It's A Great Pumpkin Patch, Charlie Brown!

Saturday we went to pick our own pumpkins at a local pumpkin patch! It was in our plans so when Molly (4) pulled it from our countdown calendar she wasn't surprised... but she was happy! The past several years we've visited the KC Pumpkin Patch in Gardner, KS. It has been very fun, but also very expensive. They boast fifty activities, such as big slides, duck races, mini petting zoo, giant jumping pillow (which is actually really cool), and two different kinds of train rides. Plus apple cider slushies. However, it costs $10 per person... including anyone over age 3, and pumpkins are charged by weight, so we opted for a cheaper version this year.

We got back to the basics of pumpkin picking and chose to visit the Powell Pumpkin Patch in Louisburg, KS. Entry is free and pumpkins are priced by size. None of ours (even our biggest) cost over $5. They offer free hay rides out into the pumpkin patch. It had a very personable feel... your wagon would drop you off in the field then wait to give you all a ride back with your pumpkin(s) of choice. Out in the fields, we set Ben (1) on a pumpkin for a cute photo op, and then he started sitting on all the pumpkins! Needless to say, we got several cute shots on our visit. I love that it wasn't crowded at all!!
Powell Pumpkin Patch also has a corn maze, which costs just $4 per adult; kids 6 and under are free. There was a series of letters and Kansas trivia hidden in the maze for you to find and decode. Our kids were too young for that, but enjoyed taking turns leading the way and Ben just liked picking up and throwing the dirt. Just outside the maze was a great hay playground for kids. They had a hay maze and giant hay piles to climb on, a tunnel to crawl through, and a slide to go down. There is also a big, clean sand box filled with great trucks and diggers.

We all had a great time and I'd highly recommend this pumpkin patch! Keep in mind, however, that they only serve some candy and canned drinks because it's basically a little "pumpkin shack" out in a field! Nothing fancy, but that's part of why we liked it so much!

For more information on either pumpkin patch mentioned in this blog, please visit:
www.kcpumpkinpatch.com
www.powellpumpkinpatch.com