Pumpkin Patch 2019

On Sunday, the Olson Four made our annual trip to Fairbank Animal Farm/Pumpkin Patch. As I've said in past posts, Eric and I started going there before we had the kids ... possibly before we got married. It has become part of our fall to-do list and one we all look forward to each year.

It is with great enthusiasm that I can report we didn't get rained on. Talk about a pumpkin miracle!!  It rained on our way there and on our drive home. Not a DROP during our time there. We were geared up - boots, rain coats, hats! We definitely needed the boots because of the mud, but not because of any rain.       

Eric and Annika on their way to the farm
(Can I just say how much I love that she still holds our hands?!!)

We peeked at the various animals (a bit quickly, knowing the weather was not going to be kind to those who dallied and because the farm was rather packed. (Our "there won't be many people there because of the weather" theory turned out to be completely wrong!) We saw a mama pig with her brood and another mama pig who was ready to have babies at any time. (That poor girl looked miserable ... even while napping!) We saw the ducks, geese, peacocks, and pony before darting into the barn. (Back in the old days, we were allowed into the stalls, but insurance regulations put an end to that a number of years ago.) We contented ourselves with petting the calf through the gate... fortunately, it was close enough for everyone to give it a little love and enjoy how soft its nose was. We also got to pet (with one finger!) some ducklings and chicks. The bunnies were constantly busy, so we just waved as we hopped along. (Ha! See what I did there??)  We also took a few minutes to watch the newly-hatched chicks in the incubators.

MOO!

The calf was particularly interested in nibbling on Annika during the visit!

Our cute chickies with the chickies

Fluffy ducklings

Knowing our time between rain showers was probably rather short, we high-tailed it to the pumpkin patches to pick out THE perfect pumpkins to take home. Because of the recent rain. many of the pumpkins were rather squishy, so the hunt evolved from a "is it a good size and shape?" to "is it a good size and shape ... and is it not decaying?". We do have standards, ya know!

On our way out, Eric paid for the pumpkins while the kids and I took advantage of the photo op boards around the property. (Yes, the kids are less enthusiastic about this part of the outing than they were when they were younger, but they are still good about humoring their dear old mom!)

On our way home, we stopped at MOD Pizza for a warm-up sort of lunch to celebrate our great pumpkin adventure, the lack of rain while we were out and about, and, oh, my 46th birthday. :)