Pumpkin Patch

There's a pumpkin patch not to far from us, but far enough to qualify as "in the boonies." Family operation, complete with farm animals, hayrides, corn maze and the like. I took the kiddos out there last Friday, joining up with Aunt Christi and her crew and Bill and his kids.

Here's the mini-maze for those that need practice for the real thing. Or for those who need to burn off energy.

Paul enjoyed the corn maze. It involved running down a path at full speed and occassionally looking over his shoulder to see if I was coming.

Andy and Rachel enjoyed the corn maze too. Actually, Rachel might have enjoyed it a bit more if Bill hadn't started storytelling about rabid rabbits somewhere in the corn. Because it turns out that Andy's superpowers are weakened immensely within corn mazes. He grabbed Rachel's hand and wouldn't let go until they were out of the maze and away from the imaginary rabbits. Truth be told, I think Rachel enjoyed having Andy cling to her; it was one of those rare Kodak moments.

Giant slide. Dirt pile at the bottom. Good thing I was forced to man the camera.

And then there were the animals. My oldest and youngest seemed drawn to the livestock, while I tend to agree with Andy that livestock should probably be left to themselves.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not against livestock. It's just that goats and llamas that close to my face doesn't thrill me in any stretch of the imagination.

Rachel, on the other hand, spent quite a bit of time conversing with the two llamas. They bonded over livestock food and hay. One llama got a bit demanding though and Rachel decided the livestock show was over.

Ah, how do you choose the correct pumpkin to take home? Why, you crawl all over them and whichever one holds up the strongest is yours!