Pumpkin Patch! (October 13, 2008)

I can't remember the last time I made a big deal about Halloween. It's never been one of my favorite holidays. I've never been a fan of dressing up for formal events and I guess somewhere along the line I must have lumped dressing up for Halloween into that same category. I didn't change my tune this year either, unless you consider my Circuit City shirt and tan pants a valid Circuit City employee costume, although I'm not sure your costume counts if it's your actual job's uniform, but I'm getting ahead of myself - you're not even supposed to know that I work at Circuit City until my next blog so forget you even read that...

Besides, this blog isn't even about Halloween itself. It's actually about pumpkin picking at an authentic North Carolina pumpkin patch! It was Connor's 1st Halloween this year, so his mom and grandma wanted to make sure he had the full experience and I was lucky enough to be able to tag along. Tiahna, her mom Mary aka Mee-Maw, and Connor all had the day off thanks to Columbus Day (definitely a worthy holiday because if Columbus hadn't discovered America, who knows where I would have done my road trip this past summer!) and I still hadn't found a job yet so I was free as well. There's a great place in nearby Youngsville called Hill Ridge Farms where not only can you pick pumpkins, but you can also take a hay ride (and a nap, if you've got a good pillow!), roll around in a playpen made of corn kernels, hang out with goats and turkeys, ride a train around the grounds, hide out in a teepee to get out of the sun, and take silly pictures,As you can see, we pretty much did it all! Most importantly, Connor did an excellent job bonding with all of the pumpkins (and his mom, Mee-Maw, and me, too!) on his first trip to the pumpkin patch!

Now that's a happy boy!

Can you find Connor amongst the pumpkins below? He seems to blend right in. Good thing we didn't dress him in orange or we might have taken an extra pumpkin home instead of him!

Here's Connor posing proudly with his very first pumpkin that he picked out all by himself! What a picturesque shot taken by his talented mom, Tiahna!

Sadly, our pumpkins went uncarved as we never found the time to sit down and carve them or we just plain forgot, or a combination of the two. They still served us well, sitting on the front steps of the house and adding the perfect seasonal touch to the oustide decor for both the Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays.