Punkin' Patch

This past weekend we went to the pumpkin patch.  Nick was a doll baby the whole time and absolutely loved running through the "punkin's!", trying to pick up the heavy ones, and rolling the little ones down the hill.

My parents went with us for the first time, and while it was a bit chilly, fairly muddy, and my dad ended up carrying around my mom's purple purse the whole time, it's tough to say who had more fun - them or Nick!  I am confident that come next October they'll be asking us when we'll be going back before we can even pick a date and invite them.  And bonus, next year at this time we'll have another sweet little dude (who will be the same age Nick was at his first visit - 9 months) to add to the mix!

This year we chose to visit Hollins Farm in Delaplane, VA.  It was just enough excitement, entertainment, and pick-your-own produce to keep us busy, while not the least bit overcrowded.  Hollins Farm offered pick your own greens, peanuts, potatoes, and pumpkins, along with a corn maze, animals to look at, and an ice cream stand selling all sorts of fall goodies. 

Upon arrival, we managed to spot a group of owners with their Samoyed's...the same type of dogs my mom grew up with.  Nick, who loves all "puppies" was beside himself and begged to "pet! pet!" the dogs.  After about 15 minutes of petting, we had to pry him away with the promise of more fun to be had.  He had a hard time believing the dogs weren't the main attraction.

Next, we visited the pig/goat pen.  Again, Nick asked to pet the pig and goat, but it wasn't a petting zoo and at the fear of having his little fingers nibbled off, I kept him a safe distance from the fence.

After hanging around for about five minutes, my dad snagged us a wagon (such a great idea for the farm to have several wagons around for people to use), and we were off to the patch.

Nick ran around like a chicken with it's head cut off, and took no less than 10 face-plant spills from getting stuck in the pumpkin vines.  His shoes, jeans, hands and face were caked with mud, and his nose was pouring snot like a fountain, but he was so ridiculously happy that we just went with it.

Posing for pictures was the last thing on Nick's agenda, but I'm hopeful we got a few good family pics on Todd's camera that we can use for Christmas cards this year.  At one point during picture taking, my mom leaned over a bit too far and fell to her knee in the dirt.  Nick, ever the encourager, asked her over and over again "you ok, Gwamma??"  Bless his heart.

After we picked our pumpkins, paid for them, loaded them back in the car, and changed a very loaded diaper, we headed into the corn maze.  Nick took to leading us through the maze like he'd done this a thousand times before.  He giggled and squealed, and picked up fallen ears of corn and rocks.

Finally after weaving our way into and subsequently out of the maze, we all pulled off our muddy shoes and climbed back into dad's Tahoe, tired, cold, and hungry.  We headed off to Foster's Grille for some burgers and Nick all but nearly fell asleep in his grilled cheese.

As soon as we hopped back in the car after lunch, he quickly passed out and continued his nap all the way to my parents house, through the transition into our car, and into our house where he continued to sleep for another hour and a half.

To say it was a success would barely be covering it.  We had a blast, and Nick even asked to go back the next day!

Thanks Gramma & Boss for a fun-filled fall Saturday picking "punkins"!  We can't wait to take BOTH of our little pumpkins back next year!