I have always thought that Spring was my absolute favorite time of year. However I have come to realize that I am definitely a 'Fall' girl. Not sure why I have all of a sudden fallen in love with fall, particularly this year, but what I do know is that I LOVE this weather and I just happened to have
THE best day with my kids... just doing 'fall' things.
Yes the heat is gone, but that doesn't mean our kids need to enter hibernation. So, what are we to do in order to entertain our kids? Well you can always go play on a farm! Wait, what? Yep we found us a farm in Southern California! I know, it is a little hard to believe...but as it turned out, it was the perfect way to spend the day.
Tanaka Farms in Irvine is apparently THE place to be, which I quickly realized driving pass many school buses while searching for a parking spot. And let me tell you, it really is a place you have to see. They have everything... hay maze, corn maze, tractor pull rides, petting zoo, pumpkin patch and a vegetable farm where you can actually pick your own veggies to take home. And if that isn't enough to convince you that you and your kids need to visit the farm, let me tell you that your little ones will be worn out! Yep, they will run, jump, skip, climb and try to pick up every pumpkin they can find pretty much the entire time you are there. Which means that they are exercising... see you can get healthier kids anywhere, even at a farm :)
The hay maze while small, kept Kayla running for a good 20 minutes while Kyle explored the new world of hay and pumpkins and I chased them both around with my camera. Once our friends joined us we quickly made our way to the slow moving tractor pull ride over to the petting zoo. A small-ish zoo with a whole lot of goats, sheep and some other llama looking animal that apparently can spit with perfect accuracy...hmm? But it was very clean, complete with hand washing stations.
There are plenty of spots to eat lunch... sitting upon bales of hay of course over looking the whole pumpkin patch with the strong smell of onion in the air (only present durning the fall). It was after lunch that the real fun of the farm began. We found ourselves picking our own vegetables. We had our choice of radishes, onions, carrots, and green beans not to mention the thousands of pumpkins to choose from. What a great way to expose your kids to healthy food. This was most definitely Kayla's favorite part of the day... and she can NOT wait to cook her own veggies. A great sense of pride over her small bag of veggies and the perfect teaching opportunity!
If you can't tell by the pictures, we had a great time! I only wish I can post every single picture. If you are looking for something ideal for a family outing this is such a great place to take the kids. Perfect for all ages, although it can get a little rough pushing around a stroller through all the dirt. Here is some of the necessary information for pretty much any mom:
- Admission is FREE and Parking is FREE!
- Tractor pull is $5 (3 years old and older)
- Petting zoo is $3 (3 years old and older)
- Veggies picked are $2.99/lb.
- Pumpkins picked range from $3.99 - $100 (that is what the sign said)
- Restrooms are available. They are all outhouses, but they are very very clean, don't smell and are equipped with hand washing stations.
- Not very stroller assessable, however you can definitely get around. Note: you can't take the stroller on the tractor pull
- Bring your own lunch
- Wear closed shoes... its DIRTY! You are on a farm :)
- They are open all year round, crops changing with the season
If this place doesn't make you LOVE fall... well I just don't know what will!
And just in case you didn't get enough...here are a few more pictures!
