A Hunting We Will Go...

Do you have a favorite day? I don't mean like Monday or Thursday, I mean a favorite day out of the whole year? I do. Pumpkin Day. It is the day when Jamie- (and since Ezra, and next year Avery) and I go hunting for our pumpkins that will decorate our house now through Halloween. (And those that don't get gutted will hang out until Thanksgiving.) I know this may come as a shock to some of you- but I love pumpkins. I have told Jamie on numerous occasions that when I die I would like to be known as the Patron Saint of Pumpkins- bringing as many to a good home as I could- not caring about deformities, size, shape (although I do tend to gravitate towards the long skinny kind) or color- a true advocate for all pumpkins.... We make a pilgrimage out to DeKalb Illinois every year around this time so I can get, at least the beginnings of our pumpkin bounty. (A few strays have been known to follow me home- what can I do?) Jamie and I started going out to Yeager's Farm in the fall of 1998- it has been our tradition ever since. Even the drive from Chicago out to DeKalb excites me- its kind of like when you drive home for a weekend from college, and the landscape suddenly becomes familiar to you- not certain stores or gas stations- but old roads, barn silos, trees that are now enrobed in technicolor welcoming you back. Call me lame, but I swear my heart starts to beat a little faster when I see the farm come up before us, and I know the pumpkins are waiting. And did we get a beautiful day yesterday or what? Ezra felt like he was on top of the world....


They have added, in the last few years, a corn maze- there are Jamie & Ezra-disappearing into the unknown...

A petting zoo where Jamie has made a new friend. My man is good looking, and irresistible to all females apparently- what can I say?

We took an old-fashioned horse-pulled hayride out to the pumpkin patch.

Where they deposited us into my own little slice of heaven....

Hello my darlings! Don't worry- I'm coming for you! (Its a sickness- I am fully aware, and am quite at peace with it.)

Armed with my trusty wagon- the horn sounds- let the hunt officially begin! It starts off like this-

I quickly discover my first must-have.

And my second...

And then, before I know it, (or Jamie can stop me) this is what it looks like.

Yes, both wagons are mine. (Mine- all mine!!!! Muh ha ha ha ha....) Well, Jamie and Ezra's and Avery's too. And yes, the two outside the wagon are ours as well- as are a few more that we found after I took this picture.
Our heaviest pumpkin weighed in at just over 35 pounds. Now, before you judge me, just keep in mind that Illinois is the worlds largest producer of pumpkins. (Bet you didn't know that, did ya?) I am just helping the local economy- and doing my best to ensure that no pumpkin is left behind. The Becca Blue Act.

After we loaded up the truck with a sense of satisfaction we said goodbye to our beloved pumpkin patch and gave a hearty thank you & see you next year to just about every worker there.

Its not that I don't love many other days of the year, I do, but there is just something about the tradition, the weather, the mission at hand,and sharing it with my boys that always seems to make this particular day in a word- well...

perfect.