Monday was a random Annual Leave Day. I have no idea why our district scheduled the day off, but I was happy to have a weekday off with Jackson. The trio are in a different school district. Even though they had school, I kept them home so we could spend the day together. I knew I wanted to go on an adventure, but wasn't sure where. I saw a friend post a picture from the pumpkin patch and I immediately made our plans.
Each child reacted differently to picking out pumpkins. Maddie waited to find the right pumpkin. Once she picked it up and put it in the wagon and didn't pick up another pumpkin the rest of the day.
Jackson wanted the perfect pumpkin, the bigger, the better. He enjoyed showing off how strong he is.
James selected more eccentric pumpkins. It's almost as if he sought out the most rejected pumpkins and placed them in the wagon. He's a bit of a hoarder as is, so I had to walk behind him and place many pumpkins back in the field.
Amelia didn't particularly care about any pumpkin. She grabbed one and took off speed walking, complaining that it was heavy.
I was obligated to at least try and take a picture of all four kids. It's never as easy as it seems.
After we selected our pumpkins, we leisurely strolled through the farm, stopping at the slightest points of interest. We studied how plants grew, counted bugs, and discussed the shape, size, and color of most everything we saw. I could tell James, Amelia, and Maddie were learning these things in school.
The kids played in the hay bale maze.
The picture below is inappropriate but makes me laugh too much not to share. Jackson cut his middle finger and he started yelling and waving it around like this. (It was just a hangnail that he was able to recover from easily.)
Next up on our self-guided farm tour was the animals.
This loose bunny rabbit provided ten minutes of giggles and running around!
Another source of amusement was this playset for the goats. Sure enough, the goats climbed the ramp and actually slid down! The kids were crying from laughing over a goat going down a slide.
This particular farm had a lot more photo props and games for families than in previous years. I couldn't resist posing the kids in this photo frame.
We ate our lunch alongside dozens of kindergartners from another school. It was one of the schools I had interviewed and been offered a job. The whole time we ate, I kept wondering if I had been happier at this school or if I should have accepted the job. It was wasted wondering since I can't go back and change things.
As I mentioned, there were several games set up. We made our rounds at each of them.
We traded some of the large pumpkins for smaller pumpkins and made our purchases. (I know I'm terribly cheap, but I can't justify spending $40-$60 on pumpkins that will rot!) It was such a gorgeous day. I felt much more appreciative of my time with the kids knowing that I would have been at work if it was a regular school day.
Once home, Jackson drew this picture to show Jesse about our day. I love how he drew everyone's clothes correctly.
I set the kids up in the backyard to paint their pumpkins while I began meal prepping. They were very methodical with each brush stroke.
Wanting to make the most of our extra time together, I whipped up a batch of sugar cookies. The kids helped cutout pumpkin shapes.
They each got to decorate their own cookie after dinner. I had taken a few pictures, and then moved onto making lunches for the following day. When I looked up, these three were licking their plates clean. Silly kids not wasting a smear of icing.
It was such a great day and made me miss staying home so much! I would happily resume life as a stay at home mom, but I know that is not the best option for the entire family. For now, I'll just relish in extra opportunities to be with the kids.
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