Over the weekend we...

Engaged in local autumn fall activities, starting with a pumpkin patch! And not just any pumpkin patch but a pumpkin patch palooza thanks to K-State peoples, Britts Farm, and our lovely friends and neighbours who drove us there and back again (and shared in the fun and excitement of it all).

Because this was intended for college/university students etc, the start was 7 pm. And yes, we managed to get on that haybale ride.

We did need to sign in and get wristbands. Jimmy included. He wasn't sure about the wristband thing to start with, but soon it was forgotten until we returned home.

It was pretty exciting (and a little bit on the cold side) and it was even more exciting when we noticed one of Jimmy's friends, N, and his family, were on the same haybale ride. (Also, because it was cold, N was wearing a coat, a very nice warm coat.)

The ride took us around the edge of the farm, past different crops, and ended by a cornfield and a cornfield maze (!!). When we started we could still see without torches, but we needed them by the end. We definitely needed torches before we finished and to help select a pumpkin. And by torches I mean torch apps on phones - who carries an actual torch when they're not camping?

Once we had our pumpkin we made our way to the bonfire, found N and his family (they snuck off to the easier maze, once we had relocated the entrance to the hard maze), made and ate our very first s'mores.

Yes folks, we made it through the last 18 months without a single one (we did have plenty of toasted marshmallows while on our road trip). The bonfire was the wrong type of fire for s'mores but they were pretty good - the cracker is not sweet, so the whole thing is (fairly) balanced, for a sweet...

We were given our marching orders by Jimmy, and we couldn't complain - the night was turning cold and we were all out of marshmallows. We may have stopped by the farm shop and looked at the available produce and decorative gourds. They were pretty cute, and these ones, as held by Michael, were small and curiously shaped. If we had the money to spend on pretty or curious things that can't be eaten or worn, we might have spent the $10 required to take a few home. It's ok, we already had a pumpkin to take home.

A sweet, round pumpkin no less. Jimmy was fairly protective of it but was also very keen to help Daddy carve it, but he was also keen to keep putting the stem back on...

Jimmy also helped with the first draft of the face, but Daddy stepped in and made something a little more carvable...

Our little Jack-o-Lantern takes pride of place on the table and Jimmy would like it to be illuminated for every meal, but we're sticking to evenings only, even though the mornings are getting darker and we are almost at the stage when we need a light on to eat breakfast... Winter is coming.