Mike was out of town the last few days, and after spending most of those days in the house cooped up with croup girl, I knew Annie and I had to get out of the house. Her barking cough is gone, replaced by a bit of congestion. Thank goodness! (It’s still bad at night, though, so I’m very happy that Mike is back to help me on night duty.) My friends Leslie and Matt were bringing their two boys to the huge farm that’s close to my house for the annual Fall Festival. They invited us along and Annie and I jumped at the chance to leave the house.
Having been to this farm before, I knew to bring my own wagon. Annie insisted on pulling it at first…
…until she realized running away from me was more fun. Then I plopped her butt down in the wagon and strapped her in.
The first thing we did was grab front row seats for the pig races. Yes. We were fifteen minutes early for the race, which could have been a huge disaster because toddlers aren’t exactly known for their patience, and we had three of ’em. But, they were all hugely excited for the PIGGIES. It also helped that there was kid-friendly music on the loudspeakers that Annie could boogie to.
There were three pig races, and our section of the audience was assigned the green jersey. The pigs had clever names like Lindsay Lo-ham and Christina Hog-ulera. The first two races, our pig was terrible. It didn’t even want to go in the mud pit, and I’m pretty sure pigs are required by law to like mud.
Then for the last race, the show runners put hurdles out for the pigs to JUMP over. I was like, great. Jumping pigs. I am city folk, I like my pigs on the ground or on my plate, you know? Then the race starts and holy crap.
White pigs CAN jump!
Our pig won that race, holler! I mean, oink!
Annie lost her mind during the pig races. We could have gone home immediately after, and she’d have been like, “Worth it.” This was her face during the races:
Mama. Holy moly.
She has not stopped reenacting the pig races, complete with the starting call of “Sooo-eeee!”
Anyway, we didn’t go home then, but instead grabbed some food. After we ate, Leslie and her family went on a tractor ride, while Annie and I started in on the main event: pumpkin picking.
I let her pick out a couple big pumpkins, then we went to the smaller patch of sugar pumpkins.
The sugar pumpkins had two scarecrows guarding them, and Annie thought they were the most amazing things ever.
I was grabbing a few sugar pumpkins when a woman came over to me and said, “It’s so cute how your daughter keeps hugging that scarecrow!”
That’s my kid! Hugging…scarecrows.
Me: Annie, how about you come give me a hug?!
Annie: *all body language*
Rejected.
When it was time to pay for our bounty, we wheeled through the checkout where Annie spotted a Halloween-themed book and went berserk. I bought it for her because I always want her to go berserk over books. She then sat there “reading” the book for the next few minutes while we waited for Leslie and Matt to be helped.
I also bought it because I knew it would make her sit still – a gift to me!
I think we’ll head back to the farm a few more times before Halloween. There are lots of things left to do, but mostly I have GOT to get a video of Annie watching the pig race. Comedy gold.
Meg says:
Oooh, the pumpkin patch! Looks like so much fun. I was at a farm over the weekend, too, and ran gleefully through the fields searching for pumpkins and . . . I’m 27. So, you know. Hopefully I never lose my youthful enthusiasm.
Also, wanting kids to get excited about books is pretty much my main mission in life. I’m going to be a heckuva pushy parent about reading someday . . . I can feel it coming! (And hopefully that won’t make the kids NOT want to read. Hmm . . . )
Karen says:
How did you have time to change Annie’s clothes AND hairdo between the pig race and the pumpkin patch!?! LOL
Heather says:
Ha! I brought a skirt in case she got hot, and I pulled her hair back when she said “Mama, my hair is in my faaaaaaaaace!!!”
Laura says:
Yes because out here in SoCal it was STILL 106 FREAKING DEGREES LAST WEEK!!! I am so over it. It’s supposed to be in the 70’s this week and I swear I could cry from the relief.
Laura says:
So I clicked on the link to the previous farm visit? Holy crap its like she’s aged 3 years instead of one. Amazing the difference one year makes at this age!
Heather says:
I know!! It’s crazy. Where did my little baby go?!
Melli says:
That pig race is so cruel. I’m not a member of PETA or anything but it is cruel
Lexi says:
How is it cruel?
Amber says:
In my hometown we have an event, The Great Pig Out, and kids get to chase pigs in the mud & try to catch them. You’d think it was Christmas morning…kids love it!
Kristin says:
What a great time! Pig races sound awe-some!
Sadie says:
What is the name of this place? I must take the kids!
Heather says:
Underwood Family Farms. I’ve been going since I was a kid!
TamaraL says:
We saw pig races at the county fair last weekend and my SIXTEEN year old went berserk! I was kind of elated too…they were SO cute! Our piggies even went swimming!!
Annalisa says:
Omg, the picture of Annie hugging the scarecrow. I almost died from the cute!
You’ve convinced me to go to one of our pumpkin farms again, even though last year my kiddo cried the whole entire time I tried to take a pic of her with a pumpkin (she did enjoy watching the baby piglets).
Jess says:
My 4 year old has the same t-shirt, but in pink. In the purple, she has one with a picture of a narwhal. Which for some confounding reason she is convinced is called a “Horndog.” Teehee.
Annie is such a cutie.
kari weber says:
This made my day. That is all… :o)
Shannon says:
So adorable. I need to find a local pumpkin patch, I do believe. And, I need to say…Annie’s hair is so crazy long!!!
Ellen Parlee says:
Sounds like a fun day! Spending a fall day at the farm with the family is great fun. Many pick your own farms also have lots of other fun attractions that can keep your child entertained for hours.