Cornbelly's

Like a lot of people, I LOVE October with it's cooler temperatures, pumpkin everything, corn mazes, hay rides, costume parades, spooky decorations, and all the rest of it.  I've been especially excited this year, now that we are living somewhere that feels like the Octobers I've known most of my life in the midwest.  I love wearing sweaters, making soup, and enjoying some hot tea at the end of the day. I also love a little rural, country feel in October. Everywhere has it's pro's and con's, and L.A. has Utah beat for beaches and awesome winter weather, but Utah is a pretty nice place to be in October.  (I really hated going to that "pumpkin lot" on a hot October day back in California.  Just depressing.)

So you can imagine my great joy and exultation when I found out Thanksgiving Point was hosting something called "Cornbelly's". There are over 20 attractions and two corn mazes, one being over 12 acres! It's a great place for families with kids of all ages, so it's really my kind of place. The first time I went, I took the kids by myself, and this is how it turned out: 

Near the front of the park was a large "Pumpkin Princess" area, so we got sucked in there pretty fast with the two little girls.  This is up in a little storybook house:

What little girls can resist a "pumpkin carriage" drawn by a big white stallion with a pink and purple sparkly saddle?  (Well, Kate could have, but not these two.) 

What was that?  There's an area with gobs of gorgeous princess dresses, and we can wear whatever we want, and look at ourselves in a full length mirror, and then run around playing in the dresses??

Just when we thought life couldn't get any better outside of Disneyland, the "Pumpkin Princess" appeared and storytime began:

 (Look at the one boy in the audience.  He's thinking, "What is she wearing?  Why am I here?  Where's my dad when I need him?")

 Back to the carriage.  (I know Elizabeth is cute, but look at that sky!)

  I'm sitting next to the Pumpkin Princess!!

 Princess scarecrows . . .

So you may be asking, where were Kate and Will while you were playing in "Pumpkin Princess Playland" with the two little girls?  Well, one of the beauties of having older children and living in America in the 50's is that you can let them roam freely on their own, and of course they think that's pretty cool.  But I admit, we were in there for quite awhile, so when we finally emerged, I found them here, like this:

Little did we know, the "Pumpkin Princess Playland" was just a tiny little part of this place.  It's like when you get stuck in Fantasyland for too long, and then you regret not seeing everything else.  So off we went: 

So where are Kate and Will again?  Who knows, but I found them an hour later here:

The next time we went, it was at night with Dad so we could do the haunted hayride and corn maze together:

 But first things first. Why would Mom make dinner if we could get corn chowder at Cornbelly's?

 Off to the tunnels under the haybales:

After which Rachael conquered the hay mountain by herself with some other family (while Will was riding the mechanical bull - I missed it! ) - look at the expression on her face!

Now where are Kate and Will while Elizabeth and Rachael pose for adorable sunset picturest?  Fighting over a bamboo stick, of course!  Come on, get on up there with your little sisters!

 Off to the corn room . . .

  . . . to do corn angels:

There is a gigantic "jack-o-lantern tree" with hundreds of these, from Dora to . . .

  . . . Napolean Dynamite:

Back to the pumpkin carriage for a little impromptu recital:

I've got to get me one of these:
 
The "Haunted Hayride":


And one last rock on the big chair:

Good job, Cornbelly's!  We loved it!