Apple Orchard and Pie

'Tis the season...for apples! C's preschool class went on their first field trip last week to the Alldredge Apple Orchard near Platte City. What an experience! C spent the week before the trip telling me repeatedly that she was going to pick apples at the apple orchard. By the time the morning of the trip came around, I thought she was going to burst. The burstiness just got worse when we arrived, as we were in the last group to pick apples. The whole thing was very well organized. At first, all the children were together, and they got to help feed the chickens. This was a one-shot opportunity, so all the children were together for this part. They very well didn't want 50 kids and their parents tromping through the same bunch of trees all at the same time, so the children were divided into stations. At one station, we rode on a hayrack and got a survey of the orchard property. At the next, the children listened to a story about how bees help make apples. After the bees, we got to see and feed some baby billy goats, pet some young barn kittens, and then see a pony. Finally, after every child asked "when are we going to pick apples?" around 100 times (pardon my hyperbole), we got our bags and went into the orchard to pick some quite lovely Braeburn apples. I learned something new too--the only part of a Braeburn apple to turn red is the part that gets lots of sun. Otherwise, they're green. Now, the really amusing part. I got pictures of the hay ride, the animal events and even C listening to the bee story and looking at the bees. However, I did not get photographs of the picking of the apples. We were having too much fun doing the picking, that I forgot to take my camera back out of my pocket! So, here are pictures of C making our apple pie the next day. That was her very specific request, that we make a pie with the apples. C making stars with handfuls of hay on the hayrack ride. C feeding baby billygoats very patiently.C waiting to (finally) pick apples!C with her bag of apples, straight from the tree. C putting the apple slices into the mixing bowl and trying a few slices along the way. We discovered that there is something especially tasty about apples right off the tree.
Then she mixed the apples with the seasonings for the pie. It took some doing, but I did manage to convince her not to munch on the now-seasoned apples. Now, it's ready to go into the oven, and she's so proud of it! A few hours later, we all got some tasty bites of deliciousness