Split Rock

Today we took a road trip and went up to the North Shore. It was a nasty miserable lovely day and though it drizzled on us constantly a bit we had an enjoyable time.

Most of these pictures are self explanatory so I'll just add notes to a few.


The lighthouse.
Yes, I know there are many pictures out there that are far superior to this one, but this is the one I took, so this is the one you get to see!




Meg wasn't feeling too well so we will forgive her frowniness this once.



Love this one!

Ok, clearly the star of this photo is the beautiful Madeline. However, if you look to the right of her (your right) you will see 2 people scurrying away from the crashing waves. We thoroughly enjoyed watching people get drenched as they viewed the lake, completely unaware that every 5 minutes or so an enormous round of waves would come pounding the shore-and whomever managed to be in way. Definitely a highlight of our day!


I'm not sure what Kate was doing in this picture, but she is obviously proud of herself!





Enjoying the view from the top of the lighthouse.

My beautiful family.

For those of you that aren't aware of this, I really, really, really love the North Shore. Really. Truly. And while the weather did not live up to my wildest expectations this time, I can say that I had a lovely day at Lake Superior because, I always have a lovely day at Lake Superior!

Apple orchard, take two.

Saturday we went to a different apple orchard, this time as a family. Fall is such a wonderful time of the year and we like to enjoy it as much as possible! In addition to Jas, myself, and the ladies, we had Laura with us. Yeah, we like her enough to bring her with us on occasion. ;o)

This time we went to Fireside Apple Orchard, a local orchard just minutes outside of town. In addition to the orchard itself they have a beautiful garden that we had a chance to explore.


They love their baby sister-There's no doubt about it!


Madeline wasn't too interested in a picture with a floral background so I snapped her where she stood.


Miss Alyssa. This lovely little lady does not look at the camera these days so profile pictures are being had in mass quantities.


This was our favorite flower. Megan was happy to accommodate her mother's picture taking whilst posing by it.


Newly-turned 7 year old Brianna. I'm pretty sure she looks older already.


We took those bags and filled them to overflowing!


Sometimes I find it better to just not ask....


Lovely Laura. I'm sure she will be quite pleased that I put this picture on here for you all to see!


Kate was in a less-than-pleasant mood as is evidenced by this picture.


I have really been struck this fall, by the extravagance of God's creation. I find myself moved to tears on a daily basis by the beauty that God has placed all around us for us to experience and to enjoy. His love for us is shown, overwhelmingly, in the world that he created for us.
I stand in awe.

At the Apple Orchard

I can't think of a more perfect way to spend the first day of fall than by taking a field trip to a local apple orchard. Add to that the fact that it was the first cool day in many, and you have a truly lovely day.

Our first stop was at the haystack. Good, "clean" fun!



Judging by the amount of time she spent there and by the amount of hay she had stuck all over her by the time we left, I'm going to say the haystack was Lissie's favorite part!



We learned how to make apple cider using an old-fashioned press. Everyone got to take a turn using it.



Next it was time to take a hayride out to our apple picking destination. How fun is that?



Our guide's name was Crabby (notice the hat). I'm not sure where he got the name-he was pretty nice to us!



Time to pick some apples!



Enjoying the fruits of our labors. (pun intended)



When we were done picking apples we spent some time in the hedge maze. This, I think, was the older ladies favorite part!



Kate even got in on the fun!



A lovely day at the orchard. Looking forward to next time!

Lovely ladies at the cabin