Pumpkin patch - Year 2!

This year Bobby was able to come with us to the pumpkin patch. We had to go on a Friday after I got home from work but it was totally worth it to have him there. He also saved us $10 by doing the 'all you can carry' instead of paying by the pumpkin. Ayden was so excited this year. He remembered going last year and kept yelling, "Pumpkin!" He was thrilled with the tractor/hay ride. He loves tractors. He wasn't as interested in finding his own pumpkin this year as he was in running up and down the field. Bobby set off with Ayden to find a white pumpkin and I followed Brooklyn, Caleb and Seth to get pictures of them with their pumpkins. Caleb went for a smaller one this year. Brooklyn found one she liked but said there were ticks on it (they were gnats but whatever). She settled for a smaller one with more green on it. Seth found his immediately. There aren't as many good shots this year since I had to carry Dillon around on my hip. He just looked on, totally content. Afterward we took the kids to McDonald's and even had ice cream as a special treat for doing well in school. I'm already looking forward to next year. Here are the photos we did get from the day:

Oh Forget It! I'm So Weak!

No wonder my kids are such wild hooligans! I broke down and did it. I took them to the pumpkin patch. It was a gorgeous drive and I'm sure as the season progresses it will only be prettier. It's just a two lane road with huge trees on either side. The place really was only 10-12 minutes away. At first when I got there I didn't see any pumpkin patch, just a lot of pumpkins. They weren't even arranged on haystacks all cutesy like. I was a bit disappointed but told the kids - oh well, let's just get our pumpkin. I figured that was karma telling me I should not be rewarding them. Then a young man asked if we were there for the hayride, "Um is there one? Sure." He showed us where to go, right next to where I parked. By the way, I'm so observant lately. We got into the trailer, sat on our bail of hay and headed off on our little drive!

So we went on our bumpy ride around the facility. It really is a huge place. I wondered if they were just going to drive around then take us back to the entrance where we'd get our pre-picked pumpkins. As I wondered I admired the scenery, there were goats, horses and just tons of beautiful scenery. It was called a vegetable farm and I guess that is why there was so much land. Isn't it pretty?
I mean really, can you blame me for taking them? Look at what a gorgeous day we had. And it was in the 70's! You just can't beat that!! So we pulled over into one of the fields and it was a true pumpkin patch! Pumpkins everywhere. Ayden was restless so I was busy trying to get a couple of pictures while pointing out the pumpkins to keep him from walking around the trailer.
Our ride became crazy bumpy but it was fun. They pulled us all the way to the other end, dropped us off and told us to go find our pumpkin! It was $6 a pumpkin or $20 for all you can carry. Man, I wish Bobby was there. He could've carried quite a bit. Instead I told each child to find their pumpkin. I warned them to make sure it was one that they could carry. There was no way I could handle Ayden and all the kids' pumpkins with my huge belly.
Ayden found his first.
He could even carry it by himself. It was the perfect pumpkin for him. Seth was next - it was a bit heavy but he really liked it. He showed me he could pick it up so I let him keep it.

Caleb was on the look out for the perfect, big pumpkin. So we'll join him again in a bit. Brooklyn wanted a white one.
The first one she found was nice, but had a hole in it. :( Not a good idea I told her. She set out looking for another. And just look!
Lucky girl! Now Caleb needed his. The kids joined in to help him look.
He looked it over, not big enough...
Finally, the perfect pumpkin. He barely made it. He had to have Brooklyn's help.
That's a pretty big pumpkin! So we got back in the trailer and headed back to pay for our pumpkins. Lucky us, Ayden's was free! It was such a fun day. A shout out of thanks to Lisa M. for telling us where to go! It was great.