Yesterday was one of those days where you start off thinking it’s going to be wonderful and amazing and then things start to turn sour very quickly but then you decide to not let it get you down and you end up having a pretty wonderful, magical day after all. Just a reminder of what sheer determination to have fun can do.

We took S out to Dewberry Farms to go to the pumpkin patch and do other fun things. Was S maybe a little too young to really enjoy all the festivities? Yes. But in my desire to show her the world, I was convinced we all would have the best time EVER! and we did, sorta.

I had seen some beautiful pictures of the farm online and it just looked so quintessentially fall/October/Thanksgiving. What the pictures didn’t show was the terrible traffic we hit on the way there because a 5 lane highway was completely closed down. And I didn’t see any pictures of the ridiculously long lines you had to wait in to even purchase a ticket to the farm because everyone and their mom was there. Really, everyone and their mom was there. And they didn’t tell you to eat before going because if you don’t, then you will have to wait in line 45 mins to get food after getting stuck in traffic and waiting in line to buy a ticket. And oh yea, it was also hot. Like, blistering sun, tank top and shorts weather hot. So NOT quintessentially fall (ok, I’m done complaining).

So, we were off to a rough start. But after we finally got our food and ate, we all felt better and things were looking up again. Dewberry Farms is such a cute and charming place, perfect for kids.

      

      

                                   

I think S’ favorite part was probably the pumpkin patch. Once she discovered that leaning on the pumpkins would provide her enough support to shake her booty, it was on.

       

All in all, we had so much fun and despite some bumps in the road, it was a really, really great day. It’s rare that we get a chance to something out of the norm on the weekends, so I’m truly grateful for times like these.

And a lesson learned, now we know. Next time we will be rolling deep – wagon, cooler, packed lunches, portable fan, drinks! anything to ease the blistering heat and waiting in lines.

side note: There seems to be so much stuff to do with your kids nowadays. Were there places like this when we were growing up? I don’t remember ever going to a place like this when I was young. Given, my parents were first generation immigrants, so they weren’t as familiar with the culture. And even if they had known about places like this, they were too busy trying to build a life for us that it would have been near impossible to take a Saturday off to go. In many ways, Sophie’s first experiences are also my first experiences. And so grows the desire for her to have all the experiences I never got to have, do all the things I never got to do, to have a better life. eeek, I remember my parents saying some version of this to me way back when. I guess that’s how you know things are coming back full circle… scary!