Pumpkin Patch Tour - 2007

With all the rain we had this year, our pumpkin patch excursions were shortened to one big day. And a big day it was! Well, unless you count our trip to the apple orchard as a dual pumpkin patch trip. I don't think this is a typical "pumpkin patch". Sure, they grow pumpkins. But there is so much to do outside of the pumpkin fields. To me, it is more like one gigantic fall festival.

The girls' and I spent many many hours (8, I think) roaming the pumpkin patch and still didn't get to most of the available activities. Mommy & Spencer started the morning with us and then went home after lunch for a nap. They came back after Spencer's nap to finish out the day with us and, well they also needed to pick us up. In years past we've gotten "season passes" and would spend several days enjoying the pumpkin patch. It just wasn't in the cards this year. I think I'm the only one who’s bummed about that! It was quite muddy the day we did go, I can't imagine how muddy it was any of the days prior.

One of the first things we did once we arrived was the much anticipated pony rides. Of course this is an additional expense, but the kids know about them and very much look forward to it. So we took care of that first and foremost. We also checked out Bunnyville and rode the big trikes round and round the cool path. Some of the afternoon highlights included playing on their newest attraction (a cross between a bounce house and a trampoline), playing on slides & tractors in the kids play area, feeding the animals, sliding on the gigantic slide, watching pig races, riding the hay-rack to the pumpkin fields, and playing paint ball for our very first time.

The paintball thing... shocked me. I could tell by Carie’s reaction on the phone that it shocked her as well! We don't care for guns. We don't have guns in our house, play or real. I have no intentions on changing my opinions or policies on guns anytime soon. I don't care if other people use guns... for recreation... in a safe environment... in a safe way. I just never thought it would be us! But the girls saw the paintball guns and oddly enough knew exactly what they were. It was kinda scary, actually. They didn't inquire about them. They seemed to know enough about them to ask if they could give paintball a try. From a distance it appeared to be setup safely so we went and checked it out. I was impressed! So I purchased a medium size bag of paintballs for the girls to share. Again, the girls shocked me! They each counted out their portion of the paintballs, loaded them into the hopper, got their goggles all situated, and began shooting. It was like they knew exactly what to do. Each taking a turn, they picked up the gun and held it like they were pro's. Well, pro's for a 5yo who's never held a gun before. I had a hard time following their shots, but they seemed to be aiming and hitting various objects. They seemed pleased with their results and that was good enough for me. They blew through that first bag of paintballs in no time, so I decided we'd get one more bag. Once the second bag was gone, we moved on. They thought it was way cool.

By the end of the day we were all exhausted and ready to go home!