A Visit To Plow Farms

It was the second weekend in December. 

We actually had plans to go to a *different* Christmas tree farm that day, and we drove all the way out to it only to find that they were done cutting trees for the season. You could go up and buy a pre-cut tree and that was it.

We already had plans to meet up with two of the kids' aunts and one uncle, so we immediately started Google searching for a backup. And that's how we found Plow Farms.

Bizarre thing, I called while *on the way* to Plow Farms and some sort of secretary answered. I asked her what the farm hours were that day, and if there were any extra special events going on. They were open until 5 pm she said.

Here's the kicker: upon arriving, they were also CLOSED. It felt like we had the absolute worst luck ever.

But I found someone on location who worked there (or owned the farm? I'm not sure but he had enough authority to be in charge of who was allowed on the premises) and asked if it would be ok if we just took some photos, and he was ever so kind and told us to help ourselves, and even pointed out some of the best photo ops.

The good part of this story is, we have a fake tree, so we were honestly just looking for the experience and some cool photos, so it worked out just fine. 😉 

The following photos is what we managed to get. Kudos to my kids for putting up with the INSANE amount of cold that day.

Evidently when they're open, they are known to have dogs available to pull your tree with a small sled. How cool is that?

The kids had so much fun posing in this tiny sleigh. 🤣

Tippy wanted to pretend that her dog Spice was her reindeer. 😁

He be chillin. 😄

A totally candid doggy kiss there. 💋 

Annnndddd...  that's why his nickname is "Happy". 🤩

Cutie. 🥰❤️🥰

They love their Aunt Kate. 💕 

The kids thought this truck was so cool!

One final photo with both of their aunts AND their uncle (who was visiting from Alaska so that was super special). ❤️ 

A special thanks again to Plow Farms for the amazing photo ops, and their kind hospitality for letting us wander around unsupervised. 

Going off of the kindness of the gentleman I spoke to and that alone, I highly recommend this family-owned business and look forward to visiting their farm during operational hours this coming holiday season. 🌟 

Xo, The Brunette & Family

A Construction Themed Birthday Party

Yes, he is blowing out a fall-scented candle instead of birthday candles, 

because we didn't even do a birthday cake.

Instead, we did dirt pudding, and we served it in- wait for it- a toy dump truck!

(Two new ones, lined with tin foil)

It was a chilly October day and it was misting rain, so we had my brother-in-law...

... draw us some epic roads with chalk on the concrete floor, and the kids played with a bunch of mini construction vehicles while I got the last few things set on the table. 

Speaking of table...

Yeah no food, just desserts and drink.

That's the beauty of having a party soon after lunch time and having a small enough group where you can tell them you're just serving dessert and you're not viewed as rude 😁.

After we sang Happy Birthday we had the kids all posed for a photo...

(Some of the children's faces have been concealed to protect their identity as they are currently in foster care)

... and then we handed out their goody bags and let Happy open his presents.

Grandma made good use of one of his gifts right away and read the children a story...

... and she even managed to put the baby to sleep (it was his nap time) even though it was really loud. 😳

Yay Grandma! 🙌

This was a construction cone that was actually on hand at my husband's work shop, and we had added it to the decor for extra flair, but his youngest brother decided it needed to be a hat. 🤣

The kids got construction-themed stickers, slap bracelets, mini measuring tapes and some sugar-free lollipops in their goody bags (some of the children in the group are diabetic).

The cuteness is strong with this one! 😍

All in all we think it was a success!

He applauded it so its a win in my book. 😉 

You can shop all of the party decor and gifts that are still available below. 👇

Did this inspire YOU to throw a construction-themed birthday party for YOUR child?

Let me know in the comments, and be sure to mention any fun decor or activity ideas that I missed!

Visiting The Choo Choo Barn in Strasburg, PA

Hello my beautiful people, how was your spring? I hope it was lovely and that y'all are enjoying your summer vacations. 

I homeschool my children so they are always at home 😜 but if y'all need something for your children to look forward to doing to help them with their behavior while they're endlessly bored because they're now home ALL THE TIME 😅 then I highly recommend you put a visit to The Choo Barn on the calendar!

It's located in Strasburg, PA so unless you live in the area or are planning a visit this won't be very helpful 🙈, but it's worth sharing with my local peeps.

I can't post a lot of photos because honestly that will spoil the experience for you, but you can get an idea of what it looks like from my photo here. 

You will want about 45 minutes to slowwwwllly walk around the exhibit. There are so many trains and tiny figurines and just so much going on, you could probably go around twice and still find something you didn't notice before.

We probably would have done that, but we had a 7 year old, a 5 year old, a 3 year old, a 1 year old and a 4 month old... let's just say our hands were full. 😄 We were happy to make it all the way around with no meltdowns and with everyone relatively happy.

We didn't bring a bunch of extra spending money because we didn't know we would need it, but their train-themed gift shop is SO COOL. We got the kids all wooden train whistles, but there us SO MUCH to choose from. It would be a great idea to have your kids bring their allowance or birthday money or do some extra chores so they can have some spending money, because trust me, they'll spot SOMETHING that they want. 🤣

Be sure to check out the website before visiting for any safety updates, closures, discounted days, etc.

Drop me a comment if y'all go, and let me know what you thought about it!

Update: Now that winter is nearly here, I just wanted to add that this would be a GREAT winter time activity seeing as it's indoors. Especially if you have small children, doing things outdoors can be challenging when the weather is bitterly cold, and malls and indoor play areas are practically a thing of the past with all of the restrictions and germophobia.

Would y'all be interested in a list of fun things to do in the winter with small children? Drop me a comment and let me know!

All the best 💖 

Xo, The Brunette