The Obligatory Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Don't get me wrong, I like the pumpkin patch.  But, let's face it.  One only goes there when one is a child or when one has a child.  Unless one works with children.

My boys had been looking forward to the pre-school field trip to Bi-Zi Farms (awful name, isn't it?) for weeks.  It was kind of a strange set-up.  The farm was only open to groups, so different school groups rotated from station to station:  hay bale maze (a Willem favorite because he got to participate right alongside The Kids, as he calls them), petting zoo, giant hay bale pyramid, hay ride out to the actual pumpkins and back.

This goat almost ate the camera when I was distracted by the adorable baby miniature goats.

Both boys bucked up and fed the aforementioned adorable baby miniature goats.  Nels giggled.

Willem spent some time in solemn contemplation of the goats.  He wasn't his usual exuberant self.

This was the second-favorite activity to the hay bale maze.  It had tunnels throughout, and I'm not sure that letting Willem disappear into the middle of this pile was one of my wiser parenting decisions.  Thankfully he emerged unscathed and unsquashed by any of the bigger kids.  

We saw corn.

Thankfully, the boys were happy to choose tiny pumpkins, as there were very slim pickings left this late in the season.  I took this photo in the only remaining area of intact pumpkins.  Mostly the ground was covered with large, rotting, caved-in pumpkins, and sunflowers in various states of decay.  Seriously, it was probably the most gruesome thing we're likely to see all Halloween season.  I was surprised that neither of my kids freaked out.  Nels did at one point say, "Mom...what's that?" while pointing to a sunflower head that had grown fuzz and then started to melt into a soupy pile.  Blech.  Nels is notorious for dragging his feet, and, true to form, he tripped on pumpkin vines a few times.  I was incredibly relieved to make it back to the wagon without having him fall into a pumpkin.  I can only imagine the blood-curdling scream that would have elicited.

Our two hours at the pumpkin patch ended, predictably, with a Willem meltdown.  Here is his futile attempt at stopping me from taking his picture. 

My throat wasn't feeling so great all day, and by the time I fed the kids lunch it was all I could do to put on a movie for them and crawl into bed.  I've had a nasty cold ever since.  I very rarely get sick enough that I just need to laze about for several days.  Fortunately I've had the World Series to entertain me.  And Shaun to take care of the kids.  Now he's feeling under the weather, but I figure I must be on the mend.  Just so Willem stays healthy and none of us are contagious by Nov. 4.