Belvedere Pumpkin Patch

Monday, we were a man down again, because C had caught P's strep throat! We took him to the urgent care center Monday morning, and Daddy A stayed home with him all day so that the rest of us - including P - could go to the pumpkin patch.

As we entered the gate, my mom noticed this sign that was posted on the wall.


I took a picture to show Daddy A after our disagreement about barn safety in this post. Technically I guess it actually works in his favor, since it admits that farms are not always safe, but I've already posted it now. Oh well.

Before we headed out to pick pumpkins, P took a "pretend" ride with a "skeercrow." A scarecrow that he kindly reassured me was "a nice one - he's not skeery".


This wagon ride out was the beginning of P's day long love affair with hay. (He may, in fact, still love hay - I'm not sure because he hasn't really been exposed to any since our trip to the pumpkin patch last Monday.) Grandma Paige showed him how to chew a piece of hay.


He sat on the hay. He talked about the hay.


When we got off the wagon and headed into the patch to pick our pumpkins, P chose one for himself and one for his brother early on, and wanted to spend the rest of our time in the field "lookin' at the broken ones" (pumpkins, that is). He was fascinated with pumpkin seeds and insides and all of that gooey stuff.

Tiff and John found a pumpkin, too.


Then my camera battery died, so you'll have to take my word on the rest of the day, sans visual proof. I'll hit some of the highlights:

Grandma Paige chose two pumpkins. John held all five pumpkins long enough to get the "all-you-can-carry" special. P rode the barrel train, pulled by a tractor, in the first seat, right behind the tractor. Twice. He got very dusty. P jumped on the "jumping pillow" (which is similar to, but not exactly like, a bouncy house with no sides or roof). P got a ghost painted on his left cheek. They used actual face paint, so it washed off easily.

We went to the hay barn. P enjoyed the hay but just wanted to repeatedly fall over and lay in it - he had no use for the rope swings and such. We left the hay barn and P played on a tube slide and pile of hay in the field. As you might suspect, he was more interested in climbing around on the hay than going down the slide, which was fine. P played in a giant sandbox (and by sand box, I mean gravel box), for about an hour. He rode two tire swings, one shaped like a horse and one shaped like a bull. We went home to rest.

It was a special day for P, and I'm glad he had the time with his extended family, although I hope next year our whole family hits the pumpkin patch!