Celebrating Pumpkins and wearing Pumpkin hats at Disneyland

Happy Saturday! In the spirit of Halloween Time, this week's theme is pumpkins! And when you're celebrating pumpkins, of course you have to get a photo by the giant pumpkin on Main Street.
Our hats are all pumpkins this week too. From left to right, My Pumpkin and Maize Goofy hat came from Walt Disney World. The Wizard Pumpkin Mickey came from Tokyo Disneyland. Pumpkin Mickey is from Walt Disney World. Theresa's Pumpkin Mickey hat is new in 2018 to the Disneyland Resort. It quickly sold out and I was fortunate enough to get one before it did.

Halloween Pump-"cake" Patch at the Grand Californian - Where are the Hidden Mickeys?

In the Grand Californian lobby is a giant 4 foot pumpkin made out of cake! I think it's awesome when limited time things like this make their way to Disneyland. There's just one thing that I'm having a hard time figuring out. Where are the hidden Mickeys?

Alli takes on more 40" rides at Disneyland

It's been a full weekend already, spending 2 days in Oak Glen California visiting apple orchards, but we're not done yet. Weekends are perfect for a Disneyland visit. I love seeing all the different Halloween decorations, plus Alli just turned 40" tall so she's got lots of brand new things she can ride.
Hats this week continue the Nightmare Before Christmas theme from last week. From left to right, we've got a Jack Skellington style top-hat from Disneyland years ago. Next is Jack Skellington bursting out of a pumpkin which I think was offered last year at Disneyland. Then there's a Scary Teddy hat, followed by a Santa Jack hat complete with beard.

Oak Glen Apple Farms - Part 2

Good morning! Happy Saturday! Ready to head to the apple orchards?
By staying overnight nearby, we were able to get an early start to the day and arrive right when the orchards opened on Saturday. The drive in to Oak Glen was quiet and peaceful. There was even one stretch were we saw deer amongst the apple trees eating their breakfast.

Having read multiple reviews ahead of time, it was clear that this was going to be a madhouse later in the day. According to everything I read, Oak Tree Village opened up at 8am. I thought getting there around 8:30am would give everyone a little time to get set up. But when we arrived, it was like a ghost town.

Oak Glen Apple Farms - Part 1

It's the weekend! This year we're not going to get the chance to fly to Michigan to visit the apple orchards there. Theresa was still really wanting to go and the kids have been getting really excited about picking apples so Theresa found a place relatively close by and made it happen!

HalloweenTime at Disneyland and Alli turns 40! - Part 2

After spending a fun morning at Disneyland, it was time now to head over to California Adventure.

HalloweenTime at Disneyland and Alli turns 40! - Part 1

It's been a few weeks since our last trip to Disneyland and look what they've done since we've been gone! It's HalloweenTime at Disneyland! We love Halloween!

Lays Tastes of America - Trying 12 unique chip flavors

I love it when companies do things like this. Lay's has been great in the past for coming out with new unique flavors. Every year since at least 2013, they'll showcase 3-4 unique flavors in some sort of contest, and only have them around for a limited time.

In 2013 there was Chicken and Waffle, Sriracha, and Cheesy Garlic Bread.
2014 brought Cheddar Bacon Mac & Cheese, Cappuccino, Mango Salsa, and Wasabi Ginger.
2015 had West Coast Truffle Fries, New York Reuben, Greektown Gyro, and Southern Biscuits and Gravy.
2016 showcased Chinese Szechaun Chicken, Brazilian Picanha, Greek Tzatziki, and Indian Tikka Masala.
2017 had Everything Bagel with cream cheese, Crispy Taco, Smoked Gouda and Honey, and Avocado Toast.

Now in 2018, Lay's is stepping up their game and offering 12 special flavors, with 8 of those flavors being brand new. This year chip flavors are inspired by different regions of America.

From west to east, this years flavors are: West Coast Truffle Fries (returning), Thai Sweet Chili, Chile Con Queso, Fried Pickles with Ranch, Bacon Wrapped Jalepeno Popper (returning), Fried Green Tomatoes (returning), Deep Dish Pizza, Cajun Spice, Ketchup (returning), Pimento Cheese, Chesapeake Bay Crab Spice, and New England Lobster Roll.

However, a major obstacle to trying them all is that many of the flavors are only offered in the region they represent. So out here in California I'm sure to find West Coast Truffle Fries, but won't be able to get Deep Dish Pizza or New England Lobster Roll.
Thankfully for those of us who are completists, Lays offers a sampler pack online with all the different flavors...

Or at least they were supposed to. Demand was pretty overwhelming and despite checking in the days leading up to, and the day they were released, I didn't have any luck getting a sampler box.

I'm lucky to have a brother who is watching out for me on things like this. He was online at 6am, saw they were available and ordered one to ship to me. Thanks Patrick!

Touring the Jelly Belly Factory

It's been years since we've toured the Jelly Belly factory. Ian was a toddler and Alli wasn't even born the last time we were here, so I was really happy there was time to visit on this trip.

Apple Taste testing with Theresa

I love doing taste tests. Chips, cookies, Kit Kats, and even cereal. It's fun to get lots of different kinds together and try them all. While walking around the Napa Farmers Market, Theresa discovered a booth with a bunch of different apple varieties. Let's do a taste test!

Ian was helpful picking out all the best apples and was excited to help out.