Great Falls Family Photographer | Arizona Orchard Family Time

As I’m sitting here back at home in Great Falls, listening to the gentle breeze (yeah right) that is about to take down my fence, it’s a little hard to not want to be back in Arizona. And while I say that, I truly don’t think I could ever move out of our beautiful state, but dang - a little vacation away, especially in our winter months, is such a blessing!

We got to spend a full week in the sun, and while it wasn’t hot by any stretch (mostly mid-60’s), the clear skies and the green plants were a special kind of therapy! It also didn’t hurt that we kept busy staying outside most of the time we were down there, and our kids had a BLAST. Mia asked repeatedly if she could just stay in the sunny state. Sorry, sister.

One of my all-time favorite activities to do (and photograph!) while we are down there is citrus-picking! Citrus orchards are only open a few months out of the year in the early winter months, and we were lucky enough to hit that window of time this year. Lemons, grapefruits, every type of orange…you name it, and they grew it…and then we picked it! The kids - my two kiddos and my two nieces - probably had the most fun of everyone. Mia still claims this is one of her favorite activities from our trip.

Look at those blue skies!!!! Whhaaaaaa! (me crying on my laptop over here) It’s just so beautiful. Mia had the best time reaching the tallest fruit that only she could reach (with a little help from dad).

Another bonus to citrus picking is the sampling. Most orchards allow you to try each variety of orange, and any activity that involves food with our kids = a good time. And who am I kidding…the adults were snacking more than the kids.

When you first walk into the orchard, it’s a little overwhelming because not all orchards label their trees/fruit. So it’s a little bit like Easter egg hunting, which is maybe why the kids had so much fun. They had to be wrangled in a bit so that we didn’t end up with twelve bags of oranges, and after a little instruction from Grandpa that “bigger isn’t always better”, they got the hang of it!

We had to include a few action shots in all of this, so Jason showed of his juggling. Not bad, eh?

Well I hope you enjoyed a little look into our Arizona vacay, and one of our favorite spots - the orchard! If you get a chance to visit that sunny state, message me for some must-see places to visit!