One Thousandish Photos

Now. You have been well informed of my inability to delete photos of my babies, so let me encourage you to take a quick potty break. This isn't for the faint of heart and you may be here all night. Happily, these girls are gorgeous, therefore your vicarious visit on our pumpkin patch trip is guaranteed to be delightful.

Ready?

This was the coolest pumpkin patch we've ever been to. It was situated on a wide, hill-embedded farm - or what was meant to look like a farm for aesthetic purposes. I'm actually not sure there was a real pumpkin patch anywhere or if they were grown off site in a more utilitarian location, because this place was spectacular. Hundreds of visitors milled around, enjoying the attractions, which provided more entertainment than I'd expected.

Mia and Lauren's first stop was the Hay Tunnel: a stack of hay with a few different entrances to burrow through and pop out the other side. For being simple, this may have been their favorite activity of the day.

They chased each other around and around, playing peek-a-boo and giggling the whole time.

This little boy stopped next to Mia on one of her circuits around the hay. He made silly faces at her while she laughed behind her hand, never moving out of his way - just enjoying his antics.

I think he was more interested in frightening her, but he'd probably never come up against someone like my independent, strong-willed little girl.

Boy: Are you crying?!
Mia: *heehee* Naw-uuuh! I'm laughing! *heehee*

Boy: Why aren't you crying?

Mia: *heehee* Because I just like to laugh in this place. *heehee*

Boy: Huh. *darts away*

I heard the whole exchange, but wanted to hear Mia's interpretation. She wasn't too concerned, except to wonder why he thought she should be crying. "He was just silly - not scary, mom."

Nevertheless, I decided to become her escort for the hay tunnel. No little boys were gonna come near a lumbering, hunched-over mom chasing kids around the tunnel. My poor daughter. At least she still prefers my company over that of little boys. There will come a day...

Another neat activity at the pumpkin patch was a set of steep, long slides. The girls both got turns sliding down on burlap sacks, while they bumped along the variegated plastic surface.

It was really pretty slow for the little kids; Lauren had no trouble enjoying her snail's pace. That finger in her mouth is status quo for super duper excitement.

The farm also has a huge corn maze set up, and we tried our hand at getting lost inside it. Not a problem since they gave me navigational responsibility on the first few turns. I can get lost anywhere - promise. We were with our good friends Travis, Katie, and Savannah, who got us on the right track eventually.

Justin tried to convince Mia to look over the tops of the cornfield to see the way out, but she was oblivious. I would have been, too.

Then came the actual pumpkins. Lauren was in heaven with the hundreds of pumpkins available to her. She wandered over the entire area and I think she may have actually touched every pumpkin they had to offer.

Mia danced and hopped around the rows, a smile glued to her face. We've been trying to arrange a pumpkin patch visit for weeks, so when this one finally came through, she was ready for it.

Lauren soon realized most of the pumpkins were too heavy to pick up, so she resorted to hugging them instead.

She was an equal opportunity embracer.

She was an enthusiastic admirer.

One of the funniest moments was when Mia walked to the middle of the rows, spread her arms wide, and announced in her most carrying voice, "WELCOME TO THE PUMPKIN PATCH!" She's usually so shy and quiet around others so this sudden proclamation had me laughing and begging for repeats.

No shyness was allowed at the pumpkin patch. The pumpkins became stools, obstacles, babies, and benches as needed.

Once Lauren saw they could be sat upon, she became quite comfortable trying out different pumpkins for the best seat.

She wedged herself into bunched up piles of pumpkins and then crawled over and between them to find a new favorite place. Sitting still wasn't an option for too long.



Until the wheelbarrow came along, that is. Lauren and Savannah fit snugly together for a trip down the pumpkin rows.

I did try to get a picture of my two girls together at the same time and place. It didn't work out so well. I had them sitting side by side a few times, only to step away and have them immediately move again.

Or to find a random piece of hay that needed immediate attention.

When they started bickering (screaming, shoving, crying) for possession of the wheelbarrow, I knew our time was up.

Plus, my camera battery was going dead and I had no more room on the memory stick. One thousandish pictures at the pumpkin patch will wipe out an energetic camera lickety-split.

And if you stayed until the end of this post, your prize is in the mail. You may go now. But please come back soon! There's bound to be something short and sweet the longer you stick around.