The Pedunkle

One more year at the pumpkin patch. I would say this looks like our last year except for the fact that we go every year with the cousins and I think Ryan has a few more years left in him. We posed for our traditional family picture at the big pumpkin and I got some good shots of the kids but when we handed our camera to someone to get the full family I think he was either drunk or blind because he somehow missed us. We are all in the left hand side of the screen and I think one of us is missing. Next time we'll have to be a bit more judicious in our picture taker selection.

One of the highlights this year was the kittens. There are always newborn somethings and it's typically pigs, chicks and rabbits but this year there was a kitten pen. They don't seen to have any qualms about hundreds of people picking up the bunnies for hours on end but they were a bit more protective of the kittens. Only 60 minutes a couple times during the day. Callie and I got lucky and were able to get in just as they were about to shut down visiting hours. Kittens sure are cute. Too bad Callie and Kerry are allergic.

The true highlight of the day however started a year earlier. The person who took us on the hay ride to the patch asked a question of what the top of a pumpkin is called and the answer was pedunkle. The winner got a free pumpkin and at that moment Carter wrote down the answer and brought it home and posted it on our fridge. It sat there all year and we were reminded about it every few months. The day finally arrived and Carter even took the time to learn the other parts of the pumpkin just in case they switched up the question this year.

Things weren't looking good when the driver asked a completely different question. He wanted to know why the farm was called Aldor acres. (Turns out it is because the owners are named Al and Dorothy.) Carter did not look happy because that was not on his list of answers. Kerry saved the day when she told the driver about Carter's year of planning and the driver was very excited that someone would be that dedicated. He asked the question to him directly and Carter got his free pumpkin. We'll have to do a bit more studying next year so we can be even more prepared.