Pumpkin Planting...

For the past few years we have been fortunate that our Good Neighbors have invited us to the pumpkin patch at Neighbor M's parents' pumpkin/tractor farm. Her parents are spectacular people -  we cannot say enough about their positive, kind, matter-of-fact hearts. Hence, we know why Neighbor M is the way she is.

We started the spring by planting some pumpkin seedlings. The kids were really excited to plant seeds when it was still quite cold outside. We may have started them a bit early but we were not expecting it to still be freezing at night Memorial Day weekend. Alas, since then, most of the seedlings died. But we still wanted the kids to contribute at the farm where they enjoy so many of the rewards such as large carving pumpkins and tractor rides.

Hence, we asked Neighbor M is we could go out to the pumpkin farm and help plant pumpkins. Plus, T always says he wants to be a farmer and as romantic and fun as farming sounds, it is a lot of work. We want him to understand that. Thus, off to the farm for planting we went.

There were a few "volunteers" coming up from last year - from the pumpkins that were mulched into the earth. Still, plenty of room for laying down some more seeds. We also took our sunflower seeds hoping we could put a few of those around, too.

T went off and did most of the planting and cleaning on his own. After about 30 minutes he declared matter-of-factually, "Farming is hard work." Still, he pressed on not complaining until all was done. Lil Sister was happy to follow her beloved Neighbor M around and plant seeds. Their favorite part was stomping on the ground to cover them up. Hubby enjoyed contemplating the affairs and future of our country with Neighbor D and Mr. V. Me? I just walked around taking photos and soaking in the beauty of the day as it was a lovely afternoon - more of life's simple pleasures. 

Order of photos - starting seedlings in February. I should have taken more photos of them growing but I was in the very early days of being pregnant with 3.0 and I don't think the camera came out all that often. Note the tractor shirts the kids are wearing in the photos - I just realized they were wearing those. They were Christmas gifts from Neighbors D&M.

Planting seeds at the farm. Our seedlings were taking over the kitchen so we moved them outside. While we were on vacation it froze outside and they all died. The kids were not too sad when we said we would take them to Mr. and Mrs. V's farm to plant new ones. It will be really fun to watch them grow into pumpkins and then the kids can be proud when they pick their pumpkins this year knowing they helped plant them.

Thank you Neighbor M for setting all this up. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. V for always being so kind and welcoming to us and giving the kids this opportunity.