Pumpkin Patch

Here we are at MacDonald's Ranch in North Scottsdale. It was a 45 minute drive, but it was so worth it. I tried to get Joelle to stand by the sign so she could be in the picture, but she wasn't camera ready yet :)
I finally did get her to pose by this old tractor!

Having a little fun. This one was good practice for her pony ride!!
The petting zoo at the ranch was a hit. Joelle LOVED this pig, but she was no way, no how going any closer to it than this!
They had a small cow and some goats. The petting zoo was pretty cool, but you didn't get to feed the animals and that is one of the best parts!!
Joelle was not able to actually pick this rabbit up herself, she loved holding it, that is until it wiggled a little bit and she totally dropped it! It startled her. After that, she wouldn't hold them anymore, she would make me hold them and then she would pet them.

Joelle led the way through the hay maze. She made a few mistakes, but ultimately we made it out!!
Joelle is going to go on a pony ride!! She is so excited. I was just hoping that she would not chicken out at the last moment. These ponies are real ponies, not miniature horses or Shetland ponies.
She let the handler put her right up on the horses back. She grabbed the handle on the saddle and was ready to go. I couldn't believe how brave she was. As you can see, this is a big pony. The handler leads her around the fenced in area and I walk next to her just in case she falls.
As you can see, this is serious business. She was very focused and paid attention to everything during her ride. She even took one hand off the saddle and pointed things out. She seems to be a natural. Maybe I will need to look into more time with horses.
After the ride, Joelle thanks her horse!!
Meet Smith and Wesson! These gorgeous horses will be pulling the wagon for our hay ride.
We are ready for our hay ride to the pumpkin patch. Joelle was not to crazy about the hay on the wagon. She wouldn't actually sit on it. She had to sit on my lap :) She loved the ride out to the patch. The ranch was full of gorgeous, old, saguaro cacti. She was also very curious about all the "poop" that was on the ground. Every time she saw some, she would shout out, "Look Momma, poop!"
Once we were at the patch, Joelle took her time finding the pumpkin that was just right. I tried to show her several that I thought were nice looking, and she kept saying No. Finally, one of the ranch workers that was replenishing the pumpkins found a really nice one and gave it to her.
Here she is with her pumpkin. She can't wait to color it :) We are going to get a nice big one from Steve's work and actually carve it later this week. She should get a kick out of that. All in all, we had a wonderful day. This ranch was great and Joelle really enjoyed the time we spent there. Hopefully they have activities for other holidays.