Field Trips are awesome: Pumpkin Patch Part II

Ever feel the dread of fall? Worry that it will be the beginning of the long, dreaded winter season?

I used to, but recently, I have come to believe that Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons, especially here in the Great State of Oregon.

We were able to take another field trip on Friday, October 21st. with our former home-school co-op. The reason I called it 'former' is that we are no longer attending due to my recent baby addition to the daycare and the shear distance from our house. But we still keep in touch and can attend the field trips they hold. This time it was a day at one of our local favorite pumpkin patches, so we went to patch #2. This was a previous sign-up, pre-paid type of trip, so we saved our $ at the Roloff Farm by not getting pumpkins there, since at that point we had already paid for this one, which included pumpkins.

The day that we went to the pumpkin patch, it was gorgeous weather. I was worried because the forecast said it had a chance of showers, but the majority of the time we were there, we got lots of sunbreaks. It was just another example of the way fall can be sometimes in Oregon, absolutely amazing.

The only thing about this trip was that we had to take all the kids. I have an awesome minivan, but it only holds 5 kids in the back, and with all my kids and the daycare kids, I have 6, not including one that attends kindergarten during the time we would be at the patch.  My husband would have to drive his car with some of the kids in it. As it happened, however, one of the toddlers stayed home sick with his mommy. So I had just enough kids to fit into my sweet van. Yeah, we can all go in one vehicle!

Handsome Hubby at the Helm :)

I had a strollers for each baby, plus my toddler. But with only 2 adults, I had to assign a stroller to one of my older kids. My little princess, was happy to take on the job most of the time, and traded with her brother for breaks occasionally.

The first thing we did was enter the corn maze. Now, thought I had been to this particular pumpkin patch several times before, I had never gone through their famous corn maze, and neither had my family. This was going to be exciting!
We made our way through the rough ground and wind-y maze, stopping to look at the displays along the way, not getting lost, because our sense of direction is just amazing.  My kids were having fun taking turns being in the lead, and pushing the stroller. There was a great spot for a photo opportunity, so of course I took advantage.

 

We really enjoyed the walk...until we came to the STAIRS.

Q:How can 3 strollers go up these stairs? And get back down? 

A: Heroic gentlemen including my heroic hubby. Way to go, Babe! And thanks to another family that was also involved in the Co-op for helping lift and carry the babies. We made it!

 Doors? Where do they lead? Which door to choose? What's behind door #3?

"Having fun, honey?" "Sun's in my eyes." "Hey, at least it's not raining."

On the way through the maze, I ran into former co-workers and students from my old Learning Center. It was so nice to see some of these kids and how big they got in a couple years, and nice to see my old friends I spent a lot of time with. And, I gotta say, it was nice for me to have them see me looking good and being "successful" in my at-home business, out on a field trip. Okay, I admit, I'm kind of... what's the word? self-conscious, sometimes.

After the maze, we made it over to the kids area, the place the kids look forward to every year.

It has the best attractions: haymaze, 'sandbox' full of corn kernels, race track with tricycles, merry-go-round, crawl tunnel that looks like a castle, playhouse, etc. And that's not all, just what I can remember at the moment. :) 

 We loved the merry-go-round.

 Here's the second time around.

 And the third...

 Here's one of my little "princesses" I care for. She really enjoyed the pit of corn.

She played in here quite a little while before she attempted to put it in here mouth and I had to take her out.

 Even thought his feet couldn't pedal the bike, it didn't stop him from running that thing all over the track.

 This little playhouse was so cute, and our little cruiser loved standing in it while holding onto the tables. She felt so big!

"I see you!"

From there we went into the pumpkin field to pick our pumpkins.

"I found one! Don't worry, it was over here in the dirt."

Ew, don't eat it.

"Is this the right size?"

"I got my punkin!"

 Here's me with my other Little Princess. Isn't she a doll.

Here's really close close-up. I was holding her and my camera at the same time. 

We made it home with our "li'l punkin's"carrying their little pumpkins .  But we never got around to carving them this year, due to so much other out-of-the-house activities this season, and lack of energy towards wanting to deal with the mess. We've made up for it in previous years by doing pumpkin carving several times in a month, so I figured it was time for a break. We'll be sure to do it next year. 

I sure hope our next outing is as lovely as this one was.