Back on the Farm

About a month ago I got a good deal on pre-sale tickets for our favorite local pumpkin patch, and then we promptly started getting nervous about whether or not we'd be able to use them.  Carter still had a few weeks left of Saturday soccer games and Jacob has had a lot of basketball into the early afternoons both weekend days.  Add in weather issues and we were nervous that if we could even find a good day to go, it would have to be a short day.  

Well...last Sunday Jacob ended up wrapping up a bit earlier than usual, so it seemed like it was possible, but we still had to squeeze in a post-workout shower and some lunch before we could go.  It also takes about a half hour to get to Stokoe Farms from our house, so I was a bit nervous we'd run out of time.  BUT it was also a picture perfect 70 degree day and the following weekend looked to be a total bust, so I guess if we were going to take the chance, this was the day to try!  

We probably didn't get there until around 1:45.  The good news, I guess, was that there was a big Bills game that day.  In a perfect world, sure, we would have been watching it, but the Bills could play on without us (and honestly, they usually do better when I'm not watching anyway) and it turned out that the farm was nearly empty (by their standards, anyway).  I don't recall Bills games drawing away that many people before--I feel like we've gone during games a lot and it's still been a madhouse--but then I realized we probably never went that late in the afternoon before so we probably also missed the majority of little kid families that needed to go home for lunch and/or naptime.  Between them and the Bills fans, I think everyone went in the morning and we just had a reasonable number of people to work around compared to what's normally there.  That meant that we wouldn't need as much time as usual because lines were shorter (or non-existent), and it seems like as the kids get older, there's less and less we need to do.

First stop was the big slide by the entrance.  Carter did the open slide first and then the twisty one, and while we were waiting, we confirmed that Jacob is officially taller than the ruler.

The sun was completely in his eyes, hence the odd face.

Since there was no line, we all decided to join Carter for the slide.  Nice view from up there!

Jumping pillows and pumpkins in the distance

Tree farm is off to the right.  Not much color yet, but it was a lovely day!

Back on the ground, Carter measured up, too.

Then it was time for a few photo ops...

I seriously just love the shiny pumpkin.  It's so pretty!  I just realized that I actually think the reflection reminds me of a Magritte painting--he sometimes did larger than life objects like apples or roses, and a lot of his paintings also featured very blue skies.  There were also images appearing on unexpected surfaces, so I think it totally fits.  That would explain my fascination, I think!

Alas, the hayride didn't happen to come around when we needed it, so we missed our annual hayride family selfie.  That was a bummer when I realized it later.  Instead we walked down to the perennial-favorite sports center, where everyone threw footballs and baseballs and shot basketballs.

We went to the pedal car track because Carter wanted to see if he was tall enough to easily do his own. They're not the easiest thing to operate sometimes so I think the extra couple inches was helpful to get the leverage he needed if he got a bad car.  He did well, but unfortunately the staff member policing the carts wasn't being very forceful to have people get off after a lap, so I missed the chance to race Carter.  At least he got his ride.  The boys played a little tetherball, and somehow Craig managed to hit himself in the face and pop the lens out of his glasses.  Luckily it was an easy fix on Tuesday, but that was not ideal.  At least Jacob didn't hurt himself this year like he did last year when the cold weather made everything worse.  Carter and I raced around the one big obstacle course nearby--he beat me because he was superhuman on the suspended planks and got to the last obstacle first, which only one person can do at a time.  Sorry I don't have pictures of any of that.  I guess I was having too much fun!

Next it was on to the shooting games.  We just ended up doing paintball this year, and I got to go first since everyone used up my shots last year!  I didn't do half bad!

We skipped apple shooting this time around and worked our way toward the zip line.  I found this lovely feather near the one bird enclosure.  I think it's a guinea fowl feather.  Of course, as I showed Carter he was like, "You know that probably has poop or bird bacteria on it, right?"  Cool, thanks kid.  Way to squash my moment.  Cue the sanitizer!

We did a round on the zip line.  Carter was really disappointed that he can't seem to win the family race, but weight and gravity definitely help on that one!  We tried to feed a goat nearby but apparently it had enough of the feed that day, so we fed a llama (or alpaca?) instead.  It felt so funny!

We did a couple slides on the refurbished Billy Goat Mountain.  Carter and I did the big tunnel slide once and then we just ended up doing one race.  The racing slide had a new surface, but it was hot and we kept getting shocks from the bolts between lanes!  The top looked cool and was easier to get up to, though.

I think we did a second zip line around that point but Carter once again didn't win.  We wandered around to let him climb this thing...

...and then we walked to see the kangaroos over by the barns.  On the way back, Jacob and I got hung up on this maze.  You have to start on the red on the upper left.  At each white square you need to change to a different color--first blue, then yellow, then back to red.  I am convinced that it's impossible.  We tried so many times and always ended up stuck in the same spot.  I don't think it's possible to come at the last yellow from the correct direction to get to the final red.  I took a picture so I could frustrate myself at home, too.  Ugh. 

While Jacob and I were doing that, Carter and Craig rode the zip line one more time.

Carter and I played around with this barnyard animal ring toss.  It's hard to see but there were two goats, a pig, and a giant cow (off to the left).  There were varying sizes of hula hoops and it was harder than it looked!

The big boys were off in search of slushies, so we did a quick run through the new Dinosaur Walk.

This one actually moved!

I don't think the hat was original to the exhibit, but it was funny!

Nothing like hopping on one with a saddle!

