to grandmother's house we go

this weekend my dad picked me up in the city and we headed upstate to visit our extended family and the family pumpkin patch. i would just like to say that my dad is a good road trip buddy because he let me listen to taylor swift the whole drive and showed great interest in my explanations of which ex-boyfriend each song was about.

our family has operated a pumpkin patch for the last 30 years and it is quite the beloved institution in upstate new york. there are so many fun things to do, and they have added at least one new attraction every year. this year was also the third annual pumpkin patch mud run 5k, which was very fun to watch. pictured above is my grandma's house, where my dad and his seven siblings grew up. for october it's decked out with pumpkins and storybook characters. also pictured is the barn, with the snack bar, halloween gift shop, and apple cider donuts straight from heaven. on the lower level of the barn there is a movie theater, hay maze, and farm animals. not pictured are the farm market, go-carts, hayride, four-story treehouse, giant slide, and corn maze. all my childhood memories of october are fond ones of playing at the farm with my cousins, and all my teenage octobers were spent making donuts or working in the gift shop and snack bar (and dancing to ghostbusters in the barn after all the customers left). because i was out at BYU, i hadn't been to the pumpkin patch during october since i was in high school, and it was such a treat to visit again while it was up and running.

i love my family, and the pumpkin patch really is a special place. my grandpa passed away four years ago, and my dad is currently working on putting together his personal history. i was reading some of it while visiting home recently, and i was really touched by what my grandfather had shared about the farm, and his lifelong mission to make it a place that would teach, support, and uplift his family and the community. he had a lot of goals for the farm and the pumpkin patch, and among them were creating opportunities for his grandchildren to learn to work, have fun, and make memories. i can't imagine a better place to have done those things and i am grateful for the pumpkin patch and for my grandfather's legacy of love and hard work.

between general conference, quality time with the fam, and unlimited donuts, it was a pretty perfect weekend. if you're ever in new york in the fall, be sure to make it to the pumpkin patch!