Haunted Hayride Fun

This year, we decided to try a new fall activity, the Wesselman Nature Preserve's Haunted Hayride and Harvest Festival. Saturday night, we met up with a couple of the boys' friends from school and their parents. At first, it was not going well. Brady had his feelings hurt when they wouldn't give him an admission armband because he was a free participant (since he was three). He cried and sobbed for over 20 minutes while we were waiting for one of their friends. Luckily, Carac's mom came to the rescue with a toy bracelet that made Brady's bracelet "special".

We then rode the hayride back to the Nature Preserve where they had craft activities set up for the kids and you could sign up for special shows. Connor and Jesse got right into making craft spiders and coloring owl masks while Brady and Carac where still adjusting. We ended up outside where we got the kids hot dogs and juice and that seemed to lift all their spirits and they were running around like crazy Owls. Before heading back inside, we made sure to check out the bonfire and campfire music.

We then rode the hayride through the Haunted Forest making sure to check out all the inflatable figurines. We did that a couple times before heading back to the Nature Preserve where the boys all made a second owl mask. We even got to see a family of deer during the hayride. The kids then visited for a little bit more before we caught another hayride back to our cars and said our goodbyes.

I think in the end the boys had fun together and Wesselman's did a nice job for the kids. We ran into the boys' cousins while we were there and another friend of theirs (their Valentine playdate). We will probably return again and perhaps we can do the night walk next year.