Pumpkin "Patch" 2011

Got another one checked off the Fall Bucket List!

Friday evening we grabbed a couple of buddies and headed out to one of our favorite spring-time haunts to check out their first ever pumpkin patch. I have been wanting my place to have a pumpkin patch for several years, so we would have another reason to visit besides picking strawberries.

Well, um, they may need a couple more years to perfect their pumpkin patch. It wasn't really a "patch" per se, more of a "dig through all of the shipping crates and pick through 14 tons (yes, 14 tons) of pumpkins to find the one you're looking for."

The good news is, it wasn't crowded.

I don't think they have quite figured out that most people go to a pumpkin patch to take cute pictures of their kids sitting amongst the pumpkins. If I just wanted to purchase a pumpkin, pretty sure I would just go down the street to the Kroger and get one there, instead of driving 45 minutes away to the advertised "pumpkin patch".

Undeterred, we selected our pumpkins, grabbed a couple of wagons, and enjoyed a perfect evening at the beautiful farm with our two little buddies. We tried our best for a couple of cute pictures of the group,

but Harper was having NONE of it.

I just love these pictures. I think I love them more than if they had turned out absolutely perfect, each child perfectly posed and smiling at the camera.

Imagine Christmas trees instead of pumpkins, and that's pretty much what our Christmas card pictures will look like this year.

Dane perfectly posed. Aidan's face completely revealing his mood at the moment. Emerson a bit distractible. Harper throwing a wall-eyed, completely irrational fit because clearly we are torturing her with all the sibling coordinated outfits and seasonal props. Life is hard when you're two.

Behind us is the corn maze, which we chose not to spend $64 for our group to walk through.

Instead, we enjoyed a picnic lunch (complete with cute little miniature orange sodas bought just for this occasion) and the kids played a few rounds of hide and go seek amongst the pumpkin crates.

We (might) see you next year, Not-Quite-A-Pumpkin-Patch!