Visiting the Pumpkin Patch

I have to give a little bit of background before I get into this adventure. When I first started dating my husband, my mom really admired how his family had such deeply rooted traditions. The fun stuff, you know: carving pumpkins, cutting down a Christmas tree every year, watching the Charlie Brown holiday movies on or around their corresponding holidays, making Easter baskets, giving ornaments every Christmas . . . the list continues. She admired it so much because she was never able to provide those traditions for me, at least to the capacity that she wanted to. We would make it a point to drive around and look at Christmas lights, but my step-dad flip-flopped on what holidays to celebrate and for a while I was the kid who didn't celebrate Christmas. When I was old enough to decide what to celebrate, I wanted to do it all, and instantly appreciated and cherished that Robby's family held long-standing traditions.

All of that to say that when we got married, my mom asked if she could be part of some of our traditions. How could I say no? And that's how, for the past three years, Robby, my mom, and I have gone to a local pumpkin patch and then carved pumpkins for Halloween. We found Brookfield Farm & Pumpkins in Thurmont, MD and have gone back year after year. We are constantly amazed by their variety of pumpkins and gourds, as well as their mums, corn maze, and other locally sourced products. This year was no different: I felt like I could have walked their fields for hours and found more and more varieties of gourds I had never seen in the years prior.

We arrived right as they opened, and the wind was blowing hard and cold. I wasn't prepared - I was wearing a thin long-sleeved shirt with a vest, but no scarf. Robby was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt and a vest. My mom? She was wearing long johns under her clothes plus an Under Armour cold gear long-sleeved shirt, plus a flannel, a jacket, and gloves. #Prepared. But we were still freezing as we trudged along with our little cart into the fields of pumpkins. We were only there for maybe an hour and a half, and within no time not only had the parking lot filled up, but the cold wore off as we bent over to pick up the pumpkins we liked or just thought looked interesting.

The price point for going here is obviously more expensive than going to Lowe's or Walmart and picking a pumpkin out of a bin - a good carving pumpkin will run you between $10 and $20, and their decorative varieties start at $5. But I can only imagine how fun it will be with kids - we felt like kids ourselves, constantly calling out to each other to look at the weird and fun and multicolored gourds we came across.

Once we picked out our pumpkins, we went to my mom's house and sat outside in the sunshine to carve. Everyone decided to do simple faces and keep it more traditional - and look at them! They all look so cute! My mom's green pumpkin is probably my favorite. It looks perfect! Afterward, Robby and I went home to decorate our stoop with our pumpkins, mums I picked up from Home Depot, and corn stalks from our garden. We also spent a good hour walking around the new Farm store that opened by our house - it's like a Tractor Supply, but local and I'm already pretty obsessed. We can find our pets' food there, plus bird seed in bulk, and any and all the things we may need for canning, gardening, and home repair. PLUS, amazing winter wear that may be for men, but I'm 100% down for wearing. Haha.

I hope you have an amazing, homey fall season. I'm still trying to get rid of the two bushels of apples I got when I went apple picking. I've made just about everything I can think of with them: apple cider, applesauce, apple butter. With seconds, I'm a little hesitant to try and make apple crumble or pie, although I'm sure they would taste just fine. Hm. Maybe? I'm going to attempt dehydrated apple chips, and maybe more applesauce. This time, easier on the cinnamon since Robby isn't the biggest fan. Lol!

Before you go, can you answer me one question? What is your favorite fall activity to do with family? Whatever it is, I hope you get the opportunity to do it, and soak in the experience 100%.