Spending time as a family at Farmer John’s Pumpkin

*We were given four pumpkins to help facilitate our review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% honest, ours and based on our experience.

I have always loved everything about fall. I love the cooler temperatures, beautiful color changes going on in nature all around us, harvesting the garden and the feel in the air that life is about to slow down. When I was a little girl fall was also a popular time for our parents to wake up and decide to go for a drive. A drive might take us to the banks of the Mississippi river, to an apple orchard or a random drive we didn’t really know where we would end up. No matter what the trip was, my sisters and I enjoyed getting in the car and driving as much as my parents loved getting away.

As an adult I get this same antsy feeling every fall and I long to buckle the kids in their car seats and drive wherever the car will take us. This weekend we found ourselves needing to get away from the world for a little bit, but we also knew we needed to make it a short day trip. We had been invited to my parents for supper to enjoy a fire as a family.

Mark and I agreed Farmer John’s Pumpkin Patch would be the perfect get away we were looking to experience. On Sunday’s the pumpkin patch opens at noon and you could tell the beautiful seventy degree weather had others looking for something fun to do as well.

The last time we went to Farmer John’s the twins were only about nine months old, when you do the math it has been five and a half years. A few years later it was as fun as Maddie remembered, except there were a few new welcomed additions.

Mark is still recovering from his car accident and I was the one doing the driving. I really appreciated the clear signs and plenty of parking spaces that made parking the van easy. As we were putting Timmy in his stroller a sweet lady asked if we could use a wagon. Titus was in his glory, you would have thought she had offered to give him a tractor. Not only did he get to pull the wagon, he discovered it had the ability to lift up like a dump truck. It was a good start to event for him.

The girls immediately found the free face painting. Face painting is always a huge hit with them. I don’t know why but any event we attend it is one of the first things they find. They played in what the kids called the corn fort and then it was off to the silo slide.

After the kids had their fill of running around and experiencing everything they possibly could it was off to find the pumpkins of their dreams. We did encourage them to find a medium size pumpkin, something not itty bitty but not a “great pumpkin Charlie Brown” kind of pumpkin. They rose to the challenge and had an absolute blast running through the patch and checking as many pumpkins as they could.

When they had all found “the one” it was off to get them weighed and then wait in line to pay. Farmer John’s Pumpkin patch is set up to be able to take cash, check or credit card making purchasing an easy process for everyone. They also have delicious jellys as well as fall decorative pumpkins and gourds.

One of our very favorite things about Farmer John’s is how much fun we have without it costing our arm and our leg. It literally costs us the gas money to get there and the cost of the pumpkins, jellies or other produce or things we purchase in the barn. Thank you Farmer John for welcoming kids of all ages to come and have a wonderful time. Our kids cannot wait to come back next year!

If you are looking for a great fall Southern Minnesota family fun getaway, we highly recommend Farmer John’s Pumpkin Patch. You can find more information at their Facebook page or you can check out their website here. They do school groups and other club groups by appointment. Contact them for more information.