Carmichael's

My last pumpkin patch review of the year! I should probably take the time to explain that no one has commissioned me to review all the pumpkin patches in the Oklahoma area. This is just my weird, analytical personality that likes to keep record and find the very best and funnest places to go! Since pumpkin patches are a huge part of Halloween, I am taking it upon myself to try all within 2 hours of me and deciding for myself which one is best. If this helps others along the way, great! If not, it is for my own records! Rant over.

Carmichael's. Arguably one of the most popular pumpkin patches in Tulsa Oklahoma. It is free to get in and the costs are very minimal. Carmichael's is located in Bixby, but they have a stand that is open all year round in another location. They are great advertisers and keep up with their business well. We've been here one time 3 years ago, and to be honest, i've never been back because I really didn't think much of it.

Throwback!

Pony rides

Pumpkin Posing

Of all the patches i've been to, this is my least favorite. I say that because on paper, it sounds great, but when you get there, it really feels like there's not much to do. In short, i've seen better. It does have it's perks however:

-For field trips, this place can't be beat; low key, free, and very small. Score!
-Lots of places to take pictures!
-Hands down the best selection of animals i've ever seen!

This is not a place i'd come back to over and over again but that is my personal preference. I like something with a little more options and excitment. I realize that not everyone feels that way however. I do want to focus on their awesome animal selection here though, because that was what i'd say Carmichael's "has going for it".

It seems like every corner you turn, there's an animal to be fed, pet, swoon over. They sell animal feed for .75 cents which is a great price. We bought a couple bags and got started.

In my opinion, Carmichael's is the perfect place to bring a baby. My little guy had all the freedom he could ever want to run around and pet all the animals. The ideal situation. I loved that there was so many tiny baby animals this year too!

Check out the variety of animals! They even had a porcupine (not pictured)

ummm…a turkey? Awesome!

How awesome! Aside from all of the animals, there was lots of places to take pictures out front. Pumpkins on pumpkins on pumpkins made for lots of happy kids

For activities, Carmichael's had a "dark room" made of hay, and some hay bales that you could climb on. 

Dark Room

Hay Room fun!

Last thing I will mention that is great about Carmichael's is the variety of fudge they offer. They are famous for it! It was yummy! My little man knew exactly the flavor he wanted and had a great time eating it as he watched the animals from the tables that they had set up outside the gift shop.

M&M's please!

Yum! Mom's favorite was the Caramel apple flavor

They also had hayrides, and a corn maze to do, but we didn't indulge. All and all, a very low key experience. I would make the special trip out here just for the petting zoo. I'd say that's the #1 draw for us. Again, I could see this being an awesome experience as a field trip, or a family tradition. Otherwise, there's better farms out there if you had to only choose 1. Maybe i'm missing something though, because the place has great reviews and is extremely well attended each year!

Happy Halloween!

CHECK OUT CARMICHAEL'S PUMPKIN PATCH HERE

Parkhurt Pumpkin Patch

Disclaimer: Read this post while listening to "The Best Day" by Taylor Swift. I love it so much. It had me in tears and gave me the feels. It made me stop and think from a parent's perspective how important it is to just stop, and enjoy these simple days with our kids. Because to them, they don't notice all the work and stress it takes getting somewhere and even being there sometimes. And to them, they are the best days. 

OK, my deep thoughts are over now. Here we go!

When we went down to Oklahoma City to see Storybook Forest, I threw a few other things into our day. Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch was one of them. It is located only 12 miles from Arcadia lake where the Storybook Forest event is held. And in the middle of both of these two places is a giant soda factory called "POPS". We went there too, but that post will be for another day as we ran through it for dinner and it was late.

I'm still at the point where i'm "shopping around" for my favorite places to go, so it's been fun for me to see different pumpkin patches and all they offer. Here's what I loved/didn't love about Parkhurst:

Right off the bat we walked in and I payed $24 for us to get in. Ouch. I'm not a cheap person, but I thought it was a bit much. They also only take cash or check which can be a pain too. The places was easy to locate however, and once you walked in, it was a super laid back atmosphere.

My kids ran straight to this fort they have up. It's really cute. When we go to places like this, I love to see where my kids run to first; what catches their eye the most. There was lots of thing to climb, balls to throw, and slides galore; just a fun place for a kid. My kids played in here for quite awhile.  Another thing I liked about this place was the setup. I could truly let me kids down and run quite far while still seeing them. Everything was set-up in a square, including the corn maze. A mom's dream!

