{Playing Through Autumn Day 21} Pumpkin Patch Adventures!

All autumn long I look forward to visiting the pumpkin patch, and this year it was especially meaningful, as I got to share it with a wonderfully curious, stop-and-smell-the-flowers kind of kid. Though we did visit a pumpkin patch last year, L was not yet walking and so her ability to follow adventure wherever it led was a bit limited. This year, however, we had been talking about our trip for over a week, reading books about pumpkins and pointing them out everywhere we went. I was so excited to share this experience with her, in fact, that I woke up at six a.m. on the morning of the trip - and we didn't even venture out until after her afternoon nap!

Upon arrival at the patch, L did pause just long enough for an obligatory photo op before trundling off to check out all of the farm animals and kiddie attractions. For a moment there, I thought we might have to remind her of why we went there in the first place - the pumpkins, of course!

We hopped onto one of the tractors heading out to the pumpkin fields - finally, we were going to search for our pumpkin!

My curious little adventure seeker headed out into the fields right away. She of course wanted the first pumpkin she touched, which would have been fine except for the gaping hole on the underside. We convinced her to move on and sure enough, after that lesson, no one pumpkin was a good as the next one!

Finally we managed to narrow it down to just one perfect pumpkin. We hopped back on the tractor and got ready to head home - but not before a quick photo op with the big winner for the day. Victory!

Of course, getting the glorious pumpkin out to the car was only the beginning. We had to make sure our find made it home safely, of course!