Pumpkins Etc.

On Friday Summer and I went with some folks from the ward and a half dozen or so Isaac- and Evan-aged kids to McCall's, a family farm in Moriarty, about 30 miles east of town. McCall's has turned into a huge fall tradition in the ABQ area, with a pumpkin patch, corn maze, petting farm, and haunted house thing. We've gone a few times, and each year it's a bigger deal.

We got there around 10:30 am and met up with the group. While we waited for the last members of the party, we strolled through the country store and I got the following shot of Evan with pumpkins:
The highlight of the trip was the hayride to the pumpkin patch. A tractor pulls 3-4 carts full of 60-75 people each for a 5-minute ride to a patch where you race everyone else to find one of the few remaining decent pumpkins. It's actually a lot of fun. I picked a small one for Evan, Isaac got a medium-sized pumpkin, and Summer picked a biggish one (I do not envy the people who pick several huge pumpkins and then have to tote them around; that's a bit too much like work for my taste). Anyhow, here are the boys with the loot:

(Notice the look on Evan's face; he was only happy when we let him hold the pumpkin, which he called a ball.)

After we made it back we ate lunch, and then Isaac and I wandered through the petting farm. Here are pictures of Isaac with chickens:

Sheep:
And goats:
And as a pig:
We had to leave to make it back to pick up Allyson and Ryan, so didn't get to do the pumpkin sling shot or the 40' tube slide or spend $500 in the country store (we could have done it, what with salt water taffy, apple butter, quilts, and rustic home decor--we need to take parents there some autumn). And on the way back to the city, Evan, of course, fell asleep: