Fall Festival

I'm a bit of a lover of Fall, but I think I don't like Fall as well.  I don't know what's wrong with me.  You know, I think I like everything about Fall except for the cold weather.  Yes - that's it!  Fall = awesome.  Cold weather = yuck!  mkay?

This past Saturday... and at the very last minute... we found out that Brody's swim lesson was cancelled.  We sprang into full-fledged Operation-Fall-Festival action.  We were out of the house within moments and headed to a Fall Festival at Greenstreet Gardens, a place that we had never visited before.

Yay for being spontaneous!!!!! {{clap, clap, clap}}

At the start of the visit we took a somewhat spooky hayride to the festivities.  This is my only complaint of the whole day and I hate to start of with a complaint but here goes.  To be honest, the staff disclosed that the hayride was spooky, but it also seemed that the hayride was the ONLY way to get to the fall festival from the main parking location.  Without going into all of the logistics about what I saw and didn't see, the conversation with the staff went something like this:

Me:  (holding toddler and standing next to preschooler) I see that your sign says the hayride is spooky.  How spooky is it?

Older-ish Man:  Somewhat.  Aliens and monsters and stuff.

Me:  (willing to skip the hayride)  OK.  Where is the corn maze and moon bounce and stuff that are advertised on the brochure?

Older-ish Man:  Over that hill back there.

Me:  Cool.  How do we get over the hill?

Older-ish Man:  Take the hayride.

I did not want to take the spooky hayride but could not see of any other way to get to the festival nor was the guy offering up an alternative.  So we climbed aboard. In short - the ride was spooky and on the verge of being too scary but we made it through just fine.  Everyone at the festival was either under age 7 or over age 35 (that is, parents and small kids).  The spooky hayride was unecessary and you could tell that the parents on the hayride were not pleased.  A simple well-placed sign like this, would be sufficient and make everyone happy, since they offer a hayride back to the parking lot and it is nonspooky!

Parents - This hayride is spooky.  However, you can walk over the hill to the festival and take a nonspooky hayride back at the end of your visit. Thus, your kids don't have to go through the spooky barn but they still get to enjoy a nice hayride.

There was tons of fun at the festival and it totally delivered.  They had a hay maze for the little ones and Bri totally made it out all on her own, which made me laugh out loud!

Bro's favorite part BY FAR was the corn kernel sandbox.  He would have played in this corn kernel box all day long if I let him.  This was a genius idea and all of the kids just loved, loved, loved it!  I am tempted to fill his Brielle's sand box with corn kernels next summer.  It was that fun. 

Lulu found the perfect mini-pumpkin in the patch...

... and she was such a great mother's helper too.  Let us be real clear here, I would not have gone if I didn't have her with me!   

All in all, it was a great day.  I highly recommend the Greenstreet Garden Fall Festival for small children.  Many fall festivals have games and stuff, but they require waiting in line to get into the action.  Greenstreet Gardens was great because there was plenty for the little kids to run and play and do!  To be honest, it might be my favorite fall festival location for families with young children. 

Be honest, should I put corn kernels in the sand box next year?