Jared, the girls and I took a quick little road trip to Michigan (5 hours) on Thursday, stayed the night with a friend of mine and her family (thanks Natalie!) and were up early in the morning so we could go and pick up some new apple trees from Hilltop Fruit Trees, LLC.  It’s apple blossom time in Michigan…   An employee helped Jared load the trees into the back of the truck.    Jared wrapped them up and strapped them down and we headed home.  We made good time through Chicago and were home in the early afternoon.  Frank and Diane came over about 15 minutes after we arrived, enough time for us to unpack and get changed into some work clothes.  Frank took control of the skidster and dug some holes with a special attachment.  Diane, Jared and I were in charge of planting.  A friend of ours showed up about 2/3 of the way through and was a great help getting the rest in.  Cedi and Capri were helpful too! Capri stomping the dirt in to get rid of any air pockets around the roots.    Onto Apple Blossom Days…we’re still going to be open on Saturday and Sunday May 8th and 9th from 9-4 for Apple Blossom Days as planned.  BUT as you can see from the pictures – the orchard is starting to blossom out about a week early – so, weather permitting we will also be open to the public on Saturday and Sunday May 1st and 2nd.  We’ll have the shop looking nice but I’m not sure if there will be any outdoor activities ready.  BUT you will still be able to walk around our orchard, enjoy the blossoms, take pictures, and enjoy some time out in the ‘country’ – oh and visit the goats and maybe the emus.  Any quilters that read this blog make sure you check out Challenge #2 of Project Quilting:  http://kimscraftyapple.blogspot.com/2010/04/project-quilting-apple-blossom-time.html