Why We Stayed...

Oddly enough it was things like pumpkin patches that wooed me to stay in Washington. Poor California just couldn't compete with the show Washington puts on and all the fun it provides!
Fall never held so much excitement. It used to be an ambivalent season stuck between summer and winter. Nothing special...

But Washington Autumns have a certain magic. A crisp freshness in the air. Leaves changing colors and carpeting the streets in rich hues of golds, reds and orange. Hands down though, our family's favorite thing about Fall is a visit to the Pumpkin Patch. And not just any pumpkin patch, Marris Farms. Now we are only 10 minutes away too!

This year we met up with the Phillips family and the Combs family to enjoy the farm. Good thing we were with lots of friends, because when we all got lost in the corn maze together (for real) it sure was good to have company. We made it half way through no problem. Then we got so miserably lost I started to feel that desperate, irrational, start to do crazy things frame of mind that you read about in books start to set in. To make matters worse, Sara feel asleep on my shoulders. So I had to carry her until we found a way out. Poor Chase tried to be a valiant gentleman and relieve me. But he only lasted a few minutes before he was just about dragging her on the floor and I had to take her back. My arms hurt for days. (like when you were a kid and lifted you Dad's / Uncle's weights thinking you were super buff and then the next morning couldn't move your arms without crying...). We finally found a way out - and then took a solemn oath never to enter another maze... It's things like that which make it all memorable though.

The kids had a great time sliding down the new "mine shaft" slides. I was so proud of my big kids for being good older siblings. They were awesome about taking Sara down as many times as she wanted! And there were so many happy smiling faces and giggles of delight. Definitely the slides were a huge hit.

We also really enjoyed "the pillow". The kids didn't try it last year, instead choosing to go on their first monster truck ride. I was actually pretty surprised at how much bounce the kids were able to get. Chase and Emily had a great time posing in the air. Kate not so much. She stayed as close to the edge as possible and spent most of her time on all fours crying. She has come a long way...but still has more fears to conquer.

Marris Farms has something fun and new every year it seems. But nothing ever comes close to the kids love for the corn room. It is a big room full of dried corn kernels. They love diving in, covering themselves and of course trying to find all of the hidden rubber ducks. Poor Chase, I told him when he turns twelve he isn't allowed any more trips to "the courtyard" (where all the fun little kid activities including the corn room are). He got all google eyed is disbelief. Maybe if we go on weekdays they will fudge with his age...

It was such a wonderful day. As I drove home with my kids peaceful tired out in the back and a car full of pumpkins I could hardly carry and potted mums the size of a chair, I thought to myself how thankful I am to still be living in Washington and enjoying yet another beautiful Autumn.