Field Trippin' II: The Next Generation

I will be the first to admit that I was a big, fat scrooge when it came to anticipating Danny's class trip to the pumpkin patch at Berry Patch Farms. This is the fourth year in a row that I have made such an excursion, and the routine never varies. You arrive and look at the few farm animals, play on the swing set, and then your class boards the tractor-led wagon for a hayride to the pumpkin patch (which is actually a field they hand-fill with pumpkins, one area laden with baby pumpkins, the other with larger specimens). After frolicking in the fields and choosing your own tiny pumpkin as a memento, you get to take another hayride back to the starting point, where you are greeted with a dixie cup filled with their freshly made apple cider.

Not only is this my fourth year in a row, but it's Danny's third. Of course, the first year he was a mere five months old (and a cranky five months at that). Last year he had just learned to walk a couple of weeks prior to the visit, so he was pretty distracted. This year, though, he soaked it all in, and as a result I had a much better time than I thought I would.

First of all, he got to run around in the beautiful early fall weather with friends, including Parker's big brother Brady (who Danny thinks hung the moon, on the rare occasions he's near such greatness):


For the hay ride, he found himself in the coveted spot on the wagon closest to the driver and the tractor wheels:


And after the excitement of touching pumpkins, running through the fields, and being silly with friends, there was the cup of deliciously sweet cider waiting for him:


It just doesn't get any better. I suppose this day can be added to the other bajillion reminders my kids give me about the simple pleasures of life.

As for we mommies, I think you can guess who the Tin Man is in this picture, because Amy has a much bigger heart when it comes to these things (not that I'm calling her cowardly...guess the analogy falls apart here):