[Fall Bucket List] The Pumpkin Patch.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Remember a couple weeks ago when I mentioned that we stopped by the pumpkin patch at Irvine Regional Park when we went for a bike ride? And remember when I mentioned how excited Mason was about the pumpkin patch and how he picked up EVERY pumpkin in the place and wanted to take them home? And how I naively thought "yes! pumpkin patch will be a success!"?

Well the toddler must be able to read minds because Saturday's trip to the pumpkin patch was less than perfect. Every direction we wanted to go in, Mason ran in the opposite direction. And FAST. Seth ran after him while I yelled "can you get him and bring him over here for a picture?!". Then Mason would come back and yell "NO!" when I tried to take a picture. Then had a meltdown. Then had a snack and was good to go for... 5 min. And don't worry, there was more.

But let's start back at the beginning...

We met our friends Lauren and Seth and their son, Logan, at the donut bar before the pumpkin patch. I got my standard maple bacon donut (Seth tells me I'm boring and to branch out - but it's soooooooo good!) and he got a butter beer donut. We got Mason an apple orchard (apple pie-like) donut and he loved it. Logan scarfed down his donut as well and then the boys ran around like crazy for a good 15 minutes. They definitely gave Seth and Seth a run for their money.


After breakfast, we headed to the pumpkin patch. This year we chose the pumpkin patch at Tanaka Farms. Seth and I had been before but this was Mason's first time. The special thing about this pumpkin patch is that it is at the Strawberry Farms Golf Club, which is where we got married.



We arrived pretty close to when they opened and I had hoped that it would be empty but no such luck. Apparently everyone had the same idea - probably because the weather was FINALLY nice - a cool 70ish degrees (I think). Either way, we didn't care. We purchased our tickets for admission, the wagon ride, and the petting zoo and then started to walk around.

Logan was a happy camper the whole entire time and Mason did ok in the beginning. I had hoped to take a picture with him an a giant pumpkin but he wanted no where near where I wanted him to be. Hence all the pictures of his back - me desperately snapping photos as he ran away.


This pumpkin patch is very different than the other one that we went to. Irvine Park gathers all of the good pumpkins and puts them in their patch and then you just pick and buy. Tanaka Farms is more of the farm atmosphere. They have the pumpkins in their "natural habitat" and while they are not connected to the plants still, there are definitely the gross ones still hanging around along with all the flies that come with that. You also definitely have to search for the good ones that you want to buy.

Since Mason was not interested in the pumpkins at all, we decided to go on the wagon ride to the petting zoo. While we stood in line, Mason had a snack and that seemed to put him in a better mood - at least temporarily.



The wagon dropped us off at the other side of the pumpkin patch - where the petting zoo and games were. We headed straight for the petting zoo and to my surprise, this was Mason's FAVORITE part. Personally, I am not all that fond of the animals, but Mason was having the time of his life.


Once he decided he was done, he wanted out. So we "washed" his hands at the hand washing station (aka a Purell squirt station - how is that washing your hands??) and then attempted to take pictures with some pumpkins. I'll let you decide how well that went.


After our failed attempt at a photo, we decided to get back on the wagon ride, tour around the farm, and head back to the pumpkin patch. The boys were much happier on the ride and the best part? The pumpkin cannon! I wish I had gotten a video but they literally shoot a pumpkin out of a cannon and the pumpkin flies in the air many, many hundreds of feet. It's pretty awesome.

We decided to try to walk around the patch a little more before we left and were able to get a few more pictures.







We decided that the boys had had enough and so we opted to check out the store and I got some small pumpkins and gourds for decoration for the house.


We paid for our goodies and we were headed home for nap time. But before we could even pull out of the parking lot...


...looks like we found out what was causing the crabby-ness.

Sugar high crash and nap time strike again.

Though Mason wasn't in the best mood, we still had a really great time! We actually didn't buy any pumpkins for carving (I'm planning on getting some from the grocery store for that) but I was able to get some cute decorations for the house so I consider it a successful trip. It definitely didn't go down like I had hoped or imagined, but that's ok. We had fun and made memories and that's all that matters.




***

Now, tell me!
What Fall fun have you been up to?


