house and I'm dying to fill them with a family picture. I told Zack we all had to wear plaid.. for "plaidurday"... get it? I thought it was so clever... he thought it was so embarassing... but he did it anyways! What a good husband. But really? How "fall" is plaid?? Very Fall... the answer is VERY fall.

Being out in the fresh air was like a little taste of home and it makes such a huge difference to have good friends to share our days with!! We took the scenic route home and drove through dream neighborhoods lined with vibrantly colored trees while we listened to the beginning of General Conference.

General Conference is a meeting our church does twice a year when our Prophet and other leaders speak to us. If you've got any questions about our church or looking for answers in your own life I SUPER recommend it. You can watch it here.

Once we got home from the farm we snuggled up on the couch to take naps and finish up general conference. It was quite a lovely day.. the kind of day that reminds me of home! I'm missing home like crazy, but excited that we'll definitely be coming home for Christmas! Zack has an entire month off so we'll definitely be making the best of that time!!

I'm missing you all and hope that you're enjoying this beautiful change of seasons! I'd love to hear from you all and get updates on whats new in your lives!

XOXO
SD