Apple Pickin’ – Year 3

After 2 years of delightful apple picking, we decided to make it an annual Stockton tradition.

This year, we started our Apple Picking Adventure with our customary stop at Holtman’s Donuts – the best doughnut shop within 100 miles of us (and I’d venture to say even further).  If you’re ever in Cincinnati (or within 100 miles of it), go there and get 1) a raised maple bacon doughnut; 2) whichever kind of doughnut is hot and fresh, and 3) any doughnut, because you really can’t go wrong there.  Seriously.  Do it.

Maple bacon in all its glory.  Best donut I’ve ever had.  And believe me – I’ve had some donuts in my life.
Every time we go to Holtman’s, we get a maple bacon to split between Nick and I.  After finish our half, we look at each other longingly and say, “Why do we were ever get any other doughnut besides this one?”  So this time, we each got our own maple bacon.  Naturally.

Yes, that is a peanut butter cup in the middle of a doughnut.  And yes, it was amazing.

Oliver inherited his mother’s love for doughnuts.  Whoops. #sorrynotsorry

We’d purposely waited until later this year so that we could get some Granny Smith – but I think we’re destined to never get them from the farm.  Apparently they’d all been picked already.

We got some Melrose apples, which are still quite firm and tart.  Perfect for this week’s menu:  Apple Sage Pork Chops, Don Farmer’s Apple Cake, Apple Crisp…yum…

Oliver got really excited by the apples everywhere he looked, and insisted on pointing out every time he saw an apple on the ground.  Which – by the way – there were thousands.  Fun for us!

He also enjoyed sporting his studly sunglasses (a new addition to his warddrobe; he gets really upset when the bright sun hurts his eyes).

He looks quite GQ in this photo.  (Really, he’s just struggling to get his glasses back on.)

He helped Daddy do some good apple-picking

And thought the “punkins” were quite “cute”

And was a great helper in getting them to the car.  (Can I tell you how much I love him in those cowboy boots??)

But his favorite part was throwing rocks in the pond.  Boys will be boys!  (I tried to capture the way his curls were blowing in the wind.  It was beautiful!)