PUMPKIN PATCH FIELD TRIP

Being such big kids now, this was not their first field trip to a pumpkin patch. It was Cora's second (her first was last year to a local farm) and James' third (his first was in 2010, to that same local farm). This year, being at a new school (we moved to AMCA last October, but it was after the pumpkin patch field trips), we took a longer trip to a bigger farm (Nichols-Boyd, which we visited with James back in 2009 as his very first pumpkin patch trip). Again, I have MANY photos from our pumpkin patch adventure, so I'll try to keep the captions to a minimum...

To start the day, Sophie and I loaded all 4 kiddos in the van, which brought on major excitement from everyone (except Leo, perhaps).

Upon our arrival, we went to check out all the cool animals.

Is your Mama a Llama?

 

Then we loaded the entire preK group into a giant tractor wagon for a hay ride tour of the farm.

Yes, the kids and I were all dressed in red. I told you I'm one of those moms that likes to match (or at least coordinate) with her kids. I picked red for today so that I could find my babies in the crowd more easily (a very smart idea, by the way, since once again I lost sight of James a few times - the kid has REALLY got to learn not to run off and quick!)

Checking out more animals (including the Zedonk) from the wagon

I caught Manu petting Cora... It was so sweet and so cute, but definitely makes me wonder about her teenage years! Just a tiny bit of upper back skin exposed and Manu couldn't help himself. You should have seen the smile on his face!

See what I mean about "giant wagon"? Here the kids were calling the catfish up in the pond for a snack, saying "Here kitty, kitty, kitty!" as instructed by our farmer.

This was my attempt at getting a sweet photo of James leaning on the wagon railing while passing the beautiful sunflower patch.

 When the wagon stopped, we all piled out to pick out pre-picked, toddler-sized pumpkins, play in the mini corn bins and hay bale mazes, and swing from potato sacks.

Cora couldn't lift the pumpkin she wanted...

...but James was able to pick up any pumpkin he chose...

...so Cora recruited her big bro to get one for her too.

I tried SO HARD to get a pretty picture of my babies in front of the sunflowers, but it didn't work out. I'll spare you the dozen attempts, since this one pretty much sums it up anyway... Cora picked a flower while James was trying desperately to hold her hand and pose nicely for mama so that mama would let him go back to playing and he was extremely concerned (that Cora destroyed the flower, and also that mama was going to make him stand there forever trying to get a good portrait). Don't worry, I gave up immediately after seeing this look on his face!

Cora's turn for a sour face. She literally COULD NOT WAIT for her turn on one of the potato sack swings. She was pacing and fussing, and completely ridiculous...

...and once she snagged one, she refused to get off and share. I had to pry her hands and legs off. And then she ran to another one way far at the end of the row where none of the other kids were playing, so she could get another turn right away. Completely obsessed with swinging!

 After the hay ride, we took group portraits. They look like they REALLY like each other, right?

 Bringing the 3 preK teachers in helped reign the kids in closer though. Here they're all yelling "Pumpkin Patch!" Except for my kids. Cora is scowling because she's totally over portrait taking and just wants to go run and play. James was looking for Manu.

 Next up? Picnic time!

 I could easily have sat there snacking under that huge oak for an hour or more, but this pumpkin patch is extremely commercialized, and since they had 800 kids visiting today, they moved each school group through the motions pretty quickly. We had a 30 minute slot for lunch.

Oh well, the kids were pooped anyway.

 Always a sign of a good day well spent!

And P.S., since I know some of you will ask, yes, we turned James forward facing just for the trip. It's SUPER hard to hear anything he says when he's in the back row rear-facing. It's amazing the things we've taken for granted having him rear-facing for so long... the first minute and a half of the trip he basically sat there with a dumbfounded expression, mouth hanging open, not sure at all what to think of his new situation. I started to worry he was going to be mad/upset. THEN he realized he could see everything that I was seeing, as I was seeing it (or perhaps he thought he was seeing things BEFORE me), because he spent the rest of the trip pointing out every little thing as soon as he spotted it (and he's more observant than I am, so we had a very loud and chatty drive). He also started acting as a backseat driver part way into the trip... "Hey mom, that's a stop sign. You have to wait your turn!" He goes back to rear-facing in the Jetta tomorrow, and will stay that way until his birthday. Or at least through our Christmas travel, and after we buy him a new car seat.

