Go Pick An Apple

I gave puppy dog eyes my greatest attempt. I pouted and pretended to whimper like a three year old threatening to burst into tears. Then I laughed because Andrew was laughing so hard he was near tears. We had driven passed an apple tree and I was desperate to get out of the car, run up the hill and pick one. I mean, come on, how often do you see an apple tree just begging to be picked? My parents were in the back seat and they laughed as I jumped up and down trying to reach a branch. Used to being the husband of a wife who is vertically challenged, Andrew joined me on the hill and reached up and grabbed an apple. It took awhile to find one that was “just right” but for the rest of the day, I sat in the car and smiled at that little green and yellow apple as if it was the greatest prize in the world.

Recently my parents, Andrew and I went to Washington state for a family friend‘s wedding. We spent time with lifelong friends as well as family I haven’t seen in years; it felt like nearly every day had something scheduled and yet it was one of the most relaxed trips I’ve ever taken. I think part of this had to do with the fact that this trip was something on my bucket list – or life list if you want to call it that. I’ve always wanted to go to to Washington, visit my uncle and go to Pike Place Market. When I was younger, my dad was stationed at Spokane Washington and despite the cloud cover and the rain, I’ve always wanted to go back.

I love this man…being able to check off something from my bucket list with him was absolutely amazing. I will always be thankful for his willingness to do just about anything and go just about anywhere, try new things and make incredible memories!

Have you ever gone hunting for mushrooms? I swear, totally serious question. Have you ever wandered through the woods searching for tiny little shroomies hiding away in dark places covered in dirt. If you haven’t, you should. However, I am majorly suck at it…

We weren’t really sure what this one was until we got home and checked the mushroom book {who knew there was a mushroom book!}. While fairly certain that it’s edible, we opted to leave it be.

And this ladies and gentlemen is my super awesome uncle. He’s my dad’s brother that if you saw them together you’d swear they were twins even though my dad’s the oldest. The two of them together is quite possibly one of the funniest things you could ever experience. He’s an amazing chef and our master mushroom hunter and tour guide.

I mentioned that I am the worst mushroom hunter. I wasn’t exaggerating – I was awful. I couldn’t find a single one. All of these above are what NOT to find. I got really really good at what not to find.

Now that beauty, that was the holy grail, the delicious chanterelle mushroom. I never found one of these so according to the rules of you eat what you find, I would have gone hungry. Thankfully I claim my husband and he was giving those truffle hunting hogs a run for their money.

I adore my family. We’re crazy and difficult and have our issues but they’re my people. They make me happy, they make me sad, they make me feel complete. I remember when I was trying to decide the how behind going to Washington that I almost opted against going. The dollar signs danced in my head and I wanted to say “never mind we’ll do it later”. But then I got to thinking about the times in life when Andrew and I just decided to go and do something and how those are some of the greatest memories I have. So yes, while Washington’s trip was a bucket list item, it ended up being far more than that. It ended up being a reminder to just do…to get out of the car and go pick an apple.