If you are a normal person, you are a fan of Autumn.  I’m only semi-normal and even I obviously love Autumn.  Or maybe I really love the idea of Autumn, considering how hard I have to work to pretend like we’re experiencing Autumn in some way.  Sweating in my flannel shirt, drinking hot cocoa with the A/C blasting, driving hours to fight the crowds apple picking, and wearing my Hunter boots to the pumpkin patch, no matter how sticky my calves get.

It’s exhausting being me.

This year, I haven’t really had the motivation to try so hard, namely when it came to the pumpkin patch. Ooooohhhhh, dealing with the insane amount of people and the parking and the heat just didn’t sound appealing in the least.  But I did promise Stevie we would pick a “hawkin” (pumpkin) so I did it the real LA way.  Pulled myself together in some organic cotton sweatpants and birkenstocks and rolled over to the first pumpkin patch we could find – in the parking lot of a mall.

Whatevs.

Stevie got to ride a little 4 wheeler in circles, slide down a giant inflatable, and pull around the pumpkin he we I picked in a little wagon.  It was so fun for him and so easy for me.  There was literally one other family there, no lines, and even some cloudy sprinkly weather.  While places like Underwood Farms and Lombardi Ranch have such great family activities and their own sense of Autumn magic, I honestly  don’t think Stevie cares that much.  And while I always said I do it for him, it is probably mostly for me.  Of course I want him to love it, but does he really? Nah. This year, it just happened to work out for both of us, considering the mood I’m in.

So now the real question – do I bother making him carve or paint the hawkin?  I think he’s plenty happy just having it sit on the kitchen floor.  We may just go with that.

More pumpkin patching: 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 

But see?  Looking at those, now I want to go to get another picture at Underwood in his cute hat! Nooooooooo.