LITTLE ANGEL

I think about my little angel far more than once a year, but this is certainly a good day to share with others who are also remembering their little lost ones. 

Hugs and prayers to you all.

CURRY FARMS ADVENTURE

The kids are scheduled for a school trip to a pumpkin patch next week, but because Jay and I can't afford to take time off work on the same day when we don't HAVE to (i.e. we're not sick or vacationing), I'm going as the solo chaperone (we split field trip duties pretty equally throughout the year). Since Jay isn't going next week, we decided to do a family pumpkin patch trip this weekend, to someplace new! Our family pumpkin patch trips over the past 3 years have included Nichols-Boyd Farm (2009), Canton Corn Maze (2010), and Farmer Jim's (2011), so this year we headed WEST instead and went over the bridge (for the second time today - though this time not on foot!) to Louisiana to visit Curry Farms.

I have a LOT of photos from today (and these don't even include the ones that Jay took with his fancy camera and photographer's eye), so I'll just let them speak for themselves...

Recap for those locals considering visiting Curry Farms:
This place is definitely worth the drive! It's no further than Nichols-Boyd, it's just in the other direction. There is a LOT more for the kids to do (all ages, not just big kids). Cora was able to participate in everything except the pedal cars & tricycles, since she's too short to reach the pedals, and none of us paid to do the Pumpkin Chunkin' (but the kids probably couldn't have done that solo anyway). Activities included a big corn bin, hay bales for climbing, slides, swinging tunnels, petting zoo/animal viewing, corn maze, REAL pumpkin patch (great for photos), pre-picked pumpkin store (better for buying, so you didn't have to carry them around - although they did have wagons for that purpose if you're so inclined), caterpillar choo-choo "train" (little ones can ride in a parent's lap, 3-year-olds and up are definitely fine to ride solo - it doesn't go fast), adult AND kid sized bouncy horses, off-road tricycles, pedal cars and a race track, face painting, bean bag toss, an old truck decorated for portrait taking, hay rides, duck races, and a rubber tire horsey swing thingy (any kid big enough to hold on TIGHT can ride). The cost is $8 each (2 and under are free, though they let James in free too), but pumpkins cost extra. We ended up staying for 3.5 hours (crazy, right?!) because after picking out our pumpkins, the kids asked to go back and play again, and since we didn't have any previous engagements... They're open until 5pm, but we stayed until past 5:30 (they were having a birthday party, so they didn't kick us out), and the light at the end of the day would have been perfect for portraits (had we not already taken them, and had the kids still been clean). The kids seriously had a blast, there was lots for us adults to do too, and we think it's the best pumpkin patch we've been to yet!

OVER THE RIVER

Last year we attended this race for the first time and it was the flame that lit my running fire after a long hiatus. Watching a race can be really inspiring! I had big plans to run the race this year while Jay had considered walking it with the kids, but we ended up doing the opposite. I'm coming off an injury (2.5 weeks back to running now!), so I decided to take the kids in the stroller and run/walk the 5 miles. And something completely unexpected happened to Jay this year - he became a runner! A man who has sworn to me for years that he hated running and would never do it for a longer distance than a soccer field, just completed his first 5 mile race (bringing his total race tally to FOUR events this year). AND he's signed up to run the Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon with me in February. So yes, he IS a runner now! And I'm super proud of him!

Running races is exhilarating. You train, you get up early, you anticipate. And if you run with me, you have a cheerleader in your face at 7:00am asking if you've warmed up, used the bathroom, and jumped up and down in excitement yet. Yes, racing is even MORE fun when you do it with friends!

Jay, Denise, Heather, Cari, Christina, Sophie, Alex, and the kiddos.

This event is well organized, and it started right on time. Since strollers weren't technically allowed, I hung at the back with Alex and Heather (who were planning to walk more than run, and I had no real plan other than to get through the miles) while Jay, Sophie, Cari, and Christina headed up front (Al stayed back to watch Lauren and Will). Jay ran a smart race, pacing himself so that he didn't go out too fast, and finished strong (despite the killer hill at the end of the race).

