Soldier Dad Returns From Afghanistan, Surprises Daughter In Pumpkin Patch

NewsDay: The only thing better than picking out the perfect pumpkin: picking up your daughter who hasn't seen you in months.

Levi Kaplan, a soldier who had been serving in Afghanistan for 10 months, gave his daughter the surprise of a lifetime last week.

Luckily, Kaplan's wife, Meg Kaplan, got it all on camera.

A YouTube video shows Kaplan's daughter posing for a photo by a large pumpkin when her father appears behind her.

"Cheese — pumpkin day," she says while smiling at the camera. "I mean — uh — trick or treat day!"

"Pumpkin day!" Kaplan responds, posing behind her.

With a shocked expression, the young girl quickly turns around and jumps into his arms.

When asked why she was crying, she responds: "I missed daddy."

It's pretty obvious the feeling was mutual.

"Our daughter had no clue he came home while she was in school!" Kaplan's wife explained in the caption of the YouTube video.

Kaplan, who is stationed in Fort Bragg, N.C., was dropped off at the pumpkin patch before his daughter arrived.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the nearly two-minute video was viewed more than 180,000 times, and that number continues to climb.

"Amazing. Hard not to tear up while watching this. Wishing the best for you and your family," one user commented.

"I had to watch this again and smiled with huge tears filling my eyes," another said. "Hope your Halloween is awesome and get many many hugs while Dad is home."

Forget candy, this trick and treat was already sweet enough.