It's The Great Pumpkin...Patch!

*Beware My Picture Overload! :o)

The past three Autumns we have taken fun weekend trips to Apple Annie's Orchard and Pumpkin Patch in Willcox, Arizona. Well, once my sister Summer's family moved to Tucson, we invited them to join us and a tradition was born. Even though we've moved from Tucson, we will still drive down to go with the Driggs because it is such a fun day trip for our two families!

We began by gathering our buckets & apple-picking-sticks and headed out to the orchard just in time for it to begin raining. We headed back to the main tent in a hurry, but Tye and Caitlynn still did their best to pick some fruit.

In the end, our apples were picked at the tent, from the crates of pre-picked fruit. And they were delicious! We never leave without going into Apple Annie's Bakery and buying one of her mouth-watering apple pies. Eric says they are the closest to his Grandma's as he's ever tasted and that, my friend, is high praise indeed!

After family pictures at the Apple Orchard, we were off to the Pumpkin Patch!

The pumpkin patch really is a favorite of this trip. Under a huge ramada they have a play area with haystack mountains to climb on and big troughs full of corn kennels for kids to dig around in. Of course ours loved it! But the highlight was the tractor-pulled-hayride out to the pumpkin patch.

It turned into a dreamy Autumn day outside and the patch was filled with more pumpkins than I've ever seen before. There was a slight breeze outside and the overcast sky was covered in beautiful clouds---it really was picture perfect! The kids ran up and down the isles of dirt, checking out all the different sized pumpkins. We made our choices and cut them right off the vine.

Once our pumpkins were picked, we took the hayride back to the ramada and noticed a gorgeous field of sunflowers. Of course, another photo op! (Thanks for your patience, Eric and Cory!)

And now, one of the best pictures of the day (and one that I will keep up until Eric discovers it)...

We were looking at this beautiful field of sunflowers and noticed the rainbow shining above it. In sync, Summer, Cory, Eric, & I all said, "oh, we've got to take a 'friendly' picture of the guys!" So, our sexy husbands posed in their best 'happy' pose and here it is for all to see. Summer said this was a great add for "Vote NO on Proposition 102!" Ha, ha. Of course we will vote YES on it, but our guys couldn't resist joking around.

I must add that I just adore my husband and love all the wonderful ways he keeps me laughing! Thanks, babe! :o)

For those of you still looking at my photos... thanks! You are true friends! And thanks to Summer for sharing her great pictures. Half the ones on this post were hers and you'll know which ones by picking out the really good ones!

Thanks for a fun weekend, Driggs fam! We look forward to next year!

**I almost forgot... as we drove home, Summer gave everyone some homemade popcorn balls that were to-die-for-good! So yummy! It is Martha Stewart's recipe and super heavenly. So, here it is:

MARTHA'S POPCORN BALLS
Ingredients:
*Makes about 12 balls.
-1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for buttering hands
-1 package miniature marshmallows (10 ounces)
-1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
-3 quarts popped popcorn (I use approx 1 1/2 bags microwave popcorn)
-1 cup English toffee bits
Directions:
Melt butter in a large heavy pot over low heat. Add marshmallows and brown sugar and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Pour popcorn and English toffee bits into pot; toss well. With buttered hands, shape into 2 1/2-inch balls. Set on parchment lined baking sheet to dry slightly.