The Great Pumpkin (pickin' day)

On this rainy gloomy day in New York, I'm posting pictures of what October days should look like at this time of the year.

Not so long ago, me and my brother Joey and his family went upstate to my sister Linda's house for a day of pumpkin pickin'. Although while looking at these pictures I'm posting today it seems like they were taken ages ago, the kids are so much bigger now, they grow too fast!

My sister Linda is married to a real nature guy. Linda loves the country and the outdoors, just no where near as much as her husband Bob. He's always out there doing something, hiking, biking, taking his dogs on long walks in the woods, chopping wood, skiing, he even has those shoes that look like tennis rackets and you can walk on the snow in them. Before they moved upstate, Bob used to take us to cut down our own Christmas trees. Old fashioned, simple, and it so much fun, another special memory with my family. We'd bring hot chocolate, walk around looking at the beautiful trees and smelling them too! Different smells from different kinds of trees. We'd pick our favoite and chop it down. The car smelled like Christmas the whole ride home.

Last year, I guess around this time, I went up to stay with Linda and Bobby's younger kids, Emily and Christian. Linda and Bob were going further upstate to visit their oldest daughter, Hannah, in college.

It's the best time of the year up there, the colors are just breathtaking, even the most mundane street looks magical.

I took Christian to his basketball game and picked up his grandmother to come along with us. I know my way to my sister's house, have been driving up there for years now, I'm comfortable with the roads, know what they look like in the day, as that's mostly when I've driven up or down the mountains. I have driven home a few times in the dark, but their house is right off a main road (nothing busy, it just means there are some street lights out there) and I take it slow driving up and down the mountains and curves and enjoy the ride.

When I took Christian to his game it was still a little light out when we got there, unfortunately when we got out it was pitch black. I was so nervous driving on those roads. Thank goodness for Christian, he guided me through all the streets to get his grandmother home, to a pizza place to pick up our dinner, and then back home. Emily was no help, had no idea where we were or when the next turn was coming up. Christian was awesome, told me to when slow down as he knew exactly when the turns were coming up. Had Christian not been there, I would have pulled over and cried. Really! It's scary dark up there.

But our pumpkin pickin' day was so much fun. The farm is not far from my sister's house and at this time of the year the leaves in the city are turning colors, but not like upstate. It's like a bowl of Trix (the old Trix cereal, without the blue!).

These pictures are from about 2003, we haven't been back up there for pumpkin pickin' since then. Everyone is so busy on the weekends. The kids have their sports -- practices and games, homework, it just gets more busy as they get older, again God bless all you parents out there, you've got your work cut out for you!

We took an old-fashioned hay ride out to the pumpkin patch and then walked around picking out our own pumpkins. The leaves were turning beautiful colors as they are now. One of the most beatuiful seasons here in the northeast, it's my favorite!

Bob, Mr. Nature...out in the pumpkin patch.



Christian



JoJo



Bob and Hannah



Bob and Emily