Mainstay Farm

The first official field trip for Beth's class was to a precious local pumpkin/Christmas tree farm- Mainstay Farm. I love that I get to go with her, and that they don't mind if Jacob comes along. For Beth, I think the best part was probably riding the bus to get there and back.

The presentation about the farm was far more interesting than I would have expected. The owner talked about how when they bought the land to have a farm and decided to name it, they chose Mainstay, based on I Corinthians 15:58 (Be ye steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, ...knowing that your toil is not in vain). Months later, when they decided to start growing Christmas trees, they learned that a special stake, which is called a mainstay, used in helping the baby trees- it marks the seedling; it protects the seedling when storms come; it gives the seedling stability, disciplining it so it will become what it is intended to be. Just like the Lord is our mainstay! How cool! They give this presentation to both Christian and public schools. What an awesome testimony! Of course, for the entertainment factor, she couldn't find her chicken.

The kids got to watch a very interesting film about how pumkins grow,

race to dress a scarecrow,

play on a giant slide (Beth's teacher used Jacob as an excuse to go down the slide herself),

play in a haybarn,

roast marshmellows,

take a hayride through the Christmas trees,

and play in a big tree house.

All before lunch!

Then, a picnic lunch (and a quick visit to the gift shop- where I got some homemade blackberry jelly and an adorable ornament). Since it was the end of pumpkin season, the kids were told they could take home as many pumpkins as they could carry. After lots of indecision, we went home with 6 little pumpkins!