Saturday, October 29, 2016

2016 Pumpkin Patchin

Fall wouldn't be complete without a trip to the pumpkin patch. This activity is usually at the top of our fall to-do list along with painting pumpkins, roasting marshmallows, and going on a hayride. I'm happy to report that we have crossed the latter items off our list along with visiting not one but two different pumpkin patches so far this season. I've obviously been spending more time in corn mazes than blogging, but I'm hoping that the photo overload below will suffice as an apology. There's just so much to do this time of year and with these 70 and 80 degree temps hanging around, the last thing I want to do is be indoors on the weekend.

I must say that the pumpkin patches in mid-Missouri have really stepped up their game! The amount of activities for the kids (and the variety of snacks for the adults) is quite impressive. For our first visit, we decided to try out Lloyd's Pumpkin Patch in Ashland, MO (our soon-to-be hometown) where we all had a great time. We arrived just before noon on a Sunday, and it was the perfect time to go. The weather was cool and overcast and the kids were in great moods. Taylor loved the barrel rides, corn maze, and ducks, and Logan was mesmerized with the giant corn pit. We only stayed a couple of hours as nap time was quickly approaching, but we definitely got our money's worth and will be sure to put it on our list again next year.










Logan in these bibs makes my heart swoon. I swear, I envisioned him in this exact scenario when I purchased them during my pregnancy.



Our second visit was to Pete's Pumpkin Patch in Rolla, MO. We had so much fun there with my parents, sister, nieces, and nephew last year that we decided to make it an annual thing. Jake was out of town competing in his first Tough Mudder, so the kids and I headed south for a weekend at Granny and Papa's. If you're anywhere close to this place, I definitely recommend checking it out. It is by far the best pumpkin patch we've been to (and we've been to our fair share). Although there are a lot of activities and it's usually packed with people, you'd never know it. It's very spacious and built to hold a lot of people at once. Our kids ran around like chickens with their heads cut off, constantly pulling us in different directions because they were so excited to get to every activity. We had our usual kettle corn break halfway through but substituted the hot chocolate for ice cold water since it was 75 degrees and the sun was blazing. After a long, sweaty afternoon running from one activity to another, we headed out to the patch, picked a few pumpkins, then headed home. Logan was asleep before we pulled out of the parking lot.








How funny that my dad thought he could nonchalantly take Logan for a ride on the train without everyone else wanting to tag along! I took the first photo below and before I could even get out of the way, the rest of the troops were climbing into the car with him. Definitely more than he bargained for!



As I was going through my photos, I realized that the photo below depicts each of their personalities to a T. Taylor always looks sweet and innocent but is usually up to no good. Riley (to Taylor's right) is mother hen, watching over the younger kids and tattling to the grown ups whenever they do something they're not supposed to. Garrett, the sole boy of the family until Logan arrived, is typically quiet and usually tries to make a friend wherever we go so that he isn't stuck dealing with a gob of girls. Logan is interested in what everyone else is doing and is probably trying to squirm out of Nat's arm so that he can eat something off the ground. Nat is the oldest of the group and therefore the true mother hen. She is so good with all of the kids and usually has 2 or 3 of them in her sights wherever we are. She is the absolute sweetest, most selfless person I know. And then there is Reagan, as sassy and outspoken as they come. She knows no limits and has no fears. A true force to be reckoned with.


I love these kids with every ounce of my being and spending time with time with them is always entertaining. I hope that we can continue our pumpkin patch tradition for as long as possible, and I can't wait to watch little Logan running alongside the big kids next year. Hope you're all having a wonderful (yet warm) fall!

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