We had to wait about 30 minutes for our turn on the hayride. The boys were constantly on the lookout for the tractor...
Finally! We saw the tractor coming around the corner!
The boys were very anxious to get to the pumpkin patch! I have to admit, though, I was quite excited myself!
After our tractor pull hayride to the pumpkin patch the sun was setting quickly and so we rushed over to the corn maze and began to make our way through the winding turns of corn...
We were supposed to be able to use these handy dandy decorder stands to view our map and find out where we were in the maze...unfortunately, it was so dark out that even with our little flashlight we weren't able to see ANYTHING on our map. On top of that, the boys were getting a bit tired of wandering around (we were in there for quite some time) and Maddox kept saying things like "I'm scared of being in this bush!" HA!! I'm sure when you're only 3 feet tall the corn did seem kind of scary and plus it was pitch black out!
Finally, daddy secretly decided to just lead us back toward the entrance of the maze. The great thing was that the boys had NO idea we had already been in that direction and when we finally exited through the entrance they didn't know any better and Maddox yelled "WE WON!!" I'm glad they think we completed the maze. When we made our way out, Brandon and I looked at the map and found out that we were FAR from finding our way to the exit!Next, it was pumpkin patch time! The pumpkins they have at Orr Family Farm are called sugar pumpkins. They are very small and, they say, are great for baking! They are perfect for little hands too! I think we picked out some pretty good ones!
Here's the tractor that pulled us back to the farm...
After putting our pumpkins in the car, we hit the trail for all the other fun things Orr Family Farm has to offer! First up...the barn!!! Maddox had been begging to go to the barn ever since we pulled up in the parking lot! Aren't my little cow and piggy cute!?!?
Ashtyn showed us his skills at milking the cow!!! (It's a fake cow of course!)
Then we looked at the animals. There were goats, bunnies, pigs, llamas and chickens!
Don't worry Gramma...we washed our hands!!
The most fun of the night (in my opinion) was watching the boys ride these tire swings shaped like horses! Maddox thought they were just hilarious and was cracking up the entire time he rode. He was literally belly laughing which made me belly laugh! I could barely take the picture!
While I did some shopping in the Train Station Gift Shop, daddy took the boys to ride the carousel. By the way, I bought a jar of pumpkin butter and a jar of apple butter in the gift shop! Guess what I'll be having on my toast tomorrow...Mmmmmmm!
We couldn't resist a few photo ops before we left for the night.
We did have a sad moment at the end of our night when, at the last minute, we got in line for the train ride and as the train pulled back into the station the conductor announced that that had been his last run for the night. As you can imagine, with two little boys who had been looking forward to the train ride and who were also very tired (as it was almost 9PM) this didn't go over well at all. Ashtyn started crying and I couldn't blame him. I tried to explain that we would come back again sometime and also that we have alot more fun stuff to do in the coming months but, of course, in that moment he just wanted to ride the train. Poor guy...
Here's the tractor that pulled us back to the farm...
After putting our pumpkins in the car, we hit the trail for all the other fun things Orr Family Farm has to offer! First up...the barn!!! Maddox had been begging to go to the barn ever since we pulled up in the parking lot! Aren't my little cow and piggy cute!?!?
Ashtyn showed us his skills at milking the cow!!! (It's a fake cow of course!)
Then we looked at the animals. There were goats, bunnies, pigs, llamas and chickens!
Don't worry Gramma...we washed our hands!!
The most fun of the night (in my opinion) was watching the boys ride these tire swings shaped like horses! Maddox thought they were just hilarious and was cracking up the entire time he rode. He was literally belly laughing which made me belly laugh! I could barely take the picture!
While I did some shopping in the Train Station Gift Shop, daddy took the boys to ride the carousel. By the way, I bought a jar of pumpkin butter and a jar of apple butter in the gift shop! Guess what I'll be having on my toast tomorrow...Mmmmmmm!
We couldn't resist a few photo ops before we left for the night.
We did have a sad moment at the end of our night when, at the last minute, we got in line for the train ride and as the train pulled back into the station the conductor announced that that had been his last run for the night. As you can imagine, with two little boys who had been looking forward to the train ride and who were also very tired (as it was almost 9PM) this didn't go over well at all. Ashtyn started crying and I couldn't blame him. I tried to explain that we would come back again sometime and also that we have alot more fun stuff to do in the coming months but, of course, in that moment he just wanted to ride the train. Poor guy...Before we left the farm, we couldn't resist a bag of kettle corn and some hot chocolate! Now let me tell you, this kettle corn they sell at Orr Family Farm is the absolute best kettle corn I have ever had. They make it fresh right there at the farm and you get to buy it hot!! It's amazing!! Maddox was eager to not only eat the kettle corn but also have some hot chocolate. He took one sip, though, and decided it was WAY too hot so we had to wait until we got home for him to enjoy his sweet treat! As you can see, though, he greatly enjoyed it once he got the chance!!!
Here are the sugar pumpkins we gathered at the farm. Last year we just used them as decoration but this year I think I'll actually attempt some form of baking with them. Suggestions anyone? I've never baked with real fresh pumpkin before but I think I'll give it a shot! For now, though, I'll just look at our adorable little pumpkins!
Here are the sugar pumpkins we gathered at the farm. Last year we just used them as decoration but this year I think I'll actually attempt some form of baking with them. Suggestions anyone? I've never baked with real fresh pumpkin before but I think I'll give it a shot! For now, though, I'll just look at our adorable little pumpkins!
2 comments:
The family outing looked like a ton of fun! Thank you Brandon and Erika for creating such wonderful memories for my grandsons. But my mouth is watering ... kettle corn sounds yummy right now!
The giant pumpkin that the boys are sitting on looks a lot like the one we had when you were younger than Maddox. We had it in the livingroom and you would crawl all over it ... oh and Jessica would join you!
Using fresh pumpkin for cooking and baking is something every home-cook should experience. It's time consuming but gives a sense of what it was like before canned goods!
I'm sure you can find other ways of processing the pumpkin (especially online) but when I used to be suzy-homemaker I would cut and peal the pumpkin then cut into chunks. Boil it sort of like potatoes but not on such high heat. It takes a while cuz pumpkin is so dense. But once it's all mushy, drain it, smash it up, and if you don't want strings and/or "pieces" (if you want it creamy like from a can) you need to strain it. Otherwise, sometimes you can use the initial smushy pumpkin in cookies, cakes, breads, etc. I'm not sure about storing it. Have to look online for that one. Or maybe Glenda knows. Or Mema. Oh and I would put a teaspoon or so of salt in with each batch before cooking. And I wouldn't trying doing more than one pumpkin at a time. I found it to be pretty messy ... yet again I may not have been the best at the process!
No way! I just saw that farm on "18 kids and counting" It looks like a fun place!
I love it when the boys stick their heads into those animal things its hilarious!
Looks like ya'll have alot of carving to do
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