Happily Ever After (and our adventures along the way): McCall's Pumpkin Patch 2011

For those of you who know me, even a little, you know how much I LOVE fall. There is no better season in my opinion. By about June 15th, I am sick to death of the scorching, sweaty, disgustingly high New Mexico temps. Come July, I am absolutely dying for even one night that it is cool enough to sit outside and have a meal without melting to death! So, you will know how happy it makes me when I look at the extended forecast in September and decide it is time to pull out our fall clothes. Granted, its mid-October and the temps are still reaching 80+ around 1pm, but its ok, I will take it! It is cool enough to walk with the boys in the morning (but not too cold), and it is the perfect temperature for dinner outside at night. Ah fall, I could go on, and on, and on about you!

One of our family traditions is "Fall Fest" weekend. Basically, it is a day that we hunker down, make soup, caramel corn, hot cider, etc, carve pumpkins, and watch a silly Halloween movie (and a scary one for mom and dad when the kiddos are in bed). Well, this year, Fall Fest is next weekend, but on Sunday, we started a new tradition. We were spending the day at my in-laws, and they happen to live 15 minutes from McCall's Pumpkin Patch, which is about the coolest place to go if you love fall like me! It is kinda pricey... $10 per person for kids over 2, but it was worth every penny. We went and didn't realize the extent of this thing. It is like a little fall carnival, and the boys (not to mention the adults) had a blast! Here are a few pictures from the day!

Geez & the boys

They take you on a hay ride to the 30 acre pumpkin patch. Once there you just walk the land and pick what you want. They charge $2-$10 for your pumpkin... the prices are really reasonable. We got two for $8, and it was definitely worth it just for the experience!

In addition to the pumpkin patch, they've got tons and tons of other stuff for the little kids to do. Miles V begged to go into the giant pumpkin jumping castle. So I closed my eyes to the germophobic--ness coming out in me, and we let him go. He had a ton of fun jumping around and was so proud of himself! (Insert antibacterial hand-wiping picture here :) )

They also had a petting zoo.... (However, the sign said 'Caution, animals may bite.' And the goats were five times the size of Max... so, perhaps it should have been called a 'Pet at your own risk and hold onto your small children' Zoo?)

And the hit of the trip was this cow 'train' pulled by a tractor. The boys loved it! I told Miles he should hold Max's hand on the ride, and he grabbed it and didn't let go. It was so cute seeing them sit together on that ride! (After they got off we saw a sign for the ride being for kids over 2, but when you've got a sweet big brother to hold your hand, who needs to follow the rules?!)