A Day in Pumpkinville

 



For the past few years, our family has made a little tradition of visiting Pumpkinville around Halloween time. Pumpkinville... well, it's basically a gigantic pumpkin patch with moon bounces, hay rides, face-painting, zip chord, things to ride, animals, etc. Even after spending over four hours there, we still didn't have a chance to do everything.

This year was especially fun because there were tons of new activities. Playgrounds are always a hit with my kids. And of course we had a great time petting and feeding the animals. My little girl was so brave. She walked right up to all those huge creatures!

 

One of my favorite things was the hay ride. Um... I got to sit down. But it really was fun! They drove us through the woods and we passed by dinosaurs, scary monsters, and got bounced around in the mud.

My boys seemed to be super-excited about riding the pedal carts. Unfortunately, I was too big because I totally would have been on one of those things. Moooove aside kids!

The kids were not showing any signs of being tired, but we had to go home some time. We ended the day on the ball swing and in the moon bounces. Everyone had a great time!

 

Although I complain how pricey the place is (and how it gets more expensive every year), there really is a lot to do. And I know where my money is going... indoor bathrooms. Next year there will be no more Don Jons! Worth. Every. Penny.

 



Quick Tip: What to Do With All That Halloween Candy

Halloween has, once again, come and gone. In the past few years, my children would come home with some candy and I would give them a piece here and there. My husband and I would have a couple pieces, but to be honest, I would feel very guilty eating their candy. I would actually ask them if I could have a piece before I took it. Plus, I don't know about your kids, but mine ARE NOT GOOD WITH SUGAR. Especially my older son. I repeat. NOT. GOOD. Eventually, Valentine's Day candy would come home and I would have over half the Halloween candy still left. This year, I changed it up. Here's what I did.

Step 1:  Organization
Sort out the candy into categories (chocolate, fruity, mints, lollipops, etc.) so the kids get an idea of how much they have of each type.

Step 2:  Selection
Have the children pick out 5 pieces at a time. This way you can check over the candy that they pick if you want to, and they won't get overwhelmed sorting through it all. Have a preset number. For example, I allowed them to choose 28 pieces each (2 a day for two weeks).

Step 3:  Sharing
The rest of the candy can either be thrown away, eaten by mom and dad, etc. I scooped our leftovers in to a big bowl and told the kids that it was for mom and dad (for helping with trick-or-treating, of course), and our guests. They were completely fine with that. Now I won't feel guilty chomping away.

While this method won't work for everyone, like with older kids perhaps, it was a win-win for us.

What do you do with your Halloween candy?