Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend while Paul's parents were in town visiting, we drove down to Morgan Hill to go to the Spina Farms pumpkin patch.  We had such a fun time and found some great pumpkins for carving.  The weather was bright and beautiful but it made it so Clara was squinting in a lot of our photos.  But for the most part, she had fun.  She especially loved wandering through the field of pumpkins, sometimes squatting down to pat them, sometimes attempting to clamber over them in her tulle skirt.

 

 

We loved all the unusual and strange pumpkins that Spina Farms had - pink pumpkins, grey pumpkins, white pumpkins, varigated pumpkins, warty looking pumpkins, etc.

Clara was a little bit freaked out by the train though.  Maybe because she has watched "Tumbleweed Gulch" one too many times and the train sequence is a little too intense?

This is the first tulle skirt I have ever made for Clara.  It turned out okay and it wasn't difficult but I don't know that I will make many more of these.

Clara had fun having grandpa and grandma there to play with her. 

Paul tosses Clara so high in the air and she LOVES it.  She looks like a little cheerleader in this pictures with her orange and black tutu skirt and her tennis shoes.  She was laughing the whole time.

My favorite part of the pumpkin patch was the hayride through a field of probably 12-foot tall sunflowers.  Clara wasn't loving it (she was starting to get a little tired by then and apparently wasn't keen on the idea of riding in a trailer full of hay being pulled by a tractor) but after a few initial tears she perked up and seemed to enjoy the tall sunflowers.

Clara loved the little hay maze though.  She followed Paul around trying to find the exit before she gave up and started cheating by climbing over the bales of hay. 

In the picture below I was trying to get her to pick out her own pumpkin that was just the right size for her in the little kids pumpkin area.  She was not having it and was like, "For crying out loud mom, just pick one for me - they are all exactly the same!"

The morning quickly deteriorated after that when we took our little miss for a pony ride.  She was totally happy petting the pony's mane and being close to it but as soon as I set her in the saddle she wailed about how much she hated it.

Oh that face just kills me every time I see that picture.  I posted it on Facebook and said that I intend to use it as leverage for the day when Clarabelle inevitably DOES want a pony of her very own.  She calmed down as soon as we started moving though and did pretty well for a bit. 

She even rode on her own without mom or dad standing right by.

But as we were heading back into the loading/unloading area she started tearing up again and Dad had to go comfort her.  Maybe she was just sad her first pony ride was over?  I don't really think so.

After that it was time to get serious and actually choose some pumpkins for carving so we could head home for naptime.  Clara did at least enjoy riding in the wagon.

Paul had a difficult time deciding between these two pumpkins.

Mine is the tall Frankenstein-y-ish pumpkin at the back of the wagon.  We also got a white "ghost" pumpkin because they were so, so cool that I just had to have one to carve.

We tried to get one last family picture but Paul wasn't looking at the camera and Clara was totally done and uninterested in posing.  But it was a good one of me so it made the cut for the blog (not that I am one for being overly discriminating in the photos I post). 

This was Clara's face when we finally got back to the car.  If she had the words, she would probably have said, "seriously parentals? all that for a few pumpkins?  will you please take me home for a nap now?" 

 

Trust me, Clara-girl, next year you will love this.  One final note:  Can you believe how much she has changed from last year?!