Enchanted Acres in Sheffield, Iowa is Fun For ALL Ages

 

Hey Sweet Friends,

Happy *almost* fall!  One.more.day.  I have been in fall mode for the last couple weeks of August, and all of September, even though fall doesn’t officially begin until September 22nd.  How about you, are you itching to get out some buffalo check, sip on a pumpkin spice latte, or go for a nice long walk without sweating buckets?  Yah, this summer was kinda brutal at times, but sweating is good for you, right? I can’t even wait for the crisp fall air and the warm neutral tones to come back into my life.  One of the best ways to get inspired for fall decorating and all the blessings that fall brings is by visiting a pumpkin patch.  

 

My favorite is one you’ve heard me write about before (and if you haven’t go read that post quick and then come back here), Enchanted Acres in Sheffield, Iowa.  There are several others we have visited around the area over the years, but none of them do it quite as well as Shannon Latham and the crew at Enchanted Acres. 

 

They have several special events planned for the 2018 season, aside from their regular operation, that pretty much hit everyone’s hobbies and interests.  Go check the Events tab of their Facebook page to see what they have going on.

 

Enchanted Acres is a sweet family run operation with good core values.  It’s truly darling. Mr. Awesome and I have two boys and two girls, ranging in age from just 16 months all the way to almost 16 years old!  Lord, help us when that oldest girl of ours is on the road in a little over a month!  So I’m sure it’s no surprise when I tell you that it is so difficult near impossible to find activities that everyone in our family can genuinely enjoy (aside from our weekly trips to the library & a few hours browsing Ikea, oh wait, they don’t all enjoy that last one).

So we keep going back year after year because we can spend literally hours at the patch and all four kids still have smiles on their faces at the end of the day.  Mom and dad do too!  It’s a place you leave feeling inspired and refreshed, even if it was almost 90 degrees and you shimmered (sweat) the whole day away.  Also, each year a new feature is added to the grounds.  I usually see it beforehand on their Facebook page and then try to keep it a secret so I can see if my kids are able to pick out what’s new when we get there.  They always guess it within minutes of pulling in, but it’s such a fun tradition! 

This year they added this seriously cool playset in the shape of a tractor.  My tractor loving boys adored it, and my youngest daughter had a blast on it as well.  Don’t let the dress fool you, she’s not afraid to climb and play hard!  This was the perfect place for her to do just that!  Our oldest took great pictures of her baby brother playing (she was up there in the tractor seat at least once too).  I even caught Mr. Awesome on it… with the kids, of course. 😉  There is a big playground located just next to this structure as well.

Oh friends, I almost forgot!  I’m trying something new with my pictures on this post.  Because we took so many pictures and wanted to share a good portion of them here I’ve created mini-galleries you can click through.  Just click on any small thumbnail and you can swipe or click through the pictures.  If you don’t love that, let me know.  I want to make sure you enjoy the time you spend here and that I’m helping you make the best use of your time!

Okay, click one of these pictures below and then arrow through them.

Our oldest daughter is into photography, kinda like her momma, and Enchanted Acres provides so many opportunities for family pictures, nature scenes, animal shots, and more.  It’s the perfect place to take a budding photographer and let them explore! I wish I would’ve encouraged her to use our big camera, rather than just a cell phone, but I wanted her to just have fun, and her work is so good that her shots turned out great anyway.  

I mentioned the opportunities for family pictures, and seriously, this is the place, you guys!  They make it so simple with their great displays!  Dress the kids in somewhat coordinating outfits and see how many places there are from benches, to chairs, to hay bales decked out perfectly for a little photoshoot.  There are even more places than what you see below!  Pro Tip: Do this before you hit the corn pool and get covered in dust.  I knew this, but my kids (and husband.. okay, and ME) just couldn’t stay away from the fun! ha! DOUBLE PRO TIP: Even better! Head over there when they have a photographer on site (check their schedule) and get pictures of the whole family.  You won’t ever look back at family pictures with all your little loves (yourself included!) 5-10 years later and regret getting them done.  As women and mommas, we MUST start getting in the pictures too!  Our children will treasure those photos.

 

Oh, that giant corn pool! THAT is the reason a few of my kids are begging to go back!  I don’t know exactly how much time we spent in there, but it had to have been over an hour for sure.  All 6 of us got in (twice)! Yep, even me in my new black shorts. Memories were made, friends!

Another fun thing to do on the farm is visit the goats, and even feed them if you’d like (a bag of goat feed is available for purchase in the Market).  We were told to keep your hand flat when you feed them, all the kids did really well with this. 

From the gorgeous Iowa farm scenery, to the animals, to the Market, to the people, this place is so inspiring!

Here come some more pictures!  Remember if you want to see them in full view to click the first one and them scroll through.

Admission is absolutely affordable (even for a large family), their weekend hours are fantastic, and the staff is the friendliest you’ll ever encounter.

 

The Market, located in the big red barn, is filled with all sorts of on-trend, yet classic, home decor, jams, wines, snack-sized treats, and more.  They even have cute little tables in the market to eat at.  Do you see that Farm to Table, Table to Soul sign hanging on the pillar below, and another leaned against a table?  How charming is that?!  I wish I could make a spot for it in my dining room.

 

They offer hayrides, a story time, and a place to do crafts in the barn.  This year our kids decorated their pumpkins with duct tape. Since the temperature outside was still a little warm when we brought them home (we went early in the season- remember how eager I am for fall) we kept the pumpkins indoors so they’ll still look great for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

If you’re looking for a fun day trip, a place to host a birthday party, or just somewhere to find quality pumpkins (colorful, or the ever popular for decor and decorating white), then this is the patch for you!

When you visit, be sure to check the “Top Things to do Today” board!

 

Thank you to Shannon Latham of Enchanted Acres for inviting and hosting us, and to all the staff for the warm hospitality!  You guys are truly amazing!  I’m honored to say that this sort of welcoming experience is just a part of what living and playing in North Iowa looks like!  You can be sure that all opinions shared here today are genuine & legit, because I wouldn’t dream of doing things any other way.  For my full disclosure visit the Disclosure Tab.

PS. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it or anything & have you think I’m some sort of amateur city girl (I mean, I did grow up 2 blocks from the beach), BUT, you guys, I got to pet a goat there for the FIRST.TIME.EVER.  I tried to play it cool, but I was totally freaking out inside. First I was like “NO WAY”, and I meant it, but then my kids begged me to and Mr. Awesome talked me into it, and the owner’s sweet mom told me I should do it AND hold the leash the goat was on. The experiences at this place DO go beyond petting a goat, but it was awesome nonetheless. 

Let’s just say it was one of the top 3 coolest experiences I’ve had all summer, and I would totally snuggle with a soft cuddly goat like Domino any day of the week.  Who knew they were so soft and sweet!