P is for Pumpkin

I counted. This was my eighth trip with school to the pumpkin patch. That's twice in preschool and once in Kindergarten for my oldest two children. Two times so far for my youngest and I'll go once more next year with her and then we'll be on our own for the annual outing. We've actually started making an additional trip to a nearby pumpkin patch specifically for the older two since they no longer go with school. That's a lot of pumpkin patch visits and even more pumpkins.

In the past few years the trip with preschool has changed to one that's much farther away, but there are more added attractions for the kids. There are the sheep,

the chickens,

and my daughter's favorite, Mr. Turkey.


There are bunnies, cows, an emu, peacocks, pig races and a huge, gigantic, enormous corn maze. But there's something a little disheartening when you pull up to the field in the covered wagon hayride and see a crew of laborers in a nearby patch of pumpkins, UN-loading them from large crates and placing them nicely in the field. Luckily, the kids seemed oblivious, but it didn't go unnoticed by a single parent there.

So while there aren't any pig races or a spooky house at the place closer to home, at least you can still twist the pumpkins off the vine.