A Triple F Weekend!

It was a Fabulously Fun Fall weekend! We made the most of what Minnesota (particularly Otown) had to offer. I love this time of year for exactly that reason -- there's always a lot being offered, and the weather is always totally unpredictable :-)

It started Friday night with the Owatonna Huskies football game. It was homecoming, and it was raining. Bummmmmmer. We bundled up and lasted until about 7 minutes were left in the first quarter...then a storm started moving in and they called the game off. Miles was concerned about the game starting again without him being there, and Weston was worried about what was going to happen to the Husky mascot, since dogs (especially those made out of acrylic fur) don't care much for rain. We watched him cover his head with his paws and scoot on in to the high school. He was safe.

On Saturday, Miles and Tanner went to the MN Wild hockey game with Miles' buddy Reid and his dad (Tony). Their trip included a stop at Chipotle for supper, a variety of zambonis, cute girls shoveling ice shavings off the rink (Tanner's favorite part....groan....), some popcorn, new hats, and a picture with Lucy.

   

Weston and I went on a date to Rochester. We shopped at Costco and filled our tummies with samples, then checked out the pet store (it was crazy cat owner day, so that was entertaining) and then enjoyed a nice dinner for two at Noodles. It was lovely!  Isn't he a cute date?!

On to Sunday, which was the fun finale to our fabulous weekend. After eating brunch at the OCC, we decided to go check out Trump's apple orchard in Faribault.

We hadn't heard much about it, but a quick google search for apple orchards near Otown helped us locate this little gem of a place. It's perfect for a low-key outing on a fall day. No fancy horse rides or hayrides, no giant slides or corn mazes. No crowds of people. Just a little orchard where you can buy a bag and fill it with whatever apples you want...you can roam the rows of trees freely and sample all the apples your tummy can take. For the boys in this family, that's a lot. Let's just say mommy did most of the picking. Somebody had to accomplish what we'd set out to do in the first place!

Miles took hold of the camera after a while. Not too shabby!

Thanks to the new iPhone operating system, his little fingers were able to snap about 20 images per second. He couldn't stop! Helllllllp!

Back at the main shop, there were more apples to sample and caramel, pies, cider, and other goodies to purchase. Perhaps the best part, though, was the view into the apple sorting/cleaning/packing station. We watched several "worker guys" busy preparing apples to be shipped to local stores. It didn't look like they were doing much sampling, though. I suppose when you look at apples all day long, some of the excitement over the fresh-off-the-tree taste is lost. Hmmmm.

We returned home to cheer on the Packers to a victory over Detroit.  Well, daddy was busy doing that.  The rest of us had more important things to do, like set up our own apple sorting/cleaning/packing station.  What better place than the bathroom?!  The tub (which I just cleaned, so don't worry) was just the right size for the boys to organize and clean the goods.  Mommy was given the responsibility of buffing the apples and preparing them for shipment (to the kitchen).

Finally, we were off to the Otown fire station for supper. We look forward to this event every year -- Tanner for the chili (it's all-you-can-eat style), and the boys for the firemen and trucks. I like going because it means I don't have to cook supper. Okaaaay, it's also a great community event and we're happy to support our local fire fighters. They are a good crew!

Even Tanner giggled like a little boy over the chance to fire the hose.

So there you have it. A triple F of a weekend! There was maybe a little bickering mixed in. And a handful of tantrums. And some laundry and a trip to the grocery store. But we had a blast and are grateful for these kinds of weekends!  Hope you enjoyed a good one, too.