We have an apple orchard/pumpkin patch/family fun area about 40 minutes from our house called
Klackles Orchard. We usually go a couple of times a year, once for apples and once for pumpkins. My father-in-law is up visiting from Arkansas so thought we would take him to
Klackles and show him what an apple orchard/pumpkin patch was like.
We take this picture every year. Kinda fun to see how much they change in the year.
Since we were there during the weekday, it is not very busy. Without it being super-busy there was not as much running as normal. On the weekend there are continual rides to the orchard parts, but since it wasn't very busy we had to wait about 30-45 minutes for our ride so we killed time in the family fun area.
There were a couple of new things since we were there last year. One section is the "Wild West
Klackleville" area. There were 5-6 different "buildings" from the Wild West.
One building was a jail where all 3
Marcs got thrown in jail.
Another building was a saloon. They had tables set up with card games and drinks. Marc didn't know it was supposed to be beer and he was pretending to be thirsty and taking a sip.
There was a stagecoach that Marc wanted to go in and look and Samantha was getting antsy to get out of the stroller so we went in. I thought it was a cute photo op.
There was also a horse-drawn wagon that was a good stage for some more photo ops.
Another part of the family fun area is a track to race foot-pedal-powered cars/bikes. The 3
Marcs had a race. The winner is still unclear due to bumping and rule-breaking. ;) I think Marc III should be the official
winner since he didn't break and rules. ;)
There are a couple of tented areas for kids to drive tractors and trikes. The kids had fun. Marc was able to drive them on his own, but I had to help Samantha, especially because of her arm.
Since Marc got some practice driving the little tractor, we thought he was ready to drive the big tractor now.
It was finally time for our ride out to the orchards. On the bust weekends there is a wagon ride to the apple orchard and an enchanted pumpkin
wagon to the pumpkin patch. Since they weren't that busy, we rode the pumpkin ride out to the apple orchard and then to the pumpkin patch. We're ready for our ride!
Sorry for
the blurriness of some of the pictures, the ride was very bumpy!
Our first stop was to pick some apples. Here are lots of really cute pictures of the kiddos. :)
Marc picking apples
Marc showing me his apple
Samantha thought it was cool that there were apples on the trees
Yum!
Can I pick those too?
I LOVE this picture!!
Marc and Samantha showing us their apples
and eating a bite of them
After we picked our apples, the next stop was the pumpkin patch. The only pumpkins still on the vines were small
ones (all the big ones had already been picked and taken up to the store). We had small ones from his field trip, but I wanted a few pictures of my little
punkins in the pumpkin patch.
Samantha thought they were neat
Both my kiddos posing for a picture
Every year we take this picture too, since the kids are the apples of our eyes! :)
There is a wooden train that the kids can "drive" and ring the bell. Every year Marc enjoys this.
Marc lead me though the kids maze. We took a few wrong turns, but eventually made it out safely.
The weather was cold and windy, but we still had a great time. We spent 3 hours there! :)
We started off the day by going to the fall fest at the local YMCA branch. We were a little disappointed in it, there were only a couple of things for the kids to do.
Marc getting a tattoo.....
The guy painted the Superman logo for him!
There was a Michigan State football player running the football toss game, so Marc got a lesson on how to throw a football.
After we left the YMCA, we went to Meijer to trick-or-treat. (Marc thinks it cool to trick-or-treat in the store). The kids got to pick out 2 pieces at each station.
There was a photo station set up at Meijer. Marc decided he was to look "spooky" for the picture.
At one of the candy stations, there was a cup of "spider parts" for him to create a spider. The "pieces" were an Oreo cookie (body), pretzel sticks(legs), and white chocolate chips and frosting (eyes). It turned out really cute...and yummy too!
When we got home from Meijer, my older boy decided he wanted to play with some dry ice. these are a few picture of the "kids" playing with dry ice.
After playing with dry ice, it was time to decorate our pumpkins. We had some small pumpkins, so the kids had fun painting those.
It took Samantha a few minutes to warm up to the idea, but in the end, I think she had a lot of fun...and it turned out really pretty.
Marc dove right in and painted 2 pumpkins!
We carved the big pumpkin. I drew a face on it and then Daddy carved it. We asked Marc to help take the "guts" out. He thought it was gross!
My big punkin with our carved pumpkin.
After pumpkin decorating, eating, and a nap, Samantha was ready to go trick-or-treating!
