Family Time at the Pumpkin Patch

Dean took the day after he returned home from China off to spend with the boys and I. What a treat! Ben, Joe, and I fought over who got to spend the most time with daddy; we couldn't get enough of him!

It was a super chilly day for the pumpkin patch but we bundled up and headed south to Waterman's Farm. Animal lover Joe was thrilled to see chickens and goats outside the entrance and would have been content had the day ended there.

Ben was thoroughly annoyed by my desire to document the day in pictures but posed (oh so cheerily as you can see) for the obligatory snapshots by the yardstick measuring how big you were at this year's pumpkin patch visit. Ben did enjoy the bouncy slide and the huge hay loft. Joe-Bug was less than amused by the cold temperature, but was a good sport nonetheless.

Both boys liked racing cars around the track.

A huge hit every year is the pumpkin eating dinosaur, and this year was no exception. The farmer in charge of feeding the dino said the one good thing about all the rain we have been having this October is that it makes for super gooey pumpkin guts and the dinosaur pumpkin eating show is extra gross. Ben was thrilled!

After enjoying the dino we boarded the hayride that very bumpily transported us back to the pumpkin patch. The farmer who traveled with us told the kids that there was a pumpkin out in the patch for everyone and you had to look for the pumpkin with your name on it. I think Ben might have taken him literally as he spent a great amount of time searching for the perfect pumpkin. But find it he did. Joey was a bit less picky and was thrilled with every pumpkin he saw. He thought he spotted the best pumpkin of all....

but found it a bit cumbersome to manage so he found a more modest size pumpkin he could easily carry on his own.

We happily boarded the tractor with our pumpkins in tow and headed back to the car. After a lunch at Steak n Shake we were on our way home. It was a day well spent!