Kid-ing with Kayla: Fall family fun isn’t always… well, fun. That’s normal! Don’t get down in the dumps if there were a few meltdowns at the apple orchard or the kids were crying about not getting the jumbo pumpkin twice your size.

I believe these memories are still important to make even if they aren’t always the most enjoyable experience. You never know what the kids are going to remember. I still recall so much magic from these kinds of events even though my parents tell me these same kinds of fits were thrown on their trips to the fall festival.

I think we all assume everyone’s experience is perfect because we see these positive Instagram captions on photos of smiling kids and their beautiful picturesque pumpkins. That’s not reality!

However, my report from the pumpkin patch tells things how they were.

In my report, I talk about how there is no such thing as the perfect day at the pumpkin patch. I struggle to make my son smile for pictures. He demands me to hold him even though he’s getting a little too big for it but he has enough energy to run on the human hamster wheel and go up and down the slide.

I also touched on the not so pleasant smell of the petting zoo, my son being in a bad mood because I said no to something he wanted and I had to do a “search and rescue” in the kids straw maze despite my allergies and the fact I was wearing a dress.

It was a mess but I know I’ll miss it!

There were so many moments of joy throughout the chaos as well. My son saying “Yee haw” on the horse in the sandbox, the pure happiness he got from my compliments on the pumpkin I did end up saying yes to and his love for the tire slide he wanted to do until it got dark. I love that I recorded it all and will get to look back on it forever.

The pumpkin patch is a tradition and I will keep returning every year.

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