Enjoy the Ride

Sometimes when the boys are all bouncy and out-of-sorts, we find it a good idea to break it up, so each little guy gets some 1:1 time with Mom or Dad. Such was today.

It was my turn to have the Joey-Boy all to myself. Joey has been too overwhelmed to be able to actually pick out a nice pumpkin or enjoy the pumpkin patch, one of his favorite activities. I was so glad when he said he wanted to go for his activity. Off to Snead's for a fun-filled afternoon of chickens, hay, and pumpkins!

I didn't take a camera. I just spent the afternoon enjoying being with my son.

As part of the treat, he got to sit in the front seat with Mom. We drove through the fields, looking at the growing Christmas trees, the overgrown asparagus fields, and of course the pumpkins. We drove through the ford to the back fields, a very exciting moment as we were in my little neon, not the jeep, and it rained yesterday. We took our time picking out pumpkins. He picked a green one, of course, and then we picked out a really big orange one together. We wandered back to park near the barns, so he could play in the hay. We patted goats. We hugged baby cows. We giggled at alpacas. We even touched a baby chicken!

Then we went for a hay ride. The lady who runs the tractor saw us and laughed about us being return customers. Something to the effect of "you should get bulk rates!" But she didn't give us bulk rates. Besides, it was just the two of us today. Our hay ride was a small group. Joey bounced around the cart- looking through the floor slats at the ground passing beneath and the wheels turning, checking out the different places to sit in search of the best view, trying out laying down, sitting up, laying on his back, laying on his tummy. He called out random words to the pumpkins and to the people we passed. He giggled. He leaned against me. He wrote in the air with a stick. He looked at me like I was crazy when I pointed out the pumpkins and the trees and the horses. He was busy.

We played in the corn teepee for a while. It really needs some restoration now; it was really lovely when it was first done, now it is about to fall over. We wandered past the alpacas again, and picked out some gourds. Then he found the golf cart. Folks from the farm use it to tool around and check on things. Apparently, they leave the keys in it. Joey loves golf carts. He wanted to get in it, but I managed to get him over to the gourds to pick some out. He liked ones with lots of colors and bumps. When I was young, the popular gourd was a little white one that looked like a shmoo. I like those, but you don't see them anymore. (If anybody remembers them and can tell me what they are called, I would be very happy. It is not a white cushaw, they are too bumpy; these were smooth).

As I was paying for them, I heard the golf cart start up. I looked up to call Joey so he could see one of the farm people riding in it, and wave... to find that it was Joey. One quick call and he stopped, thank all goodness! But it also was a good signal that it was time to go home. Joey started on his "I'm a stupid boy" routine because he was upset (and probably embarrassed) about his golf cart adventure, so I softened it a little by letting him look at the baby chicks one more time (they were right next to the car). Then we had a talk about safety and how you have to be 16 to drive a golf cart as we started for home.

He said he'd like one for Christmas, anyway.