My Dad & Peggy came over to spend Halloween with the kiddos. When it was time to go trick-or-treating, they surprised us all by coming upstairs in their own costumes!
For Marc's first time trick-or-treating, we took a picture of him with our neighbor friend, Johna. We decided that this year was Samantha's first time tick-or-treating in the neighborhood (last year we were in Disneyland), that we should take the same picture.
Needless to say...the kids got more candy than we could possibly eat without getting a tummy ache!
A fun night was had by all! :)
They took a plastic material, soaked it in scalding hot water to make it pliable, and then molded it to the size and shape of Samantha's arm. She screamed!! It was so hot on her sensitive skin that it almost burned her.
That night she was so funny...she was completely fascinated by the fingers on her left hand...they have been buried in her old splint for about 3 weeks.
Marc had scoped out 4 books that he wanted from the book fair. Do you think he got them from Grandma???? Of course...plus some!! ;)
Marc and Grandma Terri on Grandfriend's Day.
He was so excited to have "3 fun things in 1 day!" :)
We decided he was old enough that we let him help us mix it while it was cooking.
So far we have enjoyed eating it. Yummy! Marc says that it is extra good because it has a special ingredient...love. :)
a Plinko game to play to win candy, a watch, or a tattoo....
a cupcake walk (which Marc did about 10 times in a row trying to win a cupcake)
Samantha wanted a cupcake like her brother got.
They also had a game where the kids had to try to toss the checker into the box.
The preschool staff provided ice cream treats for the families to enjoy.
Marc's other favorite game was one where somebody held a gummy worm tied to a string and he had to catch using just his mouth!
It was a very simple fall fest but I think it was enjoyed by all! :)
There were 3 different crafts, a snack, and an open part of the gym for the kids to run around in. One of the crafts was a tambourine made out of paper plates and beans. Samantha was able to do this craft as well.
The kids could make sock puppets...
and masks made out of a paper plate.
While Marc was doing his crafts, Bumpa kept Samantha entertained by making funny faces at her. ;)
Marc had a good time making crafts with some of his friends from school.
Since we were there during the weekday, it is not very busy. Without it being super-busy there was not as much running as normal. On the weekend there are continual rides to the orchard parts, but since it wasn't very busy we had to wait about 30-45 minutes for our ride so we killed time in the family fun area.
Another building was a saloon. They had tables set up with card games and drinks. Marc didn't know it was supposed to be beer and he was pretending to be thirsty and taking a sip.
There was a stagecoach that Marc wanted to go in and look and Samantha was getting antsy to get out of the stroller so we went in. I thought it was a cute photo op.
There was also a horse-drawn wagon that was a good stage for some more photo ops.
Another part of the family fun area is a track to race foot-pedal-powered cars/bikes. The 3 Marcs had a race. The winner is still unclear due to bumping and rule-breaking. ;) I think Marc III should be the official winner since he didn't break and rules. ;)
There are a couple of tented areas for kids to drive tractors and trikes. The kids had fun. Marc was able to drive them on his own, but I had to help Samantha, especially because of her arm.
Since Marc got some practice driving the little tractor, we thought he was ready to drive the big tractor now.
It was finally time for our ride out to the orchards. On the bust weekends there is a wagon ride to the apple orchard and an enchanted pumpkin wagon to the pumpkin patch. Since they weren't that busy, we rode the pumpkin ride out to the apple orchard and then to the pumpkin patch. We're ready for our ride!
Sorry for the blurriness of some of the pictures, the ride was very bumpy!
Our first stop was to pick some apples. Here are lots of really cute pictures of the kiddos. :)
Marc showing me his apple
Samantha thought it was cool that there were apples on the trees
Yum!
Can I pick those too?
I LOVE this picture!!
Marc and Samantha showing us their apples
and eating a bite of them
After we picked our apples, the next stop was the pumpkin patch. The only pumpkins still on the vines were small ones (all the big ones had already been picked and taken up to the store). We had small ones from his field trip, but I wanted a few pictures of my little punkins in the pumpkin patch.
Both my kiddos posing for a picture
Every year we take this picture too, since the kids are the apples of our eyes! :)
There is a wooden train that the kids can "drive" and ring the bell. Every year Marc enjoys this.
Marc lead me though the kids maze. We took a few wrong turns, but eventually made it out safely.
The weather was cold and windy, but we still had a great time. We spent 3 hours there! :)
