Our Future Dog

Ryan & I helped out at an auction where this cutest-puppy-ever was an item to be auctioned off. He was such a snuggly, fluffy, happy Golden Retriever puppy. I wanted to keep him! Maybe someday...

My Favorite Cousin Came to Visit!

I am so lucky that my favorite cousin, Rachel, married someone from Washington! She just came up to visit her in-laws last weekend, so Ryan & I met up with her and her cute family for a huge-portioned dinner at Claim Jumper.

And, yes, we did eat all of this cake aptly named "The Motherlode."

Making Apple Cider

This weekend, we got together with Ryan's family for the age-old Barrett tradition of making homemade apple cider. We enjoyed every stage of the process, which started with picking apples in their orchard.

Some of us were hoisted up to the higher branches in the tractor bucket, which was quite fun! Ryan really enjoyed being the driver and bucket controller. The Ross kids sure are fast apple pickers!


Then, we helped wash the apples before sending them through the crushing and pressing machine.

I hadn't seen a real pear tree before last Saturday, so I took a picture of these beautiful pears hanging like ornaments. I kept looking around for a partridge . . . maybe it will show up in a few months.

Overall, the cider making was a happy and tasty experience for everyone!