Nebraska City

We've been talking about going to Nebraska City since Ayla was born last year...not that it's some spectacular place, but just somewhere to go, something to do---apple orchards, Arbor Lodge, the Tree Farm, etc. We decided to go yesterday as it was a beautiful October day. We headed out after Ayla's nap and spent a really fun afternoon there as a family. We went to Arbor Day Farm and walked through a short trail through the trees as leaves fell all around us. They had a great "discovery" area for kids...Ayla is still a bit young for most of it, but I think she liked looking around and taking it all in. I'm sure next year she'll be running all over the place.

Starting the day with some Daddy-Ayla time watching Elmo on the laptop...

Pushing buttons and listening to different birds on a learning chart along the trail.

Dean testing out the nature sounds funnel display...goofball.

Looking down from atop the 50 foot high tree house.

A souvenir that she later took a bite out of so we opted not to bring it home.

Leaving a note on the chalkboards...

We taste-tested several different types of apples and were able to choose one of our favorites to take with us...we also were given a free Northern Spruce tree to plant at home. After we wandered through most of the farm, we headed over to Arbor Lodge. We didn't go into the mansion, we just roamed around the grounds surrounding it so Ayla could get out of her stroller for a while and be free. At first, she was a bit apprehensive and wanted to take our hands but eventually, she loved it and walked around with a smile on her little face. It was so fun to see her happy and having a good time. That, in itself, made our trip a successful one.

She insisted on carrying around this apple we took from the farm...she could hardly get her hands around it and kept dropping it on the ground.
That stubborn bruise on her cheek still hasn't gone away...it has faded but now it looks like I didn't wipe her face off well enough.

I love this one...

Taking a break to have a couple bites of blueberry cobbler.
Off she goes...
Before heading home, we grabbed a bag of apples and a jug of apple cider...yum! And one more stop for Daddy and Ayla--picking an apple from a tree.

It was a perfect afternoon...I'm so glad we were able to make it out there. This will be a trip we look forward to each year and hopefully it's something Ayla learns to love as she gets older.