We checked out some other animals, too.  The pigs are always cute but nothing will compare to the year there were piglets.  More llamas (including a baby one), a cow, some interesting geese and ducks, and of course the emus, John and Deere.  They had a little window this year to pop their heads through.  They are intense as it is, so this was one of those moments where you definitely didn't want to get too close!  They look like they will peck your eyes out or snap at your nose, no question.

There was also a porcupine and some baby chicks.  This egg was new...and boy, am I happy to be the one that "hatched" this kid!

We vetoed Jacob doing the jumping pillow and I insisted we buy pumpkins elsewhere because Stokoe is so expensive and their pumpkins always have dead stems, which I've heard is a bad sign for keeping them through Halloween.  Carter and I got fudge samples in the store and I decided to just get cider donuts at Wegmans.  And with that, we were done.  I would have liked to stay the extra half hour for the day-end candy cannon, but Jacob's free time in particular is precious, so we headed out.  Craig needed gas on the way home so Carter and I got Slurpees (much cheaper than anything at the farm!).  Oh, and the Bills got a big win, so that made it an extra good day.

It's now been a week since then.  It was a relatively uneventful week.  The weather stayed nice right through Thursday, which was lovely.  Carter and I snuck in another playground after his Thursday soccer practice because he heard his old elementary school (like his current school) just got a new playground.  Sure enough, they did an entirely new one between the former pre-K playground and  the big kid playground that took out the wrists and arms of many a classmate.

The routes up to the slides are a little tight (probably on purpose), but I couldn't resist trying the back slide because it looked really fast, and it was!  It's a nice little setup.  We weren't the only ones enjoying the weather--some of my flowers have made nice comebacks after being rather sickly late in the summer.  

Not pictured is my dahlia, which just bloomed a single blossom for the first time since probably early August.  It likely won't be long-lived, but it's nice to see some blooms again.

Otherwise, I mostly felt like I was killing time all week until my working weekend for our reunion/family/homecoming weekend at work.  Friday weather was supposed to be iffy, but it ended up being mostly delightful.  It was the first full day of Meliora Weekend, so the good weather was appreciated.  I was stuck mostly inside from 9 to 4:30, and the unexpected sun and warmth turned the area where I was into a greenhouse, but it was a really fun day reconnecting with colleagues and seeing a bunch of happy people.  It also ended with this:

Saturday was a little tougher.  I did get to see Carter's soccer game, but they had a tough last-minute loss due to a crappy penalty kick call.  It was cold and blustery, but not rainy.  The sun took the edge off a little at the beginning and the end, but it was a shock to the system after the week we had.  After that, I worked from 1:30 to nearly 10pm.  Initially it wasn't bad--I had amazing food truck mac and cheese for lunch and hung out with my teammates for a bit.  But then I started an eternal registration shift that turned into lots of last-minute check-ins and registrations before a big show, and so many people who lost or neglected to bring their nametags which also serve as their ticket.  I lost a little faith in humanity with how irresponsible it made so many smart people seem.  It was also the end of a second full day spent mostly on my feet, so I was already a bit exhausted by the time I realized I couldn't find my keys.  Nooooo.  That marked the second time I lost them during Meliora Weekend.  The last time I lost them on my shuttle from the office to the campus and they got turned in.  I picked them up at the Public Safety office the next day.  This time I was mildly panicked but I also knew my bag was never tipped or out in public, and I didn't think I would have put them in a pocket, so I had a strong suspicion they might be in my car.  Or at least, I was really hoping that because the lost and found was closed and if, God forbid, they fell outside the car, I could be screwed with so many people around and being in such a public area.  I was actually worried that if they were in my car and visible, it was quite possible that someone would just break in and steal it (campus lots have lots of issues, so it wasn't far-fetched).  I called Craig to bring my spare keys and couldn't wait any longer to check if the car was there so I hightailed it to the lot in the dark and cold.  Luckily, it was still sitting there, and sure enough, there were my keys, right on the seat.  On my way there I did have a thought that I put them in the pocket of the jacket I took off and put in the trunk, but nope...I just must have had too much to organize before I got out of the car and put them on my lap, at which point I got up and they fell through my legs.  Luckily the boys came to my rescue and I was on the road pretty quickly.

Sunday involved super early church to get it in before the early Bills game from London, a quick catnap, Halloween decorations, and a pretty crappy game--lots of injuries, anemic offense, and ineffective defense.  It was extra rough since they looked unstoppable the last couple weeks.  I ran a bunch of errands for the rest of the afternoon out in the wind, rain, and cold, and I defaulted to leftover pizza for dinner because everything else involved thawing.  It's been a quiet evening, thankfully, because I haven't felt great most of the day.  I'm not sure if it's not enough sleep, not enough water, or just plain exhaustion.  I'm grateful I took Monday off since the kids are off school.  I didn't like the idea of leaving them alone or working from home after a short weekend with the added distraction, especially since I already missed a day off with Carter on Friday.  Craig spent the day with him and they went to the Lego Store, the Dick's batting cage, Tom Wahl's for lunch, and an abbreviated arcade trip because Jacob ended up having his basketball activities cut short.  

They built ghost hunters

I can't say we'll do anything Monday that resembles that, but maybe we can think up something--perhaps even getting our pumpkins if the weather cooperates.

Anyway, with the state of the weather this weekend, I'm extra glad we got our pumpkin patch visit in last weekend.  Fall wouldn't be the same without it, and we may only have a few full-family ones left before one kid or another decides they're over it, so it's always nice to secure that "one more year".  Now it's time to look toward Halloween, I guess!