Pumpkin Patch Weekend 2012

I have to say that of all the things I was most excited about for fall, going to the pumpkin patch and apple picking were my top two! The girls have been talking about last year's experience all year long, and so it was fun to anticipate with them going again this year.

On Saturday we planned to go to a place an hour away with my brother-in-law and new sis-in-law, to carry on the tradition from last year. (Here's the cute couple from last year):

And this year:

The place we went to was much bigger than where we went last year. Unfortunately, we weren't the only ones with that idea that day, so the bigger crowd made it feel somewhat of a tourist trap, and everything cost a pretty penny. But I loved it for the fact that we made memories. We took advantage of the hay ride, which was interesting...instead of seats, they had straw laid out on the wagon floor for us to sit directly on. Which was fine, but I definitely had to perform the pull-your-jeans-up-before-you-sit-down shimmy to gear up for sitting on the floor.

Noah seemed to like the hay pit though:

We finished our time there by taking fun pics:

Enjoying some treats, freshly fried apple fritters and hot apple cider:

This picture cracks me up, such a grown up sitting position:

After taking this photo of the girls on the pumpkins, I was given a tutorial by my loving husband about lighting and our camera. He's funny like that. I've been given many of those throughout my SLR career, I just really have no clue. I could probably help myself by making a rule of: Don't shoot the picture when you're looking directly into the blazing sun. 

My favorite part of our day was definitely apple picking. They had endless rows of many different varieties of apples. And we allowed ourselves to taste test the ones that had fallen on the ground. 

And the kicker? Our sis-in-law had spent her whole morning to making a homemade potato soup and homemade brownies! She is also a fall fanatic and memory makin' machine! It was delicious and the perfect ending to our fall festivity.