Joy in the Journey: Pumpkin Patch Extravaganza....part 1

Oh, that's right. Part 1. Which means, yes, there will be more to come. I have vowed to explore all the major pumpkin patches in our area this year. So, we have planned a weekly family trip to the local pumpkin patches - and I couldn't be more excited! So last week we started with the Deanna Rose pumpkin patch. Deanna Rose is one of our favorite family outings anyway, with all the animals to see and the great play areas. We had a great time last year when Ava was just 13 months old, running around picking out pumpkins and playing in the corn piles, and taking the hay rides to and from the patch. This year was even better!

"Goat, what are you doing?"

We have seen the goats what seems like 100 times, but this time Ava insisted on feeding them. Which shocked us, since she rarely wants to get near them. So Josh busted out a quarter to buy some feed...

"Need Money" she says...

She was SO excited to feed the goats for the first time!

This is her sad "I want to stay and feed the goats" face.

And we were off to the pumpkin patch...

Ava and her awesome daddy.

Mommy and Ava, waiting for the wagon ride.

The hay ride out to the pumpkin patch - so much fun.

The first thing that Ava headed for was the huge slide off of the mountain of hay bales. Was she scared to climb the towering hay stack up to the slide? Not my girl. I swear she is absolutely fearless.

She was so excited about the slide, that we finally had to tear her away from it to explore the rest of the pumpkin patch.

And we were off to Ava's very favorite thing to do that day....the tractor "choo choo train" ride. We thought that Ava would be too small to ride by herself, so she rode with me the first time around. About half way through the ride, half the kids busted out screaming and crying but Ava just looked at them like they were crazy. And when it was time to ride again she said "No, mama. Stay!" and climbed in all by herself. As you can see, she absolutely loved it, had a huge smile on her face, and waved as they came around the corner.

"Pumpkin Express"

Like I said, she was so excited!

Corn Maze.

Next up, a bit of fishing. Ava really didn't know what to do with herself.

She had a great time playing in the corn - like a sandbox but so much better. I am seriously thinking that I need to replace the sand in her sandbox at home with dried corn. So much less messy!
Brilliant I tell you.

Ava loved pumping the water, pushing the boats down the little river.

Climbing on the hay bales.

Slam dunk - just before Josh got in trouble for letting her climb on this thing.

Ava took off through the corn maze, did not even hesitate, and ran straight through it without one wrong turn. Smarty pants!

And then it was time to pick our "punkins"!!