Fall Fun

Our absolute favorite time of the year is fall, and the last few years we’ve taken advantage of it all too infrequently. So Saturday morning we decided to go to a pumpkin patch in Weston, an hour’s drive north of us. It was a beauty of a day – crisp and cool, leaves changing – definitely fall. We started with breakfast at The Coffee Girls, hopped in the car and headed for fun.

The temperatures were barely out of the 40’s when we arrived, but we bundled everyone up (after Mandy, who was wearing her down vest the entire car ride, asked if I thought they really needed jackets) and took off exploring.

The namesake barn:

A view of the farm from the top of the hill

"...whose fleece was dingy grey..."

Noah really got a kick out of the roosters crowing.

Excited to be at the farm!















Noah wasn't so sure about the horses. Even the ones his size. He was quick to decline a pony ride.

Elliot getting a kick out of watching the goats.

There were all kinds of pumpkins and gourds to choose from, including different-colored ones, gnarly ones, and just plain weird-looking ones.















Waiting for the hayride to the pumpkin patch.
















A rare family portrait. You can't tell it from this picture, but this was Noah's favorite part of the trip (he told us later that night). The tractor-drawn hayride took us to a several-acre patch of pumpkins. You could pick one and take it back for them to weigh it, and see how much it would cost. I think it was also free labor on their part if you carried one back.

Mandy and her boys in the pumpkin patch.















Trying to get a decent picture on the ride back. This is typical of our attempts - they're looking everywhere but the camera. On the off chance one of them does look at the camera, they're either making a goofy face or the other one is looking away.

Elliot looking serious. He was really just chillin' on the hayride back from the pumpkin patch. He seemed to enjoy it too.

Sweet pictures of Noah and Mandy goofing around on the ride back.
















Elliot fell asleep soon after we got back, so I walked him around a little bit while Mandy and Noah enjoyed some one-on-one time...

...and negotiated over turns at the bag of kettle corn.















One of my favorite things to see is my wife and my son together.















Noah thought the scarecrows were funny, especially these guys.













Noah, still in charge of the bag of kettle corn, was doling it out one kernel at a time.

Both of them taking a bite.















Noah getting mad when Mandy reaches for a piece of kettle corn. Clearly it wasn't her turn yet.

Back to sharing.

Noah running through the prairie grass maze. This was another of his favorite parts.














Grandma and Grandpa joined us at the farm later in the day, and we all had a bite to eat.














Elliot was tired of being held, so we let him play on the walkway.














Noah is looking so old, even at three.

Noah in the maze.

Elliot was a dirty mess, but he loved it.

We all had a great day at the farm, and the boys saw lots of animals. Noah picked out four pumpkins for us to take home - three small ones and one great big one for cutting/decorating later. We took a short drive through Weston to see the apple festival, but decided against unloading the boys again, who were both tired, and decided to head on back home.