Pumpkin Picking

Well, it's that time of year again. Time for pumpkins. We could have just gone to Walmart and picked some out like years past, but I thought Embry especially would much more enjoy picking her own right out of the patch. So, we drove the 40 minutes or so to Belleville, IL to Eckert's Orchard. Here you can pick your own apples, pumpkins and later in the year, Christmas trees. This time of year they have a petting zoo, pony rides, huge inflatable jumpy things, carnival rides, and lots and lots of food.


We decided to go pick out pumpkins first since the line was already long when we arrived at 10:00 am. We rode a tractor pulled trailer out to the patch, which the kids loved. Once we got out there I tried to convince Embry that both she and Matthew needed to get small (6 inches diameter or less) ones, so as to make carrying them all back easier. Of course, Embry wanted a big one for me AND for her AND picked out a huge 25 pounder for J. (Matthew did get a tiny one though).

Somehow we made it back to the parking lot with all 4 pumpkins and both kids. Next it was on the the rides and the animals. Embry jumped in one of the inflatable things and rode on one of the little kid rides.






When we got to the petting zoo she tried feeding a goat, but decided she didn't like it so much. The pony rides cost extra and were pretty lame, and she was scared of the camel, so we decided it was time for a snack. They had kettle corn, funnel cake, lemon shake-ups, etc. But, since it was near 85 degrees that afternoon we opted for the frozen custard. Embry had a sprinkle and marshmallow sundae and Matthew shared my sundae with fresh peaches, YUM! Then we headed home. I'll post pictures of the pumpkins after we get them carved/decorated.