Pumpkins and Parks!

At long last - it's FALL Y'ALL (to phrase steal from my friend Chalna haha).  But I cannot tell you how blessed I feel to have put the heat of summer behind us, and to be enjoying the great outdoors with my little family.  It's like a breath of fresh air (literally), to have to put on a sweater in the morning when driving the kids to school, and to break out the boots and skinny jeans.  Although really, it's still in the mid-80's, but at least we've moved into the season of being comfortable while outdoors, and I am thrilled.  Did you hear that?  THRILLED!

In the spirit of the season, and to celebrate my very favorite month of the year, we've jumped head first into fall activities.  The first thing on the list was to visit one of our favorite pumpkin farms.  It's over an hour drive away, but it's one of those places that feels authentic.  So many of the pumpkin patches around here are just big fields with rows of pumpkins dropped in, and a few bounce houses set up.  Which is fun!  However, it's more fun to visit a real farm, with hay rides, animals, pumpkins growing on the vines, and fields and trees as far as the eye can see.

When we arrived, they gave each of us a cup filled with animal feed, and we headed right over to the corrals, where we got to feed longhorns (including a cute little calf!), and baby goats.  Then we hoped on a hay wagon, and a real tractor pulled us on a 20 minute ride around the farm, which thrilled the kids.  We ended the day with a picnic out by the pumpkin patch, where we picked our very own pumpkins to take home and carve.  Hayden was very serious about picking the PERFECT pumpkin, and was concerned about finding the exact ripeness haha.  Pierce just wanted to haul around as many as his little arms would hold, and Ruthie enjoyed eating grass and getting dirty.   Sweet thing.

We also found time to head up to a favorite cool weather place, the Frank Buck Zoo.  We have a family membership and went ALL the time last year.  It's the cutest little place.  Never crowded, up close access to the animals, super well manicured and maintained, and an awesome park right outside the entrance.  It's fabulous and I'm so happy that zoo season has started back up!  This time Ruthie was able to actually sit up in her stroller and enjoy the sights (in the spring she was just a sleeping newborn), and she went in her first baby swing (with her buddy Nolan no less).  So cute!  She smiled and clapped and laughed the whole time.

This week we are putting our local fall activities on hold, and are gearing up for our big trip to the East Coast for my brother's wedding, in TWO days.  I'm overwhelmed with packing for such a big event, for a family of five, but I've got a plan and am just on auto-pilot right now.  I cannot wait to get there; to see my brother marry the most wonderful woman, and to spend time with all my extended family!  Bring on the Berkshires!