Pumpkin Patch 2008

Another Fall Family Tradition is in the books - "Pumpkin Patch 2008" was a rousing success!! The kids had a blast, as did my parents and Mitch and I. We went to Joe's Place Farm in Vancouver, where we have been going since Lexi was 7 months old. In some ways, today felt like we had gone full circle.

Here's a timeline and some little memories from the last 6 years - hope you enjoy!!

The First Time

October, 2003

Lexi Noodle was just a baby! She was so cute and we were so excited to get to be doing some of the fun stuff - with a kid!! It was the inaugural year of the "Wheelbarrow Shot"!

Lexi & Mommy and Lexi & Daddy

Year 2

October, 2004

Ah yes....year 2. The year I was pregnant with Tucker, just off of bed rest for long enough to walk the pumpkin patch for about 15 minutes. I remember having some BIG contractions while we wandered around. Yuck. Plus, I was the size of a small Orca whale.

Good times...good times.

Year 3

October, 2005

We had twice the fun this year!! Tucker had joined the fray and it was good times all around!

Year 4

October, 2006

Another good year. Not a whole lot new to report. Both kids were really into things this year. The only other item of note would be that it was our first Halloween in Washougal.

Oh yeah. And we didn't get a "Family Shot" because Tucker kept running off. Little menace.

Year 5

October, 2007

Barf.

No. Really. That's all I remember is how nauseated I was. I think I was only out of the hospital a few days before we went. The corn maze just about did me in.

It would only be a few short weeks until I broke my ankle. Tanner may be the cutest baby in the whole wide world, but he was in fact, trying to kill me. Pumpkin Patch 2007 was a dark, dark day. :-(

Year 6

October, 2008

And that, my friends, brings us full circle. No big huge pregnant belly, no toddler who won't sit still, no nausea...just cute kids, good clean family fun and a wonderful memory that we all will cherish for years to come.

I have said it before and I'll say it again - I CANNOT WAIT for the year when they are 16, 14 and 11 and I make them jam themselves into a wheelbarrow so that I can get my picture!

Now that will be a moment to capture!! ;-)

In truth a family is what you make it. It is made strong, not by number of heads counted at the dinner table, but by the rituals you help family members create, by the memories you share, by the commitment of time, caring, and love you show to one another, and by the hopes for the future you have as individuals and as a unit.
- Marge Kennedy