Bring the Family

Familiar Adventures

Posted by Toni | Filed under Day Trips

I suppose I could just call these “traditions,” but where’s the excitement in that?

This year, I was all set to research the best pumpkin patches and corn mazes within an hour or two from our home, when my seven-year-old (seen jumping for joy, above) came to me and asked if we were going to visit the pumpkin patch close to home. The same pumpkin patch and farm we’ve visited since he first arrived on the scene. I tried talking him out of it, my right foot itching to kiss that gas pedal and hit the road, but he was adamant no matter how many times or ways my husband and I broached the subject. I decided to honor his stubborn streak as a desire for familiarity and comfort (and okay, tradition) and set aside my longing to wander, with the additional perk of keeping our pumpkin patch/corn maze/haunted house dollars here in town.

I’m glad we relented, because our whole family had a ton of fun revisiting our familiar home town farm, the Red Barn Farm Market in Woodstock, Illinois. To kick things off, the kids (who scare easily and found Ghostbusters nearly too terrifying to watch) hurried through the haunted house so quickly that the teenager working double duty as both ticket taker and unexpected monster didn’t have time to sneak inside and hide before the kids came through.

Next came the corn maze, where we had a blast rushing from dead end to dead end in search of 8 letters that formed a clue kids can solve to win a prize. At one point, the light and colors were so perfect that I stood listening to the whisper and sigh of the amber corn stalks, momentarily feeling like I had the entire field to myself.

But of course, I didn’t, and soon enough we all made our way out of the maze, puzzle solved and prizes collected. The boys immediately added of gray hairs to my head (we’ll call them “highlights”) by jumping off the huge haystack the farm builds each season.

Finally, we let the boys each select a Jack-O-Lantern-worthy pumpkin, and we left, wind-burned and happy. There are days for adventure and days for tradition, and if you can carry an enthusiastic spirit to any event–no matter how familiar–then you can have your pumpkin pie and eat it, too.

Tonight, we carve! And since I’m the only one in the house who likes pumpkin seeds, I’m going to have fun experimenting with different seasoning combos without having to hear a chorus of complaints. (Check out this awesome recipe from my friend Michelle, resident food expert at The Fat Girl’s Guide to Living, where I’m co-editor). For those who celebrate, have a safe and fun Halloween! Share your favorite familiar adventures surrounding autumn in the comments section, and I’d love to hear your kids’ costumes this year. (Whoopie cushion, Jigsaw Jones, and Mario over here).

Permalink | Comments (0) | October 29, 2009

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