Last year we didn't have the Cider Festival, the first time in eight years. So it meant even more to have it again this year. On Friday night, after a whirlwind of cleaning, our guests started to arrive.First to come in were my youngest brother Craig and his wife Jaclyn. Next came my younger sister Angelina with her husband Rodney, and their four children. They also brought my Mom and Dad with them. This is my Mom's report of getting here: 'We had a good ride over on Friday late afternoon, going through the Craters of the Moon route. The scenery is interesting but it took us two hours longer...we were seven hours on the road and we were in the dark for the last two hours and Dad was tired and confused. When we drove up to Lorena's house and he got out and saw Bruce, he just said...'Oh.....Oh....', and hugged and hugged him. He was SO glad to see Bruce. He said, 'How did you get clear out here?'"
Dad said that same thing two or three more times in the house, "How did you get clear out here?" I think coming in the dark really confused him, but in the morning when he could see out the windows he wasn't disoriented anymore.
A few hours later my niece Linsdey Kay came with her three friends Ryan, Jeff and Garrett from Provo. What fun to meet them and make some new friends. Good choice of friends Lindsey!!
On Saturday morning we had crepes for breakfast and then took off to the orchard to pick apples.
All except for Mom and Dad - they stayed at the house so Dad could have a rest. Man, we had fun at that orchard! 
The trees were mostly bare, so we had to hunt for apples. 
While we were there my other nieces came, Darcy and Clarissa. 
Unfortunately Clarissa's husband Josh couldn't make it - we missed you Josh - but it was sure fun to have Clarissa here. (BTW - I missed doing the Yoga! Next year for sure...)
Tim, Darcy's friend, took a ton of pictures while he was here. I have sprinkled some through this post, but here is the link to all the pictures he took:http://picasaweb.google.com/
Thanks so much Tim! If anyone else has pictures, please send them to us or post a link!
So with that many people looking for apples, we ended up with 11 bushels! Every apple was a prize, and we found some HUGE ones at the tops of trees that had to go into a contest.
After we came home, we had club sandwiches for lunch, and then everyone worked together to get things setup for the Festival. (Thank you so much for all your hard work!)It started about four and went to six in the afternoon.
We had some fabulous fiddlers: David, our friend and neighbor, and Kaylee, Michelle and Nicole - our Clark cousins that come every year. And we did some square dancing to the Virginia Reel. And of course the fresh apple cider and homemade doughnuts were delicious. For the first time this year we added chili to the menu, and thanks to some very dear friends that brought the chili, that added a lot to the party. 
Bruce takes the kids on hay rides, and you'd think these kids had died and gone to heaven to get the chance to ride down to the end of the lane and back on a hay wagon. 
Bruce borrowed his Dad's old red tractor, and it was very authentic. I was going to say it "looked" authentic - but, really it "was" authentic! It was beautiful weather, the best we've ever had for the Cider Festival. Towards the end, the teenagers were having fun playing games, and it was fun to sit around and visit with friends.
This is our filly Cookie that was born in April.
This is Jaclyn feeding Lady an apple.THANKS SO MUCH to everyone that came and contributed. We had a fantastic time and enjoyed it the same as we do every year.
And we came out with about 9 gallons of cider and some to send home with the out-of-town guests, so that is a bonus!This is definitely one of the highlights of the year, every year, and we look forward to next year!
