Raising Roberts

Picking at Eckert’s

Back in the beginning of September we went apple picking in the 90+ degree heat. We came home with the most amazing Honeycrisp apples I’ve ever tasted. But it just didn’t feel like fall. Apple picking is one of my favorite fall activities so I knew I wanted to try again when it was cooler outside.

Last weekend we were invited back to Eckert’s for apple and pumpkin picking. Instead of sweating, we were shivering. It felt much more like fall and we loved it so much! We had never visited the Millstadt location so we were excited to check it out. But we made a quick stop over at their Belleville location to see their fun pumpkin house!

We typically don’t get family photos while we’re out and about because I don’t love asking strangers to take our picture. But my friend, Maggi, and her family came along with us and I made her promise to snap a family photo for us at some point. She ended up taking multiple photos for me and I am so grateful! The majority of our family photos are just taken with a tripod and remote. So it was a nice to have her take a couple for us!

We obviously loved the pumpkin house!

But everyone was anxious for apple picking so we drove over to the Eckert’s in Millstadt. I immediately fell in love with the small town country feel. And even though it was a busy Saturday with tons of people there, it didn’t ever feel overly crowded because of how big and spread out everything is.

Once you pay to get inside, almost all the rides/activities are free! There was seriously so much to do that we couldn’t even fit it all in…even after spending 5 hours there. There was a little petting zoo with a few different animals. Clementine loved feeding the kangaroos carrots. She typically shies away from most things so it was sweet to see her trying to interact with the kangaroos.

But we did manage to fit in 2 viewings of the pig races, per Kai’s request. And actually, he would have preferred going to all the races that day. But I feel like 2 was probably pretty sufficient haha.

Poor Clementine was so cold that day! It had been nearly 90 degrees a few days before so we were totally not used to cooler weather yet. And every fall I just forget how to dress for cold weather. I mean, it was 50 degrees. So it wasn’t freezing. But when you’re used to 85-90, it feels pretty cold.

I mean, look how cute this place is!!

Desmond and Clementine (my two kids who are scared of so many things) were obsessed with the pony rides. I wish I would have gotten a good picture of Clementine. She was giggling the whole time.

We eventually managed to pull the kids away from the rides so we could go pick apples. And I’m pretty sure every time we go apple picking, our bags are just about completely filled within the first few minutes. And then half empty a few minutes later as the kids are eating them.

The weekend we went picking, they had a new apple called Evercrisp (a combo of Honeycrisp + Fuji.) Honeycrisp are still my favorite but I think everyone in my family liked the Evercrisp!

This picture of Kingston pretty accurately sums up every apple picking outing we have ever had. He always eats more than everyone else. Even on the way home, he asked for another apple haha.

Two nearly identical family photos because sometimes I just go back and forth between pictures so many times and can’t decide which one I like more.

One of our favorite things about Eckert’s is the abundance of ripe, unblemished apples. In the past, we’ve really had to search hard to find good apples. But at Eckert’s, we had no trouble filling up our bags.

I had to include this picture of Desmond with Primrose. Because even though it’s not the best picture, it shows how much he adores his baby sister.

And I’m certain it doesn’t get any sweeter than these two cuties eating apples together. I got a few questions about their outfits on Instagram so I’ll just go ahead and link here too. The sweater rompers are from Target (currently out of stock but they have randomly restocked multiple times in the past so I recommend signing up for notifications.) And Primrose’s bonnet is from Yarn Republic.

We also hit up the pumpkin patch in search of the perfect pumpkins. But all the kids/husbands were cold and tired so we cut that visit short. We’re actually going to try going again today because the weather is supposed to be perfection! If my kids are as indecisive about pumpkins as they are about everything else in life, I’m predicting this will be a long day out 😉

We are so grateful to Eckert’s for inviting us to spend a day at their farm! The Millstadt farm is now officially one of our favorite places for fall activities and we are so hoping to have the chance to visit again!

