Latte Lovin' Mommy: Our First Family Outing!!!!!!!

We had our first BIG family excursion over Columbus Day weekend with a trip to Apple Hill. This is an annual event that Jason and I have enjoyed every October since we first got together over 10 years ago (we just celebrated our ten year anniversary!) and it was exciting to take Baby Kiera up there this year. Last year we had *wished* that 'next year maybe we'll be bringing along a Baby Waggoner!' Even though she is just an itty bitty, it was so wonderful to share with her a part of Fall that I just totally love! Wonderful weather, picture perfect foliage and yummy apple donuts, apple pie, well, apple EVERYTHING! It was a BEAUTIFUL day- and unfortunately thousands of other people had the same exact idea that we did- to enjoy Apple Hill this particular Saturday.

On our way up the hill, we stopped at my office in Folsom to see Sher and had a nice visit. This got us to Apple Hill around noon and the traffic was already backed up at the first two exits. Neither Jason nor I are fond of large crowds so we were trying to think of an alternate plan (go to Tahoe) but the thought of apple donuts totally had us drooling! We accidentally discovered that the secret to avoiding the long line of cars is to go to the Camino exit- that’s closest to Rainbow Orchards anyways and they have the BEST apple donuts up there! My only regret for my visit here is that Jason, sparing caloric intake, only ordered six donuts….. “because we’ll eat them all…” yes, that was my plan…. to enjoy every single crumb (and if he's lucky, I'll share!) (Donuts and Coke are two lingering cravings from pregnancy!) A proper meal wouldn't be without having dessert before lunch- a yummy barbequed tri-tip sandwich and fresh apple cider…. And of course, we had to ruin the whole thing and actually get some healthy apples. *hee hee* I tried a new one this year- JonaGold- and it was crunchy and sweet-tart- yum! (Wait until you hear my recipe for Caramel Apple Dip to make them even better!) We shared our table with four people from Southern California who in turn shared a piece of apple pie with us- I think we definately got the better end of the deal!

We then went to Bolster’s Hilltop Ranch- took some great photos and stood in a really, really long and slow line for a caramel apple that was to die for…. It was so good. And then we were tired of the crowds (see?) and decided to still drive up to Tahoe to see the foliage and drive around the lake. The Aspen trees over Luther Pass on Hwy 89 hadn’t really begun changing yet but it was still a beautiful drive. We made a short pit stop in South Shore (yes, honey, with tag team baby duty, both of us can still gamble! HA!) , and drove 89 over to Truckee and I-80 to avoid the Apple Hill traffic on the return. Jason had an ulterior motive too- he wanted to stop in Colfax for Pizza Factory pizza (me donuts, he pizza!).

Kiera was a complete angel the entire trip- she was awake for awhile but mostly enjoyed the views from behind closed eyes from the sling or her comfy car seat! She is a great traveling companion! It was a great day for the Waggoner fam and we are looking forward to sharing it with her again next year!

Oh… I almost forgot my recipe for the apple dip…. I commonly refer to this as apple “crack” as it is highly addictive.

8 oz.- cream cheese, softened (don’t even bother with low fat…..)

¼ c. brown sugar

½ tbsp of vanilla

½ bottle of Smucker’s Caramel topping

½ cup of finely chopped peanuts or toffee chips (Heath)

Add first four ingredients to a microwave safe bowl and cook for 3 minutes. Stir thoroughly and pour in peanuts or toffee, heat again for 1 minute. Serve warm with apple wedges, graham crackers or over ice cream! Oh, hell, why bother- just use a big ol' wooden spoon....