He finished with a 48:56 Garmin time and 49:23 clock time (which isn't as accurate as his Garmin, since he started and stopped his watch as he crossed the start and finish line, whereas the clock times everyone from the horn, even though it takes folks a while to get past the starting line in the crowd). This was not only the first time he raced further than 5K, but also the first time he EVER ran 5 miles. Last weekend he ran 4, and the weekend before that 3.5, so I was truly impressed with his efforts today!

For me, starting at the very back, behind the walkers, ended up being a terribly bad idea. The walkers were wall-to-wall on the bridge, and it was probably the most frustrating mile I've ever run, trying to get through them. If I ever do this race with the stroller again, I will most definitely sneak in at the back of the runners!

Eventually I spotted a cop on a Segway (monitoring the crowd for safety), so I followed him and let him break a path for me. James LOVED that!

Once we got off the main portion of the bridge and I'd passed most of the walkers, I really enjoyed the race. It was an out-and-back (into Louisiana), so I got to see Jay (and Sophie, Christina, Cari, and Ashley) on their return. I had a lot of fun cheering for them and for some of the other runners. For the most part, fellow runners and walkers were really supportive of me and made me feel great for being out there pushing my 105+ lbs of kids, gear, and stroller (only one negative comment: "They SAID no strollers", from a lady I wasn't even near). The kids were awesome for me (no whining or complaining, no throwing of water bottles or shoes) and seemed to like seeing the bridge and river and train tracks. I felt great for the first 3.5 miles, then started to get tired once I was back on the bridge. Since the bridge is at a slight decline heading over the river into Louisiana, it's at a slight incline the whole way back (with a big hill, AKA ramp, at the end). It wasn't too bad, but I did take 3 short walk breaks on the way back. Of course, every time I slowed down, James would say "Come on mommy, we have to hurry. They're passing us! Run! Run mommy!" Such a great cheerleader! Even at the end I still felt good (hooray, I ran 5 miles and didn't pass out!), until I had to climb that final hill... I was so glad Jay came back to run that hill with me - I needed his help to get that stroller up!

My estimated finish time was somewhere between 58:00-59:00 minutes. I can't use my clock time (1:01:24) because I didn't start with the runners, and the walkers started 2-3 minutes after the running group. Plus, I was at the very back of the pack, so I didn't pass the starting line until 3-4 minutes after the runner horn. Oh well, I don't really care what my time was anyway. I'm just glad I was ABLE to run 5 miles today (well, make that 6 miles, since I did the 1-mile fun run with James too).

With my husband, the runner. (Again, why am I always the sweatiest one?! I even wore black this time!)

Don't let these kids fool you, their excitement for the 1-mile fun run waned almost as soon as they set foot on the bridge...

See? Manu is already making a cranky face and Cora is already asking to be picked up. Not sure what Will is up to over there with Al on the left though, so maybe he was just getting geared up, since he did great for almost the entire first half mile. James was pumped for the initial downhill (and didn't want me to hold his hand or help him in any way).

Here are James and Will, holding strong across the bridge!

At the turnaround I sent James ahead to go around the cone solo. He loved having all those volunteers down there cheering just for him!

On our return, we found daddy carrying Cora. Poor daddy... Hurt feet, exhausted legs, and now a sore back to top off his first long race experience!

James was even less impressed with the finish hill as I was during my race, but once he saw Cari and Mike and Bridger and Jacob cheering him on, he picked up the pace and sprinted across the finish line. I think his time was somewhere around 15 minutes.

 The after party was fun - free beer, Subway sandwiches, live music, and a bouncy house. Some of our friends won awards, so that was really exciting too! Kristi placed first overall among females, Ashley placed first in our age group, and Bridger placed second in his age group for the 1-mile fun run. Kristi and Ashley's kids won awards in their age groups too - lots of talented kiddos! And Sophie ran a PR and came really close to placing in our age group too. I'm so proud of them all! Definitely an awesome race day all around!