First, we went to the pumpkin farm. We did the Hard level corn maze and it took about 30 minutes. The boys had so much fun running through the maze and finding the number signs as they went. As soon as they would find a number they would stand in front of it and say "Cheese" for us to take a picture. The weather was cool and I just loved watching Hayden run free in the corn. I wish I could have a mini maze at our house. The boys wanted to do it again, but we decided to move on to pumpkins because we could see a crowd starting to gather for hayrides.
The hayride to the pumpkin patch was great as usual and they are always so friendly there. We spent lots of time searching for just the right pumpkins. Hayden went all through the rows of pumpkins until he found just the right one. Once he had one pumpkin he decided to continue his search and found 2 more. One of them we are giving to his school for the Halloween celebration on the 30th. On the way back to the wagon he found one little baby pumpkin that he said we needed to bring to Buster so we got that one too!
After we put the pumpkins in the car we decided to get some veggies. The adults decided that walking all the way back to the field for veggies would do us in, so we opted to buy some at the little stand. I bought 2 awesome squash that I am going to roast with brown sugar for dinner tonight. They smell wondeful and I can't wait to crack them open. By the veggie stand, they sell snow cones and kettle corn. Hayden wanted some of the popcorn but I asked about ingredients and both had butter, so we quickly got him interested in the snow cones instead. He chose his flavors and spent about 20 minutes enjoying his icy treat.
Next, we moved on to the orchard and it was PACKED! We attempted to get our beloved asian pears but they were out of everything except some not-so-yummy looking apples. To drown our sorrows, we went into the bakery to get some yummy treats to take home. Hayden tried pumpkin bread and apple bread (dairy-free, yay!) and he loved both so we bought a loaf of each for home. We also got a loaf of pumpkin bread for Hayden to share with his friends at snack tomorrow at school. Lately there have been lots of birthdays in his class and kids keep bringing cupcakes and Hayden gets the shaft...an otter pop every time. (I am going to make some dairy-free cupcakes to keep in his school freezer for special events). I decided it would be nice for him to bring a special treat that is safe for him but still tasty for everyone and since it's pumpkin bread, his teacher can tell them about it while they eat. After we shopped some more, we saw an older Amish couple helping children make there own jumpropes. I didn't really think Hayden would care but boy was I wrong. He got right up on the stool and helped spin the handle to thread the rope! Afterwards he also discovered that the rope made an awesome lasso...particularly to catch James! We snapped some cute pictures of us, Hayden and David and headed for lunch. (We haven't been eating at the orchard the past two years due to lack of seating, bugs, and low variety for the kids. For adults, it's great but you have to have a place to sit with small children.)
We were going to drive through town to find a quaint cafe but it was 1:00 and the children were starving and tired so we opted for a lunch at a roadside restaurant..which was surprisingly good and they had dairy-free chicken strips so it was a perfect fit! By this time, it was 2:00 and we had been there since 9:30, so we decided to head home. Hayden of course passed out immediately and now has been talking about it since we got home. He asked if we can go back tomorrow to pick vegetables, but I told him we will have to wait on that. All of us are absolutely exhausted...and sunburnt. Matt and I look like we have been farming in the fields for hours! The pictures are in no particular order, but are very cute so you get the idea!
