Holland Farms

I know this is a way late post (like way late) but we visited Holland Farms back in October and I finally got around to editing the photos. I didn't want to rush around editing and posting photos simply to have a "fall thing" to post about around Halloween or Thanksgiving, so it's been fun to edit these over the past few months and reflect back on our fun memories.

My sweet daughter started a phase back in August where she would wear fake glasses. They're Harry Potter glasses, but she thought they were Mr. Potato Head glasses. Of course the glasses accompanied us to Holland Farms, as they do everywhere. In early December they got lost or left somewhere, and thankfully at Christmastime sweet Aunt Danielle ordered her another pair (plus two backups!) for Christmas. I love looking back at these photos with her play glasses, especially since Salem is convinced she needs them to help her see.

My handsome six year old has lost a couple more teeth since these photos were taken. It's so easy to forget how quickly kids change. A literal day can go by and big changes happen. Last week he came home from school and had pulled out a tooth that I didn't realize was even very wiggly. I love having pictures to remind me of all these seemingly insignificant changes that shape my kids a little differently each day.

The farm offered a variety of activities. Too many to do in one setting, actually. We could've easily spent a full day there (we only had a few hours the particular day we went) or even gone a couple of times and enjoyed it. There were also plenty of activities for all ages. It was far from boring, for sure.

It was hard to find what I know as a traditional pumpkin patch here in Florida. In the midwest they typically include hayrides, corn mazes, u-pick pumpkins, and apple cider. That is amazingly difficult to find in a state that is hot and humid still in October. And it was admittedly hard to feel like celebrating fall when it was more like summer outdoors. Holland Farms is in Milton, about an hour and a half away from our house in Fort Walton Beach. But it was definitely worth the drive and had all of the classic pumpkin patch elements I was looking for. Plus it had a sunflower field which I think a lot of people came for alone (either to buy or have photoshoots in). Salem enjoyed running through the sunflowers but that was short lived after we stepped in fire ants.

The kids carefully picked their pumpkins, a task that took probably 30 minutes and lots and lots of discussion. I hope I always remember these little parts of their childhood. Lincoln wanted a huge pumpkin that was almost too big to carry, while Salem wanted a cute tiny one. But then they would change their minds and look for the opposite. It took a while, but they did finally discover their dream pumpkins.

Poor Lincoln dropped his pumpkin as he was carrying it back to the car. The pathway went right beside a pond and it was sort of a downward slope. His pumpkin rolled straight into the pond. There may have been a few tears shed for his perfect pumpkin, but I let him have mine. (All entries to the pumpkin patch come with a free pumpkin.) Oh well.

I think it's pretty rare (and amazing) that the farm doesn't charge any photographer's fees for professional sessions there. It's a beautiful location, albeit crowded, and it's quite generous of them to allow so many people to use their location as a backdrop for photo sessions.

​www.hollandfarmsonline.com/ 
​For my midwest family and friends, ^here's a link to the website. Also, WHY is boiled peanuts a thing down here in the south? I just can't bring myself to try them...
But I noticed the website has recipes about how to cook them and they're available for purchase at the farm. It's one cultural thing about the panhandle that I haven't been able to figure out.

​www.instagram.com/hollandfarmsonline/

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And my sweet husband. He insisted on taking my picture, which he usually doesn't or I won't let him. Looking back I'm really grateful that he took this picture even though I objected at the time. I'm always the one behind the camera, so there's minimal pictures of me. It was thoughtful of Jon especially since pictures mean a lot to me as a photographer. I really want to do better at getting photos of me with the kids and photos of just myself that way one day the kids can look back at them. I love looking at pictures of my parents and grandparents from the past. Those are actually some of my most treasured keepsakes.

Soo now in late January, everyone knows about our pumpkin patch experience. :P
I'm really hoping to do better at blogging in 2020 about our experiences everywhere. But I guess better late than never. :]