A few years ago Emma went to this place called Bates Nut
Farm on a field trip. They were going to pick out pumpkins. It was her first field trip and I ended up at the last minute not going. I was of course devastated because I was missing my babies first field trip. I had this huge weird boil on my back and I could barely move. I got dressed and went to the school but when Ms. Bils saw how much pain I was in she sent me home. I cried all the way home and then called my friend Jennie and cried to her. She made m
e feel so much better telling me that she didn't get to go to her baby girls first field trip either. Ever since then I have wondered why they went to a nut farm to pick out pumpkins but when you look on
their website you understand it's more
than a nut farm! It's more than just a pumpkin patch as well. They have all sorts of things to do. Finally we set a date and drove out to Valley Center and spent the morning at the pumpkin patch. We had such a great time until I started having allergy problems which
was about the time we were going to go anyway. Hay and corn fields just get to me. The drive up was so pretty. There were tree's covering the road like a canopy and it was such a bright sunny day. Before when I would think of a pumpkin patch, it would be a little farm with a big field and an old
couple sitting under a shade weighing pumpkins and telling us "Ya'll come back now ya hear?" but when we turned in there was a large parking area and a whole almost festival or fair set up. At first there were not even that many people there. There were booths and an art show and Emma wanted to try to climb a rock wall which didn't end up being the best decision but at least she tried and the picture with her all harnessed up was pretty cute. Maybe she'll want to when she's older. There was one booth that a guy had cu
t out all these blocks that were in the shape to make your own castles. They were pretty pricey but really fun. I have to brag here and say I thought my castle was pretty good even if Brent kept trying to knock it down. That's my castle he is behind. We went on a hay ride and through a corn maze (that's what kicked my allergies into full mode and had I been thinking ahead I would have just taken a seasonal allergy pill but alas I wasn't thinking ahead) The hay ride was a little lame but I can see how for kids it would be fun.
It was just a guy driving a tractor pulling a bunch of carts behind it. I thought we would be pulled along behind a horse but I didn't even see any horses that day. We saw ponies and chickens with feathers on their feet and some goats and pigs but no horses that I can remember. As we were driving out onto the road I noticed that the parking lot had been extended to the other side of the field and there were a line of about 15 cars waiting just t
o get in. I guess it really isn't just a little Mom and Pop shop huh? On the way home we stopped at a road side stand which is one of my most favorite things about living in Cali! There are road side stands almost all year long with fresh off the farm produce. Some of it is over priced because of course it's not a huge grocery store where they can afford to buy in huge quantities and give you lower prices but you can find things that you can't it the grocery stores like kumquats. YUMO! This time we picked up some cactus fruit. You know the scene in Jungle book where Balou talks about prickly pears. I think this is similar.
These are green and have had the prickly parts removed. They taste a little like a pear but have HUGE HARD seeds. You have to cut them in smaller pieces and suck the fruit from around the seeds and don't think about trying to bite through the seeds because you'll break your teeth. The other thing we got was these baby banana's. Brent said he had had them on his mission and hadn't had one since. He said they were tons sweeter than normal banana's. We ate one each on the way home and it didn't seem to be anything too different but he said once they rippened up a bit it would be sweeter. Sure enough a few days later....HEAVEN! Those were so sweet and yummy, the best banana I've ever had! Thanks Kathy Bils for giving us the idea. We may have to go back again some time!
Farm on a field trip. They were going to pick out pumpkins. It was her first field trip and I ended up at the last minute not going. I was of course devastated because I was missing my babies first field trip. I had this huge weird boil on my back and I could barely move. I got dressed and went to the school but when Ms. Bils saw how much pain I was in she sent me home. I cried all the way home and then called my friend Jennie and cried to her. She made m
e feel so much better telling me that she didn't get to go to her baby girls first field trip either. Ever since then I have wondered why they went to a nut farm to pick out pumpkins but when you look on their website you understand it's more 
than a nut farm! It's more than just a pumpkin patch as well. They have all sorts of things to do. Finally we set a date and drove out to Valley Center and spent the morning at the pumpkin patch. We had such a great time until I started having allergy problems which 
was about the time we were going to go anyway. Hay and corn fields just get to me. The drive up was so pretty. There were tree's covering the road like a canopy and it was such a bright sunny day. Before when I would think of a pumpkin patch, it would be a little farm with a big field and an old 
couple sitting under a shade weighing pumpkins and telling us "Ya'll come back now ya hear?" but when we turned in there was a large parking area and a whole almost festival or fair set up. At first there were not even that many people there. There were booths and an art show and Emma wanted to try to climb a rock wall which didn't end up being the best decision but at least she tried and the picture with her all harnessed up was pretty cute. Maybe she'll want to when she's older. There was one booth that a guy had cu
t out all these blocks that were in the shape to make your own castles. They were pretty pricey but really fun. I have to brag here and say I thought my castle was pretty good even if Brent kept trying to knock it down. That's my castle he is behind. We went on a hay ride and through a corn maze (that's what kicked my allergies into full mode and had I been thinking ahead I would have just taken a seasonal allergy pill but alas I wasn't thinking ahead) The hay ride was a little lame but I can see how for kids it would be fun. 
It was just a guy driving a tractor pulling a bunch of carts behind it. I thought we would be pulled along behind a horse but I didn't even see any horses that day. We saw ponies and chickens with feathers on their feet and some goats and pigs but no horses that I can remember. As we were driving out onto the road I noticed that the parking lot had been extended to the other side of the field and there were a line of about 15 cars waiting just t
o get in. I guess it really isn't just a little Mom and Pop shop huh? On the way home we stopped at a road side stand which is one of my most favorite things about living in Cali! There are road side stands almost all year long with fresh off the farm produce. Some of it is over priced because of course it's not a huge grocery store where they can afford to buy in huge quantities and give you lower prices but you can find things that you can't it the grocery stores like kumquats. YUMO! This time we picked up some cactus fruit. You know the scene in Jungle book where Balou talks about prickly pears. I think this is similar. 
These are green and have had the prickly parts removed. They taste a little like a pear but have HUGE HARD seeds. You have to cut them in smaller pieces and suck the fruit from around the seeds and don't think about trying to bite through the seeds because you'll break your teeth. The other thing we got was these baby banana's. Brent said he had had them on his mission and hadn't had one since. He said they were tons sweeter than normal banana's. We ate one each on the way home and it didn't seem to be anything too different but he said once they rippened up a bit it would be sweeter. Sure enough a few days later....HEAVEN! Those were so sweet and yummy, the best banana I've ever had! Thanks Kathy Bils for giving us the idea. We may have to go back again some time!
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