Well, it’s officially Fall (although you wouldn’t know it with the temperature in the 80s until the middle of October). The leaves are turning beautiful shades of brown, red, green, yellow, and orange and have started falling from the trees- some in heaping piles, others scattered here and there. The weather has finally started cooling and people are wearing coats, jackets, and boots (yay!). The air is crisp, the wind has a slight chill, and daylight hours are steadily decreasing. Personally, I find autumn to be a refreshing reprieve from the hot, humid summers that we endure in Missouri. I LOVE sweaters, jackets, leggings, and boots and the fact that I can spend time outside comfortably (without sweating or shivering too much).
With the onset of Fall comes a slew of seasonal events and festivities that many families cherish each year. As a young adult I always enjoyed bonfires and autumnal gatherings with friends- Oktoberfest, Halloween, and house parties. When you have children the activities change from drunken celebrations with friends to family friendly, child oriented fun. My single, childless friends probably consider these events lame, but those late night drink-fests no longer appeal to me. I still have to get up and take care of a busy, demanding toddler at 6:00 a.m. regardless of how late I stay out and how much I drink the night before. Then there’s the enormous hurdle of finding (and paying) a babysitter. Nowadays I have the occasional wild night out (like once or twice a year), but most of my time is spent engaged in Macie friendly activities.
One of the most traditional autumn family events is a trip to the Pumpkin Patch. This is one of those middle-class, Norman Rockwell-esque events that you look forward to as part of the “American experience”- at least in the Mid-West. Friends and family always talk about how much fun kids have at the pumpkin patch. Some of my favorite pictures of my twin and me as babies are from the pumpkin patch. As a parent, I felt obligated to provide my daughter with this experience. Yes, I jumped on that bandwagon. We tried to take Macie to the pumpkin patch last year unsuccessfully. I had a Groupon for the Eckerts in Milstadt, IL and was looking forward to a fun-filled day. Unfortunately, this area of Illinois is seriously lacking road signs and we got terribly lost. After a tense hour in the car we just decided to call it a day and went home without making it to Eckerts.
After our failed attempt at pumpkin picking last year, we were a bit apprehensive about this year’s trip. Obviously we did not try to go back to Eckerts in Milstadt- NEVER again. Instead, we went to a place in Eureka (another Groupon purchase) claiming to have livestock, a corn maize, and a pumpkin patch. Although the weather was hotter than I would have liked (in the 80s), Macie and her cousin Logan had much more fun than we expected. The first thing we did when we arrived was take Macie and Logan on a horseback ride- Macie’s first. I grew up riding horses with my grandfather, so many of my fondest memories are on horseback. Although Macie has been around horses and enjoys petting them, she has never actually ridden one. I was excited to see her reaction and hoped that she would enjoy the experience as much as I do. Macie didn’t let me down- she had a blast. As we went around the ring Macie was on the saddle, and I was walking beside the horse holding onto her. She was grinning from ear to ear (with her endearing gapped teeth) and clapping her hands in delight. Logan had a great time as well- he looked so proud of himself up there on the big horse. 
After the horseback ride Macie and Logan wandered around the livestock area, going back and forth from the adorable black and white spotted calf, mini horse, black goat, and huge grey horse. With parental encouragement they would occasionally pet the animals, but were mostly content to stand there watching them and soaking up the atmosphere. After parading Macie and Logan through the livestock area I decided to take Macie on a barrel ride. Basically, this was a four-wheeler pulling a line of white plastic barrels with space cut out for passengers. The barrels were painted with black spots to look like cows to make the ride even more irresistible to children- who doesn’t want to ride a cow (ME!). Although Macie was thrilled with the ride as I held her in my lap, I was trying to hold on for dear life as the teenager driving the four-wheeler decided to drive off-road and faster than I would consider safe for a kiddie ride. After this uncomfortable experience Macie and Logan were about at the end of their threshold so we snapped a few hay bale pics and took off.
The only downside to this delightful day is that we didn’t actually see a “patch” of pumpkins at the farm. So our trip to the pumpkin patch was actually more like a trip to Grant’s Farm. Macie obviously didn’t notice, having no conceived notion of pumpkin picking, so I consider this trip a success. We still ended up with pumpkins to decorate the outside of the house, but we got them from the local Methodist Church not the “pumpkin patch”. Overall, this was a great way to enjoy all the best things about autumn with Macie. We spent time outside getting dirty and petting animals- three of Macie’s favorite things. Next year we will probably go to a more traditional pumpkin patch and let Macie pick out her pumpkin from the actual field (not the Methodist Church). Any suggestions for a good pumpkin patch that also includes other fall activities?
2 comments:
Last year we took him to the Valley in Chesterfield to a real pumpkin patch called Rombach Farms which was a REAL pumpkin patch. They also have the pony rides, a tractor ride through the pumpkin field, a playground, harvest type concessions and the kiddie barrel thing. Obviously he was too small for this type of event but it was still fun.
They also let you pick your actual pumpkin from the patch or just purchase one out of the thousands already stacked. The only thing was it was really cold and windy.
The farm was really cool so a definite suggestion for next year.
Thanks for the suggestion! I have heard good things about Rombach Farms.
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