Punkins & Patches

Every year we look forward to making the trek to our local pumpkin patch.  Technically the "trek" is only about a 10 minute drive and the pumpkin patch itself isn't the best out there but for our needs (i.e. family with young kiddos) it's plenty sufficient for what we are looking for.  

This year we went a little earlier than usual.  It worked out well since we seemed to beat most of the rush.  There was so much to do and we didn't quite know where to start.  Luckily, the pony rides were first on our path and thus first on our list…

She's a natural so she gets to ride without help.

Jonas started out riding without help but kept saying "Whoa, Whoa" while flexing every muscle in his body.  Daddy took pity on him and convinced him he wasn't falling off like he thought.  I don't blame him though, the saddle was leaning a bit.

Next was the corn box.  I was particularly looking forward to this new feature until I saw exactly how big (small) the box was.  I guess I had loftier expectations.  Luckily the kids didn't and seemed to enjoy themselves anyway.

Next came the petting zoo.  We got to see/touch the animals through a little partitioned off fence.  That worked well for my kids since even that took some warming up for them.  By the end of our stay they were petting goats like nobody's business!

And of course, the famous corn maze.  We always opt for the kiddie maze since none of us are very direction oriented and getting lost in corn (or worse, losing a child in corn) doesn't sound like a fun outcome.  We went through a few switchbacks and let Addison lead us a bit until we finally made it back to the entrance.  Good enough for us folks!

Daddy with the children of the corn.

Mommy with the children of the corn.  I have an extra since she was strapped to me.  ;)

And of course, we HAD to jump on the hay bales.  I did this a LOT and loved it when I was growing up.  My Grandpa was a cattle farmer and always had hay bales in the yard.  I was excited to see Addison loved it as much as I used to.  She kept asking to go back to the hay bales the whole time we were there.  Have I mentioned she's my twin?

Jonas was also a pro but always seemed to land on his knees onto the next bale.  He didn't seem to mind but it hurt me just watching him.  I love this mid-jump picture. 

And of course, it wouldn't be a pumpkin patch trip without a ride on the cow train.  Every year, I keep hoping the kids are old enough to ride this by themselves.  Addison, yes.  Jonas, eh I don't trust him to stay in the cart while they disappear out of sight.  Soooo, that meant I got stuck riding it once again.  Normally, it'd be fine but since I barely fit by myself, holding a child on top of me doesn't make for the most comfortable ride.  And without fail, we always seem to get a "bouncing cow" which means my knee caps grate on the plastic with each bounce throughout our whole journey.  What I won't do for my cute kiddos….and to ensure that Jonas stays IN the cow train for the duration of the ride.

Mommy riding with her cute boy.  

Addison braving the train on her own.  She's SUCH a photogenic girl - I'm jealous.

All in all, we had a BLAST at the pumpkin patch.  The weather was perfect and the kids enjoyed it.  It's always such a fun way to kick off the fall season.  We are big fans of Fall in this house.

Of course, another fun tradition to check off our list is the carving of the pumpkins.  We didn't bother doling out all our cash on the pumpkin patch pumpkins.  We picked ours up from Walmart instead.  They are quite a bit cheaper but didn't seem to last too long before they rotted out.  It was probably due to the fact we carved them fairly early this year.  

The kids didn't seem to hesitate when it came time to pull the guts out.  It was right up Jonas' alley.

It's a bit blurry but the kids were excited to show off their masterpieces.  I love celebrating Halloween through my children's eyes.  Everything is so much more exciting.