Pumpkins, Corn, Hayrides and Wet Gremlins?

Some of my siblings converged upon our home this weekend for a wonderful glorious weekend of family togetherness. For the past few weeks I've been pondering on a great autumn outing for us to enjoy--a trip to the local pumpkin farm, complete with a corn maze, hay rides, bluegrass music--was just the ticket for a great day of fun.

The day started out cold, but, by the time we piled into the van it was much warmer, the kids were in a good mood--all were excited--the makings of a wonderful day were there.

However, something must have happened on the ride to the farm, my happy little gremlins' mood somehow became wet because what came out of the van certainly wasn't what went in the van.

One kid was whiny about this, the other wasn't happy about that.....the list went on and on.

My much anticipated day at the pumpkin patch clearly wasn't going the way I had anticipated it would. Grrrrr......

We adults, kept at it, and the day did progress with some happy smiles. In the end I think we all had fun.

We wandered through the corn maze hoping to find all the stopping points with out using the map. Connor and Ryan went on their own, from time to time we'd cross paths with them.

You could tell the drought this past summer hurt the corn crop for farmers. This maze wasn't nearly as tall or full as it's been in the past.

This little one was joyful and happy--not one unhappy cry (except for food) came from her sweet face. She enjoyed the bumpy ride being pushed around by Uncle Bob.

Don't be fooled by these cute smiles--the wet gremlins lurked closely behind them. :)

My siblings--Elizabeth, Brian, Risa, Bob.

Liam had two fascinations on this trip. One was corn--the other was goats. (more on that later)

While we were traipsing through the corn maze he found woolly caterpillars, a candy wrapper and lots and lots of corn. He'd pick up one ear, then another, and he'd try again to pick up yet one more ear of corn. Only, one would drop. So he'd pick the best of the three and throw the others to the ground--until he'd find another great one. This game continued through out the entire maze. It kept him busy and happy.....and happy was my goal!

Uncle Brian and Cailin decided to go through the maze, by themselves, once again. The rest of us headed off for the farm animals petting area.

Before we took off for the pumpkin farm I told my family about a friend of mine's child being bitten by a goat at this farm. Unbeknown st to me, Liam was attentively listening to this story--thus began his obsession of goat. Many times he asked about the goats....where were they.....etc. etc.

He mustn't have been too frightened because once I pointed them out to him he didn't shy away and even tried to feed them.

His favorite animal seemed to be the rabbits.

Petting the donkey...

...and the mule...

...and the enormous Belgian work horse.

We then took a break and found some yummy treats to eat. They had brownies, cupcakes, cookies or rice crispy treats to choose from....only 50 cents each....yea, my kind of price tag. They also had ice cream.....which was alot more than 50 cents, so the whiny gremlins creeped back into existence.

Savoring every chocolaty crumb this little one didn't complain, he loved his treat!

While waiting for the others to finish their sweets, Delaney and Liam, (later joined by others), found a 'milking cow' and tried their hand at getting milk from the udder.

Delaney actually got the hang of it and produced a strong steady stream of 'milk'.

At the end of our stay we took a hay ride to the pumpkin patch

By this time much of the grumbles were out and we had an enjoyable ride, or maybe they were just excited because they knew the end was coming soon, they didn't have to wait much longer to go home..... :) Who knows?

Notwithstanding their attitudes, I had a good time with my brothers and sisters. I especially enjoyed catching up with Bob, we haven't seen each other face to face for quite a few years.

Once we got home, I feed the kids and put them to bed!! Hopefully they'll wake up in a better mood. As for the rest of us, we enjoyed grilled chicken, a delicious salad (with apples, craisins, feta, tomatoes and crutons) and the best multi grained french bread I've ever had. Yumm good food and peace & quiet. Now that's the best way to end a day!