Pumpkin Picking: a first

Last Sunday, my husband's cousin invited us to join his family for an afternoon of pumpkin picking. The only pumpkin picking I had done previously was at the local farmer's market. We accepted the invitation, and headed west to a farm that offered apple and pumpkin picking, in addition to a playground for the kids.

We dropped our littlest one at Grandma's for the third time in three weeks, and headed to the farm with our two older girls. #2 fell asleep in transit, and was in a great mood upon arrival at the farm.

The playground was at the entrance, and the girls spent some time there with their cousins before heading to the pumpkin patch. Adjacent to the playground was a small barn with a number of animals including goats, sheep, and a variety of fowl.

The girls enjoyed the bumpy hayride to the field. Next, the girls ran through the "maze" in the corn fields adjacent to the pumpkin patch. They then chose one small pumpkin each. I was initially surprised that the pumpkins seemed laid out in a very orderly fashion, but none of the stems were attached. Had all the pumpkins in the patch already been picked, and they simply laid out some pumpkins for the kids to choose? We were told that the pumpkins actually detach themselves from their stems, and that no, they hadn't been placed there by the personnel. In the end, we did find a few pumpkins that were still attached, thus corroborating their explanation.

Back at the entrance after picking the pumpkins, the girls played once again in the playground with their cousins, and munched on some fresh apple muffins.

Enjoying the playground

#1 choosing a pumpkin with her cousin

Heading into a "maze" with her cousin

#1 & #2 with their cousin