Family Fall Day

Every year, since I can remember, we have taken the four to a pumpkin patch of sorts.  A day spent at a local farm, meandering around, exploring, finding pumpkins and enjoying the changing of the seasons.  This year was no different.  Yet this year I found myself remembering visits past and thought I would share just one photo of the Things from a previous pumpkin patch visit.

 

Glendale, AZ 2005

 

Our Saturday called for sleeping in and having a slow morning at home, a rarity in our lives during this season.  Husband Jared had promised Yo Yo donuts for breakfast which meant maple-bacon deliciousness was on the menu.  A sweet treat for sure and a promising start to our day.  We checked football scores, anxiously waiting results from our team's match and then we bundled up and hit the road.  It is a beautiful ride out to the farm, foliage lined roads, all bedecked in majestic fall colors. 

This barn was waiting for us as we pulled into the farm.  Notice the unique barn quilt.

 

This being our first visit to this farm we knew we had made a good choice when we read on the website that this is a family farm and has been so for thirty years.  Wow.  We missed apple picking but we were still able to take a ride on the tractor through the orchards and vineyards and learn a few fun facts.  For instance, did you know that France and Minnesota share the same latitude and longitude coordinates?  Or at least a particular area in each place do, close enough, right?  Which is why Minnesota is known as the wine belt of the USA.  Who knew?  I certainly didn't.  Although the season here is considerably shorter than in France, the soil conditions are optimal for growing grapes.  Moving on, we also learned how apple trees are grafted and grown.  An interesting tidbit that Husband Jared and I knew nothing about.  If you attempt to grow an apple tree from the actual apple seeds you will wind up with a fruitless tree with branches.  Now, if you graft a branch from the tree and attach it just right to another tree you will have an apple tree of whatever variety.  That's basically the uneducated, not the horticulturist's description.  Of course the "baby" trees are grown someplace special, transported and grafted under optimal conditions.  Of course. 

 The Things and Mama on our tractor ride

 

The orchard

 

After our informative tractor ride around the farm the Things made friends with the animals of the farm.  Thing 3 never strayed far from this beauty.  There were lamas and goats and rabbits and farm dogs and farm cats.  Animals everywhere you turned.  Old tractors and farm equipment were scattered around as well.  The Things explored and then explored some more.  Thing 1 was busy snapping photos of a green covered barn, Thing 4 pretending to drive the tractor and Thing 2 talking to the animals. 

 



 

 Then it was time to choose pumpkins.  There was a monetary limit and the Things had to get creative with the selection they had.  And with that we ended up with a wagon full of varying pumpkins, short and round, long and tall, and just plain big. 

 The Four Things, love.

Their pumpkins

Once the pumpkins were loaded in the car we happened upon a playground that was empty and just begging us to stop and play.  So we did.  There was a merry go round and boy did they go round!  Husband Jared and I ran around and around in attempts to spin the Things faster and faster. 

Love this and love my man

We spent the next moments running, catching our breath and trying not to fall over.  I do believe that Husband Jared and I were running faster than the merry go round ever spun.  Go figure.  The Things were still squealing with delight and laughing and laughing.  Which in the end is always worth it.  Music to my ears.  The adventure ended at Lola's Lake house for some grub and card playing and then a quiet ride home.  Yeah right.  The family fun continued all the way home and then through dinner time, homemade pork ramen soup, prepared by Husband Jared and Thing 4 and snuggle time all together.  A wonderful family fall day.