Autumn in Chicago

Ahhhhhh.

Fall is arriving in my neighborhood. Gold and red and orange trees. Sweaters and boots and jackets. And Fall is actually a season here and not just a week that you'll miss if you blink like in the South. I. LOVE. IT.

And around here in the fall one fun thing to do is go to an apple orchard. Say what? Oh yes, you're about to see an episode of the Darby Family Goes to the Country. Are you excited? Because I was.

But first, introductions are in order. These are our sweet, sweet neighbors Wade and Bethany who live across the hall from us (they're holding Baby Mack. I'm letting them "practice"). I L-O-V-E them and so do Clint and Mimi. Thank goodness because you can't pick your neighbors, and it would really stink to live so close to someone who wasn't very nice. Especially when we have a very high-strung yippie dog and a crazy two-year-old who likes to totally invite herself into "Wabe and Bethy's" to play with their breakable coasters and expensive computer. So anyway, we all took the roadtrip together.

After totally missing our exit . . . and then realizing there was no exit from the other direction . . . we finally arrived in Woodstock at the All Seasons Orchard. And made a wonderful discovery . . .Apple Cider Doughnuts. Oh. Muh. Gah. Divine. And they were served warmed. Yu-uh-uh-mmy. Of course Mimi and I ate, like, seven.And another discovery that I need to share is the best apple in the whole world -- Honey Crisp. Have you heard of these? Me neither. It must be a Midwestern thing. I'm not really a huge apple fan but after one bite of these things I'm a believer. I bought several a few days ago and they are all gone now. We cut up one for Mimi last night and let her dip it in peanut butter, and she "lubbed" it. Maybe I'll remember to buy a "peck" (is that right?) to bring to Memphis this week.

Then off to the petting zoo which consisted of some goats and sheep. I was a little concerned and asked the guy running the show if it was safe for my little monkey to run wild with these creatures. Just to show me how tame they were he walked up behind a goat while it was eating and grabbed his hind legs. Hmm, maybe Mimi couldn't do much worse than that.

At first she was happy to look at them and pat their heads . . .
. . . and give them hugs and tell them that she "lubbed" them . . .

. . . but then the chase was on -- Mimi versus the goats! Woo hoo!

After finally ripping her away from the petting zoo, we went through a corn maze, which wasn't the easiest with a double stroller and crazy toddler, but we made it. Wade directed us and finally we made our own path and broke down some corn. I'm sure no one minded.

Mack seemed to really enjoy his day at the orchard, don't you think?

Oh, and a funny story. There were some fancy port-o-potties at the orchard with some type of handwashing station I had never seen before. I was struggling to find a way to turn on the water, and a lady walked over to help. She showed me how to pump it with my foot and then, get this, she said, "You must be a CITY GIRL if you don't know how to work one of these." Ha ha hahahaha ha ha. What's even funnier is Bethany, who has lived in NYC for the past 10 years actually knew how to work it . . . guess I need to get out more.