Pumpkin Patchin'

A couple of weeks before Halloween, Nana and Grandpa came to visit (and to babysit while we went to Jen and Pete's shower... wedding time is just around the corner!).  On Sunday, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and spent the day outside having some classic fall fun together.  We decided this year's destination would be Sugartown Strawberries in Malvern, and this one will definitely remain on the list for next year!

We got lost in a hay-bale maze:

Posed for some silly pictures:

Picked (and hauled) a great big pumpkin:

Waited patiently for our turn on the hayride:

And then had a blast on our hayride!

After a great day running around the pumpkin patch, we had a yummy dinner at Victory together before having to say goodbye to Nana and Grandpa and heading home to carve that pumpkin.

Joergen was already in bed (what else is new?), so Dad and Liam went solo on the task.  The most time-consuming part was definitely scooping out those guts!

Liam really wanted a MAD pumpkin, so we did our best to do just that:

 

The best part was when we turned out the lights...

 

...and saw the look on Liam's face!

The week before Halloween, then, was Liam's first preschool field trip to Merrymead Farm, which is actually where we went pumpkin-picking last year as a family.  He was so excited!  And especially excited that it was an all-school trip, which meant he got to play with his best buddies Emmy and Kaelyn too:

The 3 Muskateers

I took the morning off work to take Liam on the trip and was so glad for the chance to meet some of the other kids and parents that Liam talks about so much every day! 

Mrs. Tenney (Liam's teacher), Liam, Joseph, and Liam's "best friend" Neil

The field trip included a trip through the corn maze, which was seriously the most challenging maze I had ever been in.  I wandered around that thing for a good 15 minutes, thought I found the way out, and was humbled to realize that I had come back out the entrance.  Sigh.  At least the kids had fun!

Mrs. Tenney attempted to get a class photo, but these were the only 3 who stayed put long enough to have their photo taken... and even that left a bit to be desired!

King of the Pumpkins!