Pumpkin Patch

We go out to the pumpkin patch every year, this year we did it twice. Once as a family, and then me and the girls got to go with Hayden's Kindergarten class too! I love the pumpkin patch. Its a photo-taking extravaganza! We get to take a hayride out to the patch. This year, we rode the John Deere-both times. Pretty cool! The Monday night we went as a family, it was very quiet out there, maybe two or three other families. Now, pumpkin hunting is a very individualized sport. I like an enormous fat pumpkin, especially with deep grooves and lots of bumps on it. If there is some green, even better. Hayden does not appreciate the green pumpkin, as it is not ripe yet in his eyes. He likes them round, with little or no grooves. Sage just hopes to be able to lift one some day. Heath prefers them pre-gutted, pre-cut Jack-O-Lanterns-or pureed with some cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Marlee likes them best when they are small enought to get ahold of and chew on. We got two great pumpkins, just perfect for carving. We did the hay bale maze and pyramid, always fun. Lastly, before they shut the lights out on us, we got to pet all the animals in the barn. One of the ladies who worked there got the bunny out for us to pet. Sage was speechless for a good 30 seconds. She loved the bunny. When speech did return, she just kept saying, "He's so soft!" with an enourmous grin on her face. She loved the pig too, gave him a good snort. Hayden talked to all the animals, but I don't think he got too close to any of them. He did get a kick out of quacking with the chattiest duck ever.

totally ripped this pose off from Jamie :)

And it wouldn't be a trip to the pumpkin patch without getting some of their homemade candy at the cute store. I prefer the dark chocolate covered caramels with almonds. Heath went with the chocolate mint truffle. Really, you can't go wrong in there. Fun, fun, fun!

Hayden's class went this week. It was a gorgous sunny day. I put Marlee in the backpack which she loves. Sage knows most of the kids in Hayden's class and just blends in. A couple of the girls have adopted her as a surrogate little sister and she couldn't be happier about it. Turns out that our favorite pumpkin patch has a special patch of little pumpkins. Perfect for a bunch of kindergarteners needing to carry their own pumpkins. It was really cute. The kids all got to do the other fun activities: maze, pyramid, barn, and they got a snack. A cookie and cider. It was so fun watching the kids play and enjoy this great place.

The pink blob is Marlee, she desperately needed a nap, but was having a tough time falling asleep with so many kids around to watch.
The kids had a great time climbing around on this pyramid. When they were told it was ok to climb, it was like watching an ant hill the way they swarmed their way to the top and ran around. Sage followed her brother all the way to the top. When we got home, we discovered her pants and shoes were full of hay from sliding around on.Hayden reached the top!