Punkin Picking

Before we get started with the fun and hilarity from the Chesterfield Berry Farm, Maddy is safely out of surgery and doing well. Her Mom, Kimy, removed her NG tube this morning for the last time, and apparently ceremoniously heaved it into the nearest trash can. I think I would have done a dance of superiority around that trash can just to show the NG tube who was finally boss. Those things are just nasty - and poor Maddy lived with it for 6 and a half months. But as of right now, she's a free woman! Yeah for Maddy and yeah for my friend Kimy!


Now - on to the Chesterfield Berry Farm. Apparently there are two pumpkin patches in all of Richmond. That's it. Two. And the closest one to us is the Chesterfield Berry Farm. And when I say close, I mean really far away. You see, in Christiansburg, anywhere you want to go is just a 5 or 10 minute drive. Here in Richmond, you better take snacks and fuel up the car, because something these people say is "close" is really a 45 minute drive down a 10 lane interstate. OK. I exaggerate a little. But this place was much farther away than I thought it was.


There were tons of things to do at the pumpkin patch - in fact, at first glance, I saw not a single pumpkin. Lois enjoyed checking out the petting zoo from high atop her Daddy's shoulders.

Notice the hair clip? My friend Kimy made them for Lois - and they are much more user friendly that the last hair accessories we tried. But Lois's hair is so thin and fine that they have a tendency to slide right out. I hope the fine hair is just a baby thing - because if genetics have anything to do with it, baby girl's gonna have a head of thick hair. Jay's used to be thick, he tells me. And mine? Don't get me started.


Would you look at that? We even got a picture of Lois and her Momma?! Did you feel the earth shake? This doesn't happen very often. But look at the expression on her face? She looks totally put out that I am kissing her. Annoyed. Miffed. Look above at her expression when her Daddy is holding her. Happy, happy, joy, joy! And what do I get? Abject horror.


Nice Lois. So glad we could preserve these happy memories. Look what happens when I give her back to her Daddy.


OK. So my kid doesn't love me. Moving on.

By the time we had taken the tractor ride to the actual pumpkin patch, Lois was dragging. She refused to raise her head to look into the camera, so we didn't really capture a joyful Lois sitting amongst the pretty orange pumpkins. Instead, we had a drooling, muted, Lois who was quite concerned with the straw she was sitting on.

Of course, once I got her to smile at her Daddy.

And about thirty seconds after this picture was taken she was sound asleep on his shoulder.


So there you have it. Our first trip to the pumpkin patch was a success - mostly. We did buy a pumpkin. And Jay had some pork bar-b-que. And I ate some ice cream. And we had some good conversation with our friends. And on the LONG drive back home, we wondered what the pumpkin patch trip would be like NEXT year????