To me, probably the coolest thing about this pumpkin patch was the options for SWINGS! Everywhere you turn, there's a different type of swing to try. I thought that was really unique and awesome.

Hammock Swings

Spider swings

Rope Swings

Tire swings

Tree swings

See, I told you there was lots of swings! Really neat. It really added to the atmosphere that there was lots of campfires going in all sorts of places, and that everything was so spread out. Made for a nice nostalgic memory. 

Speaking of campfires, Parkhurst also sold s'more packets and had roasting sticks available to make s'mores. Major plus! I thought this was adorable because I've never seen a pumpkin patch do this before. Maybe it's quite common, but it was new to us! We bought a few packets ($2 each) and had a nice little roasting party to add to our day.

Don't the shirts go perfectly? haha

Yum!!!! He wouldn't share

Moving on, another awesome benefit of this place was all the stations they had to climb, and jump off of hay bales. They also included adorable slides off of them. It was my baby's favorite spot. I'm telling you, this pumpkin patch is a great place for an active child.

When we left, we got to pick a free pumpkin on our way out. They were conveniently located by the exit so we wouldn't forget. Nice!

All in all, a really great time. I should add that we didn't even get to go to through the corn maze, or see all the cute animals they had out. They're petting zoo looked cute and I feel like those are always a huge  plus when they're available. I give Parkhurst an 8, but it takes a lot to impress me. 

Thanks for the fun fall memories, Parkhurst Pumkin Farm!

CHECK OUT THIER WEBSITE HERE

Parkhurst Ranch was voted one of the top pumpkin patches to attend in the Metro area

Storybook Forest

Down on Arcadia Lake, near Oklahoma City, there is an event called Storybook Forest. It is only open for 1 week out of the entire year around Halloween time. You bring your kids dressed in costume along with a pail for candy and be prepared to be blown away. The event goes from 5:30-8:30 and I had heard that the gate can sometimes get backed up for 1.5 hours! No thank you. I got there at 5 and had no problems waiting in line. I did see that it started getting real busy soon after that, so coming early was a must. It costs $10 a child to get in which I thought was a bit steep, until after I went through the forest and realized it was worth every penny! We waited and the kids had a great time checking out other people's costumes and running around.

Now for the Magic…we waited in line to enter "the story".

Once we entered the forest through the book, mine and the kids moods completely shifted from grumpy to enchanted and completely entrapped in the magic of it all. There is just something so beautiful about being a kid if you ask me; just really believing that anything is possible. Storybrook Forest really brought that to life. I should add that to an adult, this may all be lame. But for a kid...

Right away you hear music playing and begin your walk through the woods to meet different storybook characters. It was so amazing to see the actual characters handing out candy to the kids one by one. I don't know how they did it, but each child got a turn to get candy and talk to the characters individually. Maybe it was because we got there early? Either way, it was enchanting.

Rapunzel throwing candy out of her tower

Each station had a scence from the specific story it was portraying, as well as the rhyme or explanation to go with it.

Here's some of the stories we were able to see brought to life. Can you guess them?

My favorite was this little man checking if the big bad wolf was real or not, & Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater

THE MAGIC OF BEING A KID

The Three Little pigs was another favorite

A KISS FROM A PRINCE

Hansel and Gretel

We told them the house was made of real candy. She didn't believe it but Captain hook did and actually licked the candy canes.

Seriously amazing. After the forest walk, I give the whole night a 10. But it kept on going. The perks didn't stop. 

There were a million places to take pictures. So many of these hay rounds painted to be different things.

Then, at the end of the trail you could choose to go one way if you wanted to play games and have a hayride, or else another way to roast s'mores and hear stories. We went for the games first. The games were set out right on the lake with this beautiful view.

Some of the fun carnival games

A huge shout out to these 2 friends of mine who watched my baby the whole time so I  could take pictures. Love them!

And here we are ending the night with a delicious s'more around the campfire. I will say that as we were roasting these, I noticed the line was still just as long as when we got there (which was way to long) A popular event! Storybook Forest is by far my favorite Halloween event we've participated in to date! Wonderful night. Wonderful memories.