Roloff Farms Pumpkin Patch

Last week we had a couple of days off school, plus some decent weather, so we decided it was time to hit the pumpkin patch. I love the yearly tradition of going to the pumpkin patch with my kids. It gets me in the mood for Fall and Halloween. Here in the Portland area we have pumpkin patches galore and have gone to a different one each year for the past several years. This year we decided on Roloff farms. It is pretty close by and one we haven't visited yet.

I haven't really watched much of the Roloff family's show on TLC, Little People Big World, but I am familiar with it. I think the farm is geared heavily towards fans of the show, Amy was out taking pictures with fans and we spotted a few other family members milling about as well. Even though my girls don't really know who they are, it was a fun place with lots to see and do and they loved it.

One of the best parts of our visit was the tour of the farm. It is a 25 minute ride that takes you all around their property pointing out all the interesting landmarks, like the house and barns, their private soccer field, volleyball court and basketball court.

Driving by the house they are quick to point out all the cars in the driveway and exactly who drives what. (Did I mention that it is geared towards fans of the show?) Despite all that the property is really very beautiful and they have built on some really fun features to entertain their Halloween guests. The tour stops for 10 minutes at this western town that they have built and it was really fun to walk around and peek in all the buildings. Like the general store, which is complete with bolts of fabric and old tins and glasses. The creepy doll house was filled with old dolls and stuffed animals in various creepy poses.

We also rode past the Goatel (goat hotel), an ark, a 4 story tree house, a pirate ship, a castle and various forts the kids have built over the years. They clearly like building things.

They have a beautiful view of the Cascade Mountain Range, one of my favorite pieces of scenery here in the Portland area.

Oh, yes.... and there were also pumpkins...

Now I am ready for it. Bring on Halloween!

Feeding the Masses

I survived my first pasta feed this week!

Every Wednesday after practice Luke's water polo team goes to a different player's house for a pasta dinner. I have always shied away from signing myself up for things like this, especially after hearing all the stories about how much food these kids can put away. But after several emails looking for someone to fill in Wed. Oct. 5th, I finally relented and offered up our house.

How much can 25 water polo players eat you ask?

5 lbs. cooked spaghetti pasta
3 1/2 batches of my spaghetti with meat sauce
70 breadsticks  (heat and serve from Costco)
some salad
60 snickerdoodles
40 brownies
5 gallons of lemonade

It was a lot of fun. I definitely took some notes for next time. For instance a 3lb. bag of salad was a bit much. Let's just say we will be eating salad for a few days around here. Also, despite Luke's insistence that I make plenty of brownies, 100 was probably overly ambitious. I have been giving brownies away left and right.

The biggest surprise? Breadsticks! Those kids can really put away the bread sticks!