Saturday, October 17, 2009

Pumpkin Patch


We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch today.  While last year's trip was warm and sunny, today's trip was the opposite but it didn't seem to dampen any spirits.  The kids were excited because this year they got to go on a hayride!  But first things first. We went to the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead in Overland Park, KS which has a model  Kansas farm for kids to interact with.  The best part is that the children's farm is free.


As soon as you walk in you are greeted by a chicken pen.  Emma was fascinated with the chickens.  Ryan was scared.  We then moseyed on to the dairy barn which had real live cows. The girls were excited.  Ryan was scared.

 
It also had a saddle right out in the middle of the floor which Jenna and Ryan had to try.  Contrary to the evidence above, Ryan is having a good time.  He just doesn't believe in smiling for the camera anymore.  He's moved on from the wink to a more stoic look.  In fact, his preschool pictures were on Thursday and his teacher told me that she had to literally be attacked by Elmo to make him smile.  I'm not sure which should concern me more: the fact that they had to go to such lengths to make him smile or the fact that he found his teacher being mugged amusing.

 
We then checked out the Indian village, complete with tepees.  The girls quickly decided that they had no desire to live in a tepee.
 
Next was the baby goat pen, which Ryan was afraid of.  He was completely content to stay outside and watch while...



The girls feed the baby goats.  Emma wasn't frightened at all.  I was more concerned that the goats might eat Toodee, who was in her left hand.



Jenna and Julia both had their turn feeding the goats too.


While Gauge found a new friend.

 
Next up was the tractor races because what farm experience isn't complete without tractor races?  The farmstead had an oval track for the kids to race their tractor tricycles.

Finally, it was time for the main attraction:  The Hayride and the Pumpkin Patch.

 
The five of us on the hayride.  I never got a picture of the wagon.  The wagon was pulled by 2 horses which completely freaked Ryan out.  When I came time to climb onto the wagon I had 3 crying children which caused quite the spectacle.  (Good thing I'm used to causing spectacles so it didn't really bother me.)  Ryan was crying because of the horse.  Emma was crying because I put her down to load Ryan onto the wagon and Jenna was crying because she wanted to sit on my lap, which obviously wasn't going to happen.  Once the hayride started, all crying stopped and Ryan thought it was fun.

 
Cody and Gauge on the hayride.

Once we got to the pumpkin patch there were many things for the kids to do.  There was a giant slide on top of hay bales.  While I got several videos of the kids on the slide, I didn't get any pictures.

 
The kids then went fishing in a kiddie pool for wooden pumpkins.

 
While Emma played in a watering trough full of corn.

 

We then moved onto search for the perfect pumpkins.  The entrance fee to the patch include a pumpkin for each person.  Ryan must have gone through about 20 pumpkins before he left with one.  Notice the happy little guy in this photo.


Compared to the scared little boy last year.  It's amazing the difference a year can make.

 
Here's the look I got from Jenna most of the day.  From complaining about her boots, to her whining that she was cold, Jenna wasn't a happy girl most of the day.

 
But she seemed pretty happy when she got her pumpkin.

 
Emma spent most of her time in the pumpkin patch picking up sticks.  She had no interest in pumpkins.  In fact, when given a pumpkin this was her response:



Some days I wish I could give a pumpkin a good spike too.

 

We knew it was time to go when spiking pumpkins wasn't fun any longer and Emma just wanted to be held.  Nevertheless, the pumpkin patch was a smashing success.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

9 comments:

Mei Mei s and Mayhem said...

Looks like you all had a blast. I love the pic of Emma feeding the goats!! The video is too cute too.

Trying Traditional said...

Looks like a crazy day, but fun, too. Now your neighbors know who to call when their pumpkins get smashed! All kidding aside, they do look quite a bit like a ball (that needs to be fully inflated, though.)

We were hoping to hit a pumpkin patch this year, but the ones around here are so expensive and the cold weather kind of caught us off guard. The girls had scarves and mittens on today!

Heather said...

I wanna come! And I promise you wouldn't even have to hold me or take me to the potty. Oh, and I'm not afraid of farm animals either. That's 3 things I've got going for me.

We're headed the the pumpkin patch tomorrow. It's gonna be freezing cold and 1 of my kids has no coat. I guess a sweatshirt over some thermal underwear will just have to do.

I'm glad you've been back at blogging lately. I'm not really a Facebook gal and I really missed your humor. I've decided that we must laugh at ourselves, otherwise we'd find a way to do ourselves in!

~Isabel said...

LOL....the clip of Emma spiking the pumpkin is just too funny!! We are suppose to go next weekend, so hopefully, the weather will be good.

So glad that you all had a great time!

Unknown said...

You are the best Mom I know! Those kids are soooo blessed.

Unknown said...

Looks like a fun day!

Brandy said...

That Emma is a talented one. I think that pumpkin pitching is going to be an Olympic event in the near future!

Crystal Oh said...

Looks like fun! LOL @ the video of Emma throwing the pumpkin! Guess you never know what to expect out of her, huh?!

Bethany said...

Emma's reaction is so funny! Maybe she thought it was a ball ;) It looks like most of you enjoyed your trip to the pumpkin farm!