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

Pleasant Valley Pumpkin Patch

Down in Sand Springs Oklahoma is the cutest little pumpkin patch ever! I actually had to call the place and ask how to get there because I thought I was lost. It was tucked away in the middle of nowhere! I love places like that! I want this blog to be a place for people to go and see things to do out there. I am passionate about making memories and I appreciate it when I can get online and see something with my own eyes to know if it's worth my time to go to. With that said, here is my honest review of Pleasant Valley Pumpkin patch:

Right away we walked in and my kids went to this. It is a cute little pen filled with pumpkins to color with chalk. This is new this year. Our friends that we went with actually know the owners and said that they try and add something every year.

Next we made our way over to the water pumps. You place a duck at the top of the tube and pump it down. Whenever I see one of these at a pumpkin patch it makes my heart happy! One of my favorite things and so adorable. The kids played on this for quite awhile

There was no shortage of games and food. I didn't even take pictures of everything, really. The caramel corn was to die for and there was super awesome flavors (We got cherry cola). There were vendors set up with snocones, merchandise, and even a cannon that you can shoot pumpkins out of!

One thing I loved about this place was the simplicity of all of it. It wasn't to busy, and it wasn't over the top. Don't get me wrong, I am mostly an over the top person, but something about this place made you appreciate the simple things. Pumpkins, Radio Flyers, Tractors, Gourds, barn dogs roaming around…It was just easy to take in when you didn't have the noise of "overdoing it" all around  you. 

The selection of specialty pumpkins and gourds at Pleasant Valley was really something!

My kids LOVED the gourds…especially the maraca gourds

Next up was the corn pit. This is always another plus when I see one of these at a pumpkin patch. To say my kids loved it would be an understatement. This was probably the best activity there in our opinion.

Every corner you took was filled with places to take pictures. I only wished we had gone in the evening when the lighting is great so the pictures would have turned out better. In an ideal world, that would be my recommendation for going to any pumpkin farm. But it can't always work out that way. Here's some cute pictures:

I should mention that getting into the pumpkin patch and all of the activities up to this point were FREE! We payed extra money to take a hayride and go through the corn maze. To be honest, there was so much to do at Pleasant Valley that that wasn't even necessary. (Although it was awesome) They also have golfing that you can participate in for an extra fee, as well as a whole pen of animals to go see (free). I mean really….what a win!

I was impressed that you got all the benefits of a pumpkin patch in the country and not by a roadside, very small crowd, yet they still did things like take credit cards and had plenty of free activities to choose from. 

To sum it up, I would definitely recommend coming here. I loved the setup of the place and all that there was to choose from. In comparison to other pumpkin patches, I would say it has one the better selection of pumpkins i've ever seen. It's also really neat that it's truly out in the country.  It also has quite a range of traditional "pumpkin patch" activities to choose from for free. The corn maze was pretty awful if i'm being honest though. 

Pleasant Valley is also open for Christmas! I can't wait to go back and see what they have in store; maybe cut down a Christmas tree. 

One last picture of us with the pumpkins we brought home, while eating snocones. Gotta love Oklahoma!

CHECK OUT THE PLEASANT VALLEY FARMS SITE