Pumpkin Patch

On October 8th, we took the kids to the Grand Ole Pumpkin Patch in Clanton, Alabama. It was an ACSC coordinated event, so there were lots of ASCS families there. (I think they said there were over 200 people.) Jason had been working on his final all week, so we were thrilled to enjoy an evening with him and we had a great time.

The Grand Ole Pumpkin Patch is more than just a pumpkin patch. It rivals Dewberry Farm near Houston; although, it really can't compare. (I prefer Dewberry Farm by a mile.) The Grand Old Pumpkin Patch has a tractor-led train that guests can ride, a huge area with gigantic inflatables (our favorite part), a petting zoo, a hay pyramid, a hay maze, Native American history, pony rides, and hay rides.

The inflatables are so huge. They beg for your attention the minute you drive up to the farm. We, of course, went there first. You have to pay $5/person for 30 minutes. They didn't tell us there was a time limit, so we were disappointed when they told us our time was up. Nevertheless, we had a blast for 30 minutes!

This tiger had two slides that you slid down. I am not kidding when I say they were fast. I flew off the end and landed on my rear. Allison loved riding down in our laps. Jackson chose to slide down feet first on his belly.

This was an obstacle course jumping castle. Both of the kids loved it. We raced Jackson through it a few times. It was so much fun!

Another inflatable with slides:

Allison loved the regular moonwalk:

And Jackson enjoyed it too but lost interest rather quickly. The slides and obstacle course were much more exciting.

Now, you would think that I would have dressed my children in fall colors. After all, I was at the perfect place for great photos. It didn't happen. All of their short-sleeved clothes are summery colors and I didn't have time to go buy something. Oh well. It was one of those days when having fun was more important than making the day stressful in an attempt to have a great photo. Maybe next time?

After inflatables, a tractor train ride and a few photos, we looked at the homes of the Native Americans, tepees. Jackson asked all sorts of questions - Where did they sleep? How did they keep the rain out? How did they keep the bad buys out? How did they close the door?

While we waited for our wagon ride that took us out to our campfire for cooking hot dogs and making s'mores, we jumped over hay bails and ran up and down the grassy field.

It was so dark at the campfire. We roasted our hot dogs and marshmallows and tried not to lose each other in the crowd. Jason, and all of the other students who'd been up 'til 3 or 4 the night before were fading fast. They all seemed to be in a zone. We piled in the covered wagon and headed back to the farm where our cars were parked. It was a great night of fall family fun!