Annual Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Since we are in the midst of the busiest fall of our family's career with two soccer games and one play practice and sometimes a XC meet every Saturday, I realized the other day that a family trip to the pumpkin patch over the weekend was not going to happen before Halloween.  As a result, I started looking at Friday afternoons and decided that today would be the best day to go although it meant that Lia would miss due to XC practice and Ron would miss due to being too early in the afternoon.  I was surprised to learn that Lia was disappointed about not going since she said that this is one of her favorite, autumn traditions, but we really had no other option and she sadly had to miss going with us.  I picked the kids up 30 minutes early from school to try to beat the mad, Friday afternoon rush at the pumpkin patch, but apparently that didn't really work as the place was packed.  However, we were still able to get a decent parking spot and the three little kids and I enjoyed spending the next 1.5 hours wandering around Spooner Farms which we haven't been to for the past two years due to trying out another farm (that now charges for entry) in Sumner.  Since we are in the midst of the longest dry spell that I can ever remember as it really has not rained at all since July, we enjoyed a beautiful, autumn day walking around Spooners and would have had a stunning view of Mt. Rainier had it not been covered in a haze from the endless forest fires that are still burning due to the lack of rain.  Here are some pictures of our little outing this afternoon...

Our annual, family picture in the "pumpkin house" minus Lia and Ron for the first time ever.  Sniff.

Logan, Ella, and Emmett posing in the picture cut out.

The kids sitting on pumpkins with Mt. Rainier barely visible in the background due to being covered by smoke.

Logan helping Emmett with the duck races.

Ella pumping away.

How tall this fall?

The three kids in a giant, yellow chair.

Emmett sitting on a massive pumpkin between Logan and Ella.

Ella trying on one of the many beautiful, witch hats in the gift shop.

My two little pumpkins.

Emmett, such a cutie!