Mummy Meredith

This time of year, we really miss the wonderful pumpkin patches in and around Portland.  The last time we went out to Sauvie Island was the October before we moved to California.  Thomas was 2.5 years old and enjoyed hanging out with our friends' little boy, both boys scouring the patch for their perfect pumpkin.  Meredith was 6 months old and happily snuggled up in a baby carrier.  I have fond memories of that day and the whole pumpkin patch experience.

The pumpkin patches here in Southern Calif. really pale in comparison to the patches in Portland.  I find these here depressing -- not to mention very expensive.  I can't pay for the clunky rides at these patches when we live 2 miles from Legoland where the rides are great (and safe!).  If there is food, it's always fair/carnival food.  The pumpkins are always overpriced and trucked in from somewhere else because the pumpkin patches are always setup in abandoned parking lots.  We've been to all the local ones (one a year), even the "real farm" an hour away... and still find ourselves stopping by Trader Joe's on our way home to purchase pumpkins.