Apple Hill Times Six

For the sixth year now, Richie and Bethany joined the Sorbellos' green-van party and drove up to Apple Hill.

It is always a great time, and not just because of the apple pies, apple turnovers, apple fritters, apple donuts, and other apple junkfoods. It always brings back warm memories for us, because the first year we went together was the weekend we started dating, December of 2003.

Richie remembers sitting with Bethany in the two middle captain's seats of the van on the way up to Apple Hill, gazing at her but aiming for her not to notice. (She did.) The memory is a fun one.

And you've got to love whirlwind romances: The next December, of 2004, we had already been married five months. Then December 2005's trip to Apple Hill was rather uneventful, aside from the food. December 2006, Bethany was big-pregnant with Luke. December 2007, we had Lukey with us, and he couldn't even walk yet. Then this December, 2008, Luke was tromping along, hiding in the Christmas trees, eating an apple turnover; Siena made her Apple Hill debut with the Sorbello-Armstrong clan, bundled up like a little bear; and the newest Bun in the Oven was dragged along, too.

All in six Apple-Hill years!

December of 2009, we will have an almost-three-year-old and an almost-one-year-old. Does time really go by this quickly? And is Grandma right, that it only speeds up?

We've decided, though, that counting times gone in terms of Apple Hill treks isn't a bad way to count it. (If you have to count it at all.)


Ahhh, it's been a good few years.


"Do I really have to pose for another picture?"


Yeah!


We got almost every combination of people caught in one photo or another; Sam shot nearly 300 pictures that day. Most of the photos here are ones we stole from her. We only took about 20. (Only.) (Funny age, this digital-camera age. That's almost a whole roll of film, back in the olden days.)


The biggest-sister, littlest-sister combo (the biggest sister being the littlest one, and the littlest sister being the biggest one).


Lilo, Tam, and Ta Ta Ta.


Poppy and Grammy, seizing the day before Luke can tell them, "Ewwww!"


A shot of the sisters.


And the men, all told to do "Scaryman," have vastly different interpretations of what "Scaryman" means.


Maybe saying "cheese" would make for a better photo.


The whole gang.


The littlest among us. Where's Goldilocks?


Sam kisses Siena before Siena is stolen from her and passed around like a much-loved, much-smooched hot-potato.


Not sure what these faces were about. Siena really is much-loved and much-smooched. (And she looooves sitting atop the ledge of Auntie Bethany's belly, aside from the regular kicks and jabs and hiccups from her cousin beneath her.)


The much-bundled beauties.


We love that Siena smiles so much now! And not just from gas.


Luke made the rotations, too...




And when Luke wasn't hiding from Shiloh, Shiloh was teaching him how to jump.




Luke's favorite part of Apple Hill (or at least the most-talked-about-later part about it) was the big machine that wrapped up the Christmas trees in netting. We told him next time he misbehaves he will go through and get wrapped up, too. (Kidding.)


"Perfect" tree found, and many photos snapped, we headed to our favorite pastry spot. We wonder if Shiloh likes it not so much for the food, but for the football. Luke doesn't so much mind the football, either; and when we wondered where they disappeared to, we all looked at each other and thought, "Oh, yeah--there's a TV here. First place to check."


Luke enjoys an apple turnover.


How big was that turnover? Soooo big!


Gracie steals a kiss at sunset.


On our way home, of course we had to keep up with tradition and stop at In N Out. Richie and Sarah really did have fun...


So did Siena--but she much prefers milk.


Going backward a moment to end with one of the pictures Grammy snapped before leaving Apple Hill: The Boy and the Brussels Sprouts. Good proof that time may be flying by, especially when counting in Apple-Hill years, but it sure is getting fun.