One more thing before I go–if you’ve been apple picking recently and need some good apple dessert recipes, this apple crisp that I made for my family this week was pretty amazing. And Maggi raved about these apple cheesecake bars so I’m thinking they may need to be next on our dessert lineup!

Have a great week!!

October 22, 2018

birthday, Blog, Clementine, Fall, st. louis

Clementine is Two!

I’m not quite sure how it’s possible but last week (October 4th) we celebrated Clementine’s 2nd birthday. It’s hard to believe that she is already 2 years old! Those of you who have been around since her birth may remember the sweet baby girl with dark hair, chubby cheeks, and the most perfect eyebrows I have ever seen on a newborn. She’s grown up so much over the past couple of years and it has been such a joy to watch her grow!

I was so excited to do a fun little photoshoot with Clementine for her birthday. With 2 year olds, you just never know if they’re going to even cooperate. But I knew I had to at least try. I ran to the store and bought a bunch of balloons (70+!) and got to work, blowing them up to different sizes. I used some packing tape to stick them to the wall and to each other. If I was wanting to keep them up longer than a quick photoshoot, I would have used better tape. But they did manage to stay up until the next morning when Primrose started to destroy them haha.

As you can see, she had so much fun with the photoshoot! Clementine is a major girly girl and was so excited to put on the pink tutu dress and crown (from Little Blue Olive.) She’s very opinionated when it comes to her outfits. So when she’s happy about what she’s wearing, it makes all the difference. The balloon backdrop was also a huge hit with her.

She has an obsession with “Baby Shark” and “Daddy Finger” that may drive us to insanity. But she also loves to sing the ABCs and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with the sweetest little voice in the world. She loves to dance, make silly faces, and has the most contagious laugh in the world. Her favorite thing to do is pretty much anything Desmond is doing–which is not Desmond’s favorite thing for her to do haha. She’s perfectly sweet and equally sassy. And I’m so thankful to be her mom.

On Clementine’s birthday, we decided to go to one of her favorite places–the St. Louis Zoo! They had their fall/Halloween decorations out which made it a little more fun.

Like I already mentioned, Clementine is very opinionated with her outfit and she insisted on wearing her crown to the Zoo. Everyone kept telling her she looked like a little princess. It was so sweet!

We’re in the process of letting Evangeline’s bangs grow out. Obviously the hairspray didn’t hold them to the side very well but I loved this picture of her.

One of our favorite places in the Zoo is in the sea lion tunnel. It started to rain right as we walked in so we hid in there for a little while until the rain passed. It was Primrose’s first time to notice the sea lions. It was so fun to watch her expressions.

Watching them line up like this is one of the best parts about the zoo. It won’t be too much longer before Primrose will be lined up right next to them!

Liam was very set on getting a picture with Clementine in front of the flamingos. Obviously she didn’t have the same enthusiasm as him haha.

I have a memory card full of pictures like this. But I’ll spare you and only post one haha. Everyone always wants a turn as each character so we always spend a good chunk of time at these cutouts anytime the kids spot one.

We just learned about bears in Science so it was neat for the kids to get a close up look. It was also encouraging to hear them list some facts about bears that they had learned. It helps me to know that they’re at least retaining a few things 😉

Clementine was so excited to watch the “dino” swim by her over and over.

When you look over and see your 5 year old planking haha. It just made me think of that episode of The Office. Anyone know what I’m talking about??

I usually try to get a group shot at the beginning of our outings. But people kept walking in the background of our shots. So we waited until we were walking back to the van and everyone was crabby haha. But getting (mostly) everyone in the shot always makes me happy and we managed to get a few shots with no one looking too crabby.

We came home to an unexpected little package. This tray of cupcakes was sent to Clementine from our friends at cuddle+kind. I honestly could not get over how kind and thoughtful it was for them to not only remember her birthday, but to send a treat to her with a little birthday note. I know I often talk about my love for this company. But my love runs deeper than just for their dolls and their mission, the people who make up the company are just so special to us as well. They certainly made the day a little more special.