I was so excited about this past weekend, I could barely stand it. There's something about having a child that makes you feel like a kid yourself. We had made plans to go see the best pumpkin patch in the area on Saturday--the one I used to go to as a kid. (My childhood home, where I lived until I was 8, is only about 2 miles away, so, of course, we drove by before heading home. Memories.) It's where we not only got our pumpkins, but also our Christmas trees. It's a special place. Of course, the farm in my mind looks nothing like it does today. It exploded into pretty much the most popular pumpkin destination in the whole county. The parking lot could be likened to that of a football stadium's. (that's only a slight exaggeration) Yes, it's pumpkin heaven.
Our whole day could've been ruined from the moment we first walked in. I grabbed the camera (my Mom's, which she graciously let us borrow) to take a picture of Brooke in front of their Giant Pumpkin--a 1,007 lb. monstrosity which took 1st prize at the Virginia State Fair. The camera flashed "no memory card." You've got to be kidding me.
So, we pulled out our video camera. At least we'll have VIDEO, right? Our finicky video camera powered on, only to display a bright white screen. (it has serious issues with adjusting to sunlight) I could've cried. NO camera. NO video camera. Home is 30 minutes away, so that's out. Thankfully, they had disposable cameras for purchase! Sure, they're not the best quality, but at least we'll have SOMETHING. We can't leave without pictures. Aside from my obvious picture obsession, this is kind of a big deal! One year-old Brooke at the pumpkin patch. And considering we couldn't afford to buy more tickets for another day, it was now or never! :)
It's just one of those times when you have to decide whether you want to let something ruin your day, or if you are going to choose to let it roll off your back and have a great time anyway. We chose the latter, and ended up having a FABULOUS time! The disposable camera ended up getting decent pictures, and the video camera ended up working later on, allowing us to get 16 precious minutes of footage at the pumpkin patch.
Even though she's only 1, Brooke was able to enjoy so much! Adult and baby animals, (she LOVED the baby pigs, and baby cows) a corn maze, a 20 minute hayride, free cider and apples, live music, giant slides, (attended, of course!) hay bales, pumpkins and other things to explore and climb on. And the weather was cool, crisp and perfect!
Here are our (old fashioned, slightly grainy) pictures from the day... enjoy!
Brooke checking out one of the pig pens ~
Brooke on the tractor!
Our little family ~
Brooke and her Daddy ~
Brooke and I at LiveStalk checking out the baby pigs!
Brooke LOVED climbing the haybales.. almost as much as...
Their apples!!! Zoomed in to show Brooke desperately wanting another bite of my apple! They were the best apples I've EVER had!
Brooke and Ryan in the corn maze ~
I think we had just finished the corn maze ~
Brooke LOVED the slides!
Brooke and I on the hayride :)
Brooke & Daddy --best hayride we've ever been on!
This one shot was worth the price of the camera!
Here's what she was so excited about! Loves horses like her mama :)
