Saturday, October 22, 2011

Pumpkins!!

Last weekend Danny and I drove out to Valley Center to the pumpkin patch (Bates Nut Farm). This is the same pumpkin patch that my parents have been taking my siblings and me since we were tiny kids. I love that we still make it a yearly tradition. My Mom, Dad and sister Joelle came also. The pumpkin patch has lots of different attractions (animals, hay rides, food, face painting, and so on) and yet each year we always do the same exact thing: walk through the gift shop, buy pistachios, and pick out a pumpkin. It's not a pumpkin patch in the Anderson family if we don't have pistachios.
Apparently we'd usually go earlier in the morning to avoid crowds and traffic. This year (because of other events) we came in the late afternoon/evening. BAD idea! The crowds weren't so bad. It was actually kind of fun having so many people to watch. But the traffic was crazy! The line of cars to get into the patch was ridiculous and took almost an hour. But alas, we eventually got into the park and did everything we hoped we would.
I love walking through their store/gift shop. They usually have more Christmas items than Halloween and it always makes me that much more excited about the Holidays. Ornaments, table cloths, magnets, toys, decorated trees, candles, and lots of other fun nick knacks. Even the candy store has barrels "full" of candy and it really does look like a  kids dream come true. Such a wonderful place to bring your family and make memories.
After sitting on a hay bale and snacking on our yummy goods we took off in search of the perfect pumpkin. I was a little disappointed with how small the pumpkins looked this year. There are a lot of things to consider when finding a suitable pumpkin: large carving area, lays flat when placed on a table or floor, long stem to hold. It's a very precise science. I found one that was "good enough" and Danny kept looking for the "perfect" pumpkin, always carrying at least one in his arms until he found a better one to replace it with. Finally we both were pleased with what we had.
Here is the bounty of our search:
   

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