10/14/2026
Chris here. Ten seasons. It's hard to believe how much this little patch has grown and how many families have made it part of their fall. When I think about why it's worked, it always comes back to the people behind the scenes, and to one person in particular.
It started with a crazy idea I brought home: a pumpkin patch.
Elizabeth could have said no. It meant money we'd have to put in before a single family walked through the gate. It meant hoping for good weather. It meant spending eight weekends in a row, every fall, out here at the patch during the most beautiful weeks of the year in Southeast Kansas. With her full time job during the week, that adds up to roughly 60 days straight without a single day off.
She said yes anyway. And she has kept saying yes for ten years.
Most of you know her as the smiling face behind the concessions stand and the bar. What you might not know is everything she carries to get there. All week long she's a dental hygienist, driving to schools across Southeast Kansas to help other people's kids. Then she comes home to Vesper and Lulu, who are 6 and 4, and she is the most incredible, caring mom I could ever ask for our girls to have. Then Saturday comes, and she puts on her pumpkin patch hat and spends the weekend with all of you.
It isn't always easy to juggle. In fact, at times it's very difficult. But I see her light up watching our girls play alongside your families, and sharing a laugh with friends once the gates close for the night around the firepit. Those moments make it worth it.
We've been together for over 25 years, and in all that time she has backed every goal and every dream I've chased. The pumpkin patch, the other businesses, every wild idea in between. She's always trusted that I would give it everything I had to make it work, even knowing most of those ideas would end up involving her too.
Some of my ideas she didn't love at first. But she has never once let go of my hand. She trusts me, she believes in me, and she lets me build, because she knows how happy it makes me. And somehow, my happiness is enough to make her happy too.
And she has shown up in ways most people will never know. Just two or three weeks after giving birth to Vesper, she was back at the patch. A month after Lulu was born, she was out here helping me get everything ready for opening day. And when her mom passed away from cancer right before the season started, she was right here beside me, helping get the patch ready while she was still grieving. I will never fully understand where she found that strength, but I will always be grateful she shared it with me.
I'll be honest. I ask a lot of her. More than I should sometimes. And there are moments I've taken her support for granted, simply because she's always been there. I am beyond grateful for her, and I know how lucky I am to have a partner in life who supports me in every single way. But this time, I want everyone else to see her too, and to recognize her for everything she gives.
So if you've ever thought of the patch as my thing, I hope you'll see it a little differently now. This has always been our thing. Every hay bale, every pumpkin, every memory made out here over ten seasons exists because of Elizabeth. Without her, none of it happens.
We have three weekends left in Season 10. If you come out, I have one favor to ask, find Elizabeth and tell her thank you. Thank her for sharing her falls with us all, and for helping give your family a place to make memories together.
She'd never ask for the credit, so I'm asking for her.
Elizabeth, thank you for 25 years of believing in me, and ten years of yes. I love you more than you know.
Chris ❤️
