Going to a pumpkin patch and taking those insta-worthy photos is always on that fall bucket list! While I’m thankful we even have pumpkin patches here in WNY, the ones we have had the pleasure of roaming the past few years were just ok! Nothing fancy. Just pumpkins, jump pillows, goats to pet and corn kernels to roll around in. After like 30 minutes you are beyond ready to leave and scheming up ways to pull your kiddo out of the corn kernel pit.

When I spotted a Facebook ad last week about the Great Pumpkin Farm in Clarence, NY (buffalo) I was intrigued! They claimed amusement rides, haunted houses, food vendors, even a bar! The Great Pumpkin Farm looked to be a place for all ages! Something for everyone besides the wannabe Insta-models posing with pumpkins and toddlers swimming in corn.

The Great Pumpkin Farm started out in 1996 by hosting the World Pumpkin Weigh-off. The Great Pumpkin Farm ended up in the Guinness World Book of Records for the first 1,000-pound pumpkin! From there, the Pumpkin Farm grew each year to include more signature events, rides and attractions and, today, it’s one of Western New York’s signature fall events!

This year The Great Pumpkin Farm is home to a Hay maze, Petting Zoo, Boo Barn, Playground, shop & bakery, Witches Brew Bar, Food Venders, and many rides and attractions! The best way to describe The Great Pumpkin Farm is to call it a fair with signature pumpkin patch activities! Adminssion is Free weekdays and $8 on weekends. Check the schedule to make sure the attraction you are most excited is open the day you are trying to make your trip!

The Great Pumpkin Farm is home to TWO bars! That’s right TWO! I was pretty excited when I heard this, so the first thing we did was grab a cider beer then headed to the playground! Mama could care less how long you’re playing with a drink in her hand.

Just like every other pumpkin patch in the word, The Great Pumpkin Farm has all the traditional activities like Hay Rides, The Cow Train, Pillow Jumper, Animals. All included in your weekend admission price. Weekdays, some of these activities may cost you a fee.

The Great Pumpkin Farm definitely wins the award for most photographable pumpkin farm in WNY! So much artwork to pose in front of and soooooo many pumpkin setups! I wish it would have been a colder day (did I really just say that!) so I could have been dressed falltastic & not sweating to death in 80 degree heat. I would have loved a cute fall styled photo opt!

I think it’s safe to say we were blown away with The Great Pumpkin Farm! I will admit that I never took the chance to visit a pumpkin farm before I was a mom, so I only have two other farms to compare it to. Those other two have nothing on The Great Pumpkin Farm. Honestly, one of them costs more and has not even a quarter of the activities The Great Pumpkin Farm has. So much to do for all ages! We really had the best afternoon. I’m still on cloud nine today because of all the family fun we had. Beyond happy I decided to make the hour+ journey to check a new place out. So worth the long drive. New yearly tradition. Next year we will be bringing others with us to join in on the good ole family fun!

One of my favorite fall activities just happens to be movies!!!! It’s chilly outside & since I’m a southern gal living in the north, I want nothing to do with that cold weather. Once the weather goes below 60, I’m all about the hermit life, vegging infront of the tv watching all those Halloween creepy and scary flicks!

It can be a tad bit tough however to find quality movies for the kiddos to watch! Once your kid hits grade school, they want nothing to do with those cheesy toodler flicks. They want real plots and fun characters to watch! So you best believe I was pretty excited when we discovered the Hotel Transylvania series a few years ago! I swear almost every year there is a new awesome flick added to the series and this year was better than the rest! We are in LOVE Hotel Transylvania 3! One movie I don’t mind my daughter having on repeat. It’s that good!

So Haylie & I did an extremely brave thing a few weekends ago! We registered for a Little Bakers Class at Full Moon Rising Bakery in Jamestown located on Cherry Street.

I always get scared that these types of classss will be a tad bit too difficult for my “non-verbal” child. While she’s extremely intelligent book-wise, following directions can be hit or miss for Haylie. Some days not one person would ever guess she has any cognitive issues and then other days have me wanting to bury my head in the sand since I don’t have an explanation for anything that may have happened. There is no predicting what type of day we will have, so any group activities are a huge gamble for us. Just incase things take a turn for the worst, I always have an exit strategy in play.

Haylie is frosting obsessed! Cupcakes are a favorite of hers and frosting them is a favorite pastime. She is the Funfetti princess at home, so we took the plunge and registered for a real Little Bakers Class. The class costs $20 a child and each child gets to create 4 cupcake masterpieces.

Once all the kids arrived, it was time to learn how to frost those cupcakes! The owner of the bakery explained how each bag of frosting had a different tip. Each tip made a different pattern and she demonstrated how to use each frosting tip.

Then it was time for the kids to attempt their own frosting skills. This first cupcake Haylie made 100% on her own! The frosting bags can be a tad bit tough to work with, so I was rather impressed with how much muscle she had to squeeze that frosting out!

The next three cupcakes Haylie had me help squeeze the bag from the top while she twisted the frosting to make a swirl. The brown reminded us of the poop emoji, so the brown cupcake was the favorite to make. Who doesn’t like sprinkled poop lol....

At the end of the class, the folks at Full Moon Rising Bakery had a little photo setup so the participants could have a mini photoshoot with their cupcakes! I thought this was the perfect way to end a class! Everyone mom wants those Insta photos to show off their Little Bakers skills don’t they?

Honestly, I was beyond happy we decided to give the Little Bakers class a chance. Haylie did great since Little Bakers took place in such a relaxed atmosphere. Perfect for super little ones just learning how to participate in group activities AND perfect for kiddos like my own who may struggle with step by step. Literally no skills required to have a fabulous time! This mama left with the biggest smile on her face because we had a blast! We participated in a normal Mommy/daughter activity and finished it without any drama. I know all you special need mamas can relate to that awesome feeling when the escape plan didn’t need to be executed. Two thumbs up from us here at The Trophy WifeStyle

Any mamas out there need an excuse to go out and buy a bottle or two of wine?! I may just have you covered! Wine Cork Dot Paint Pumpkins! That’s right, you drink the contents of that wine bottle while your child dots away with the corks. It’s a win win activity since Mama is occupied and so is the kiddo! Cheers & happy dotting!

• White Paper Plates
• Green Pipe Cleaners
• Hole Punch
• Orange Paint
​• Wine Corks

Before you let your child dot away, take your hole punch and punch a hole at the top of the white paper plate. This is where you will string your pipe cleaner to make a stem later.

Let your child dot away using the orange paint & the wine cork!

Once your white paper Plate is covered in paint dots, take 2-3 pipe cleaners and wrap them around your finger to make a spiral.

Take your pipe cleaner spiral and simply thread it into the hole you punched in your white paper plate. Twist the stem in place. And just like that, you now have a Paper Plate Pumpkin!

I just love Halloween crafts. Halloween and Christmas are the two holidays I tend to go all out for. I just can’t get enough of the cuteness!!!!

My daughter has a class Halloween party every year! Since Halloween is a favorite of mine to get crafty for, I thought it would be fun to make D.I.Y Mummy Water Bottles for the kids!

• Small Water Bottles
• Gauze
• Glue Stick
• Black Paper
• Scissors
​• Spiders

Take a water bottle and your gauze & wrap your water bottle up.

Take your scissors and cut the leftover gauze. Then tuck the end of your gauze into the gauze on your water bottle.

Now glue on those googly eyes with your glue stick.

Time to cut out a mouth using your black paper. Once you have cut one out, glue it onto your water bottle.

Glue on a plastic spider.

Ta-Da! You now have Mummy Water Bottles. They make the perfect beverage to serve at your Halloween Party!