Thursday, June 28, 2012

Ghosts and Goblins at Koetsier’s

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I love Halloween. I love all the harvest parts of it- apple picking and apple cider, hay rides, and picking pumpkins. I love the creative costumes and the sense of community that is built as kids and parents go tramping door to door. I also love that there is something for every age from hay rides, to trick or treating, to spook houses. I love that it has no specific religious affiliation, connotation, or requirement to participate all are welcome in the frivolity.  In general Halloween is about make believe and fun and I am all about fun. The ‘agri-tainment’ industry is big here in Michigan – at least in our neck of the woods. I am not complaining, mind you, I am always up for a hay ride through an orchard, a stroll through a corn maze, or a bit of  berry picking accompanied by ice cream and a petting zoo. This is a perfect example of a local business adapting to provide this kind of fun outing. Koetsiers is a garden shop/plant nursery in the spring and summer. In the fall when that season is done they fill their green houses with Halloween fun for little folks. You pay a flat fee- it was $6  I think -and then all the games and crafts are included including a paint your own pumpkin you get to take home. Cider and doughnuts for both of us included I think I dropped about $12. Not bad for an afternoon of fun.

Come be a part of a stack of jack o'lanterns.

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A maze made of hay bales with question and answer boards about fruits and vegetables. Reading these was really fun for Caelun- yeah I know big surprise.

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Hand pumps at either end that you pump to make water pour out and push rubber ducks along the trough.

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Lots of bouncy houses but Caelun could not be persuaded.

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A sand box filled with … CORN- yep. This was really fun.

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Back to the maze this time brave enough to go into the dark part made from black Mylar with large light up characters at ever corner.

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A break for some cider and to check out the caldron that bubbles.

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$2 for a pumpkin sport bottle full of cider.

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Now to paint a pumpkin.

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A backdrop to take pictures but it is all so much more interesting that looking at mommy.

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Pedal tractors to drive around a ring of hay bales- we didn’t have much more success with it than we have with trikes but it was fun to skooch around on.

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