Hillcrest Farms

The fall festivities are in full swing here at the Lofgren House! Fresno State Football, the Big Fresno Fair, and pumpkin patches!!!!!  Last weekend we went to Avila...this weekend it was time for us to visit Hillcrest Farms in Reedly. Last year we went just the three of us...this year we invited our dear friends, the Klingers, with us!

 

If you remember, last year Landry was not a fan of the pumpkin patch or pumpkins at all. This year...it wasn't looking so good either! :o)

 

Victoria, Landry, and Tommy

The three of us...someone is starting to warm up to the idea.

The Klingers

 

Hillcrest Farms is known for their steam trains so of course we had to take a ride on it!

 

Waiting in line on Daddy's shoulders

 

Riding in the caboose...Victoria's choice!

 

After the train ride it was time for some lunch. We won the "Parents of the Year" award by feeding our child nothing but cotton candy. Yup, true story. Here's the proof...cotton candy face!

 

After our lunch we headed down the trail to the hayride!

 

While we waited in line Victoria found a little corn cob...so cute together!

 

I also seized this moment to get a picture with Handsome and the scarecrow...as usual...he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. :o)

 

Time for the hayride...which ended up being a bit of a "splash hayride" when we were doused by a sprinkler...no joke!

 

After the hayride Tommy and Victoria wanted to walk through the corn path again.

 

Then...believe it or not...Landry ASKED to go see the pumpkins!!!! Hillcrest has a ton of different pumpkins to see and purchase. The best part...they have them arranged in these perfect little photo ops.

 

How cute are these three?

 

 

I'm not sure who likes who more!



 

 

 

Along with the train, cotton candy, sno-cones, hot dogs, hayride, corn path, pumpkins, playhouses, and swinging bridge...there is a GIANT swing. When I say giant, I mean, the swing is like 4 feet off the ground. Victoria and Tommy had a blast!

 

 

Once again we had a ton of fun...with the Klingers...and at Hillcrest! It only took Landry about 2 hours to warm up and get comfortable...but once he did he was set. :o) Just for fun, here is a picture of Landry there last year...

 

 

and this year...

 

Avila Valley Barn

Well, it seems that fall is here whether the weather agrees or not! I have to say, I never used to be a huge fan of fall or Halloween...I am a heat and summer loving kinda girl. :o) Since having Landry that has definitely changed. Don't get me wrong...I still LOVE the heat...but I really love all of the fun things that come with fall: the fair, pumpkins, Halloween, costumes, apple cider, pumpkin patches, etc.

 

 

Last year my mom, sister and I took a trip over to Avila Valley Barn with Landry. If you remember...he wasn't such a fan. So, this year we thought we'd try it out again! If you have never been...I strongly recommend it. It is a darling little farm with all kinds of veggies, a pumpkin patch, hayrides, pony rides, ice cream, baked goodies, roasted corn, and every kind of pumpkin you can imagine!

 

 

They have farm animals that you can feed! Since we had just gone to the fair and Landry loved seeing the farm animals I thought that he would definitely love being able to feed the animals. Not so much! He didn't want anything to do with feeding them. :o)

 

 

Once we had seen the animals he asked to go see the "mumkins!"

So, off to the giant field of pumpkins we went.

 

 

That's when the stinker came out...he would not smile for a picture at all!

 

This is the only shot I could get of him even looking at the camera!

 

He would give us one quick smile with me!

 

Checking out the pumpkins with Nawnie.

 

He kept asking to go see the "wittle mumkins"...so we headed back to the farm store to pick out some "mumkins." As you can see... "mumkin" picking is serious business. :o)

 

Once the wagon was loaded up Landry was determined to push it!

 

He finally gave up and told me, "Mommy do it!"

 

 

I forgot to mention that there were many tears during our adventure. He didn't want to take pictures, or go on the hayride, or feed the animals, or walk. It was loads of fun. :o) Here is the best shot I could get with Auntie KK...he looks thrilled, right?

 

So, once we had our pumpkins loaded up...we headed to Pismo for some lunch!

 

 

Landry's first Splash Cafe meal...first of many more!

 

We took a walk down to the pier, watched the surfers, and enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL weather!

 

Nawnie and Landry

 

Auntie KK and Landry

 

Mommy and Landry

 

After some time at the beach we got back in the car and headed home...guess what...Landry asked to go to the "mumkin patch!" Seriously...the place where you didn't want to do anything? Welcome to life with a 2 year old! :o)

 



The Big Fresno Fair

If you follow me on Facebook you know that we have been cooped up for the last 3 days because Landry had Hand Foot Mouth Disease. Fun times. All in allw e were very lucky that he had a rather mild case of it but none the less, once we got the ok from the doctor saying it was ok to go out in civilization again, we ran with it...all the way to the Big Fresno Fair. Saturday night Landry didn't want to go to sleep but we told him he couldn't go to the fair until he went "nigh-nigh." Guess what, he went right to bed and when he woke up he said, "Mama...I went seep. Now I go to da fair?" Oh sweet boy!

 

 

Our first stop was the farm animals. We had told him the day before that he would be able to see lots of animals: cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, rabbits, etc. His first question, "I see ephants, Mama?" He was a bit disappointed when he learned that there were no elephants at the fair...but that quickly went away when he saw...CHICKS!

I think it is safe to say that the chicks were the "elephants" of the fair...he couldn't get enough of them. I think we went back to see them about 4 different times. No joke!

"Deres piggies, Mama...piggies go oink, oink!"

 

"I see da sheep, Mama. Where's da wittle ones?"

 

He was a little nervous near the cows...especially since you could get sooooo close to them...and there was nothing between the cows and him.

 

A lot of the 4H kids were getting their cows ready to show. This meant that they were using hair dryers to "style" the cows fur. Really...they were. And you guessed it...Landry was enthralled! I'm not sure why I didn't get a picture of it?

 

He loved the bunnies and wanted to touch them...so here he is...getting as close as we would let him. He was so interested in watching them eat and he had to see their food. So cute!

 



After checking out all of the animals it was time for some good ol' fair food!

Landry's first fair soft taco...he LOVED it!

 



 

Chad went for the chili cheese fries...he wasn't too excited about me taking his picture...can you tell?

 

The fairgrounds have this awesome kids area with stairs, bridges, slides, treehouses, a pirate ship...any kid's dream come true...except for Landry. He had NO interest in exploring the area. You know Mr. Cautious...going up and down the first 3 staris was enough excitement for him! :o)

 

Then he turned around and found something much more his speed...a nice, clean, quiet pond.

"I spash in da water, Mama!"

 

We got to check out the inside of a fire truck...Landry wasn't so sure about that!

 

Final stop...the horse races! This was our attempt at a self portrait because Daddy was busy dealing with some work situations on his phone. :o)

 

They're off!

 

That's a bit better...thanks, Daddy!

Before we left we had to go see the chicks...again! We got some cinnamon rolls to go and headed home. In the car we asked Landry if he had fun at the fair...his response, "I have fun at da fair...I see chicks at da fair." Yes, sweet boy...you saw the chicks...5,000 times! :o)