The Tire Swing Tree

Every time we go to Rocky Creek Farm, the tire swing tree is one of Ellie's favorite things. I was so excited to get a picture of the whole thing this year, using our wide angle lens. I don't use it nearly often enough. =D

Rocky Creek Farm

Every Fall we go to Rocky Creek Farm for pumpkins. Because of the early snow and freezing, I wasn't sure we were going to make it this year. Thankfully, though, the weather warmed up the last few days they were open and we made it! Ellie and I went with our dear friends Amber and Josie (who may very well be Eliana's new best friend):

Aren't they cute?? Ellie and Josie are just a few months apart in age and they get along great! They play together twice a week (Amber and I kid-swap so we can get things done!) and it was so fun to see them interacting as they examined the pumpkins...

The girls played on the tire swings and we got to watch the cider press, which was fun!

And, of course, there were lots of pumpkins and squash to look at:

We got to go on a hayride this year, too, even though we weren't part of a large group! I wasn't sure we'd be able to, so that was a fun surprise!

When we got to the pumpkin patch, Ellie took very little time choosing her pumpkin:

This is the winner!

Josie picked a pumpkin pretty quickly, too, though hers was bigger to carry!

Because of the early freeze, the pumpkins had already been brought in for the season, but Pete at Rocky Creek is nice enough to spread pumpkins out in a field for the kiddos to choose from. It makes the experience more fun!

While we were waiting for the hayride to take us back to the barn, Amber got to hold both the pumpkins while the girls used her as a base around which to play tag. That's a good mom!

We enjoyed the hayride back as the girls cradles their pumpkins. There's just something special about picking your own from the pumpkin patch!

This year the farm was quite a bit muddier than in years past, as evidenced by the caked mud on Ellie's boot. It was so muddy we got the car stuck in the mud and had to have assistance getting it out! Here's Eliana, showing off her muddy shoe:

I tried several times to get Eliana to smile for me, but she kept giving me goofy grins, so these are the smiles you have to choose from today:

All in all, it was a wonderful day to head to the pumpkin patch and I'm glad we didn't miss it this year!

Rocky Creek Farm

Today we went to Rocky Creek Farm for a hayride and pumpkin patch!! We go every year (or have since Ellie was born...) and no one was organizing it this year, so I took it upon myself to make the arrangements. There were several rounds of phone tag with the farm owner before we finally were able to speak to eachother to make arrangements for the activities, and I ended up only giving people a couple days notice because of it! Nevertheless, we had a great group and even with the short notice we ended up with 12 moms and 19 kids who came, so I'm calling it a rousing success! It was 80 degrees out, so it didn't feel very fall-like, but it was fun and we got some fun pictures. Maybe we'll go back when it's a little cooler and take some more!

We started the day by letting the kids play in the hay fort while we waited for everyone to arrive. Hay forts are a great way to entertain toddlers!

After playing in the hay fort we headed over to the barn to wait for the last couple people to arrive and the kids got to watch the lady cleaning out the apple press! It wasn't as exciting as actually watching her press apples, but it was pretty enthralling to them nonetheless!




Once everyone arrived we took a hayride around the farm! This is the highlight of the trip every year and the kids love it!

The hayride takes us back to the pumpkin patch where the kids get to look for pumpkins! Because we've already had the first frost the pumpkins have been harvested already, but the farm is kind enough to put kid sized pumpkins out for the kids to "find" and take home!

Searching for pumpkins...

She found one!! This one is a lot like the one she chose last year!





After the kids picked out their pumpkins we all headed back to the trailer for the tractor ride to the barn!




Back at the barn the moms shopped for pumpkins, squash, and other harvest produce while the kids played on the tire swings hanging from a big tree. Ellie's favorite swing was the hammock swing, but she liked the yellow tire swing, too.



She also liked playing in the tree...



If you live in the Gallatin Valley and you've never visited Rocky Creek Farm, you should. It's a great place to go, especially in the fall. They're available for reservation for private parties in the mornings and open to the public in the afternoons and on Saturdays. Go check it out. It's wonderful!