Pick an item, celebrate Fall, and link up with us!
I would love to see how you and your family are spending Fall.



 Desiree at Macke Monologues | Stephanie at Wife Mommy Me | Elizabeth at Chasin' Mason















15 comments:

  1. That farm is awesome! It is cool that there seems to be something going on most of the year. I am also now craving a donut, those looked fabulous. We had hopes of visiting the pumpkin patch this weekend and then it rained for 4 days :(. Maybe soon.

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  2. Was that a donut he's snacking on because... it looks DELISH!
    What a cute farm!! And these pictures are awesome! You got some stinking cute ones with Mason! I would have never guessed that he was all over the place... but you know, kids! They have a mind of their own!

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  3. Your experience sounds a lot like our. Except the whole pumpkin cannon thing… I'm still so bummed they only do that on weekends!
    We got our big pumpkins from the patch, but I love your way of thinking better. Get the little gourds/pumpkins from the patch and the carving pumpkins from the grocery store. That's the route I'm going next year!!

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  4. Toddlers! beyond uncooperative. I love the visual of Seth running after him and you shouting bring him back for a picture!! That sounds vaguely familiar, haha.
    I love all the mini pumpkins you got! I love how they look on my window sill. I never really decorated with them before, what was I thinking? They are fab! Sounds like a fun day too even with the toddler antics.
    An apple pie donut sounds delish!
    So sweet that you can go back to where you got married for pumpkins!

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  5. Despite everything, you got some really good pictures! I like the ones of you and Mason by the fence. Even though it may have been a rough day, it looks like you guys all had a lot of fun. It seems like this past weekend was the weekend for everyone to visit a pumpkin farm- you, me, Jenny, etc. Haha :) Oh, and butter beer donuts?! Those sound reallllly good, along with the one you got :)

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  6. we did tanaka farms last year and it was so fun (mostly for me). you still managed to get some good shots in, but i hate it when they dont come out as envisioned. and i LOVE your pumpkin haul. we need to patch it ASAP!

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  7. Oh, Mason! Ha! Kids will be kids. But you'll have a story to tell him later & pictures to back it up. Tee hee! :)

    Mandie ~ http://badbrewpack.blogspot.com/

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  8. Nap time will do that to kids! I love naps during the week but not so much on the weekends when we want to do fun things! Still sounds like a nice trip though! And I like the mini pumpkins you picked out!

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  9. How funny, we were at Tanaka Farms too, just a day later! I love that place, it must have been a beautiful wedding venue.

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  10. How fun! We haven't gone yet, but I am dying too!!!

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  11. OH girl I feel you about that nap time and sugar crash issues! Yesterday was one of those days and when she took a 2+hour nap I was like OH that's whats going on... and then I had a normal person again :) Anyway I love all your photos! I can hardly get Callie to look at the camera even though she says cheese so I'm starting to like "action" photos more and you have plenty of those! Great small pumpkin collection for decorating. We got our carve pumpkins at the store too! I love that the farm had a petting zoo. I think we're going to check out another pumpkin patch next week that has a petting zoo! I know I'm a little fall obsessed! :)

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  12. Aww, leave it to kids to ruin the best laid plans. That's always the way, isnt it? The times you reeeeally want a family picture documenting the most picturesque moment are the times they aren't having it. Oh well, it still looks like you had a fun time at the pumpkin patch and those donuts sound amazing. YUM!

    Thanks for sharing your day!

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  13. A pumpkin launcher!?!? How cool is that! Could you see them smash on the ground when they hit? I totally agree about buying the pumpkins. For some reason they are more expensive at the pumpkin patch where you have to pick them out yourself! We got one there and one at the store so far, but we still need two more! I love the white pumpkins you got; those are so cool. I need to find some!

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  14. Ah don't you just love toddlers & their love of making plans crazy?! Looks like it was still a good time though! And after our trip to a pumpkin farm last weekend, I feel ya with buying them at the store! I think it's more of a picture taking adventure than anything! Yay pumpkins!

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  15. I remember this age all too well!!! Mason was the best at wanting to go and do the total opposite of what we wanted! I'd love to say it gets better when they're four, but they just have more attitude. lol. You still managed to get a bunch of really cute pictures. I love pumpkin patches and all things fall!

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