Apple Picking Family Fun at Eckert’s

BIMG_5876Today was one of those days that just could not have gone any better. With two kids and an adventure out in public anything can happen. Lucky for my wife and I, today was that rare exception where both kids were awesome, and as their dad, I could not be prouder of my two little clones.

I was invited out to Eckert’s in Belleville, Illinois with my family to check out the beginning of Apple Fest! We had a full day of things to do at Eckert’s. My wife and I were thinking maybe two hours, but nope we had a beautiful day full of fun. The morning started out a little squirrelly than others. I am guessing the kids knew the sun was shining and we were making our way out the door. The kids already had me a little suspicious, they had been a little too ancy to get out of the house, but for the most part they had been awesome all morning. I figured something might’ve been up. I just wasn’t sure what their plan was. Those two kids come up with some crazy ideas, so I was on guard.

BIMG_582010 A.M. was our goal for arrival time and we actually arrived early. I was very happy with this. We make it on time, most of the time, but sometimes we’re late. Two kids can sometimes be a handful to get ready. But today we made it early enough that we figured why not make a lunch reservation so we didn’t have to wait once we were ready to eat. This was our plan after all. At least we tell ourselves that. After a quick run down of the rest of our pending plans for the day we were off on the tractor to pick some apples!

Eckert’s had Johnson and Gala apples ready for the picking. There will be other varieties available in October. Be sure to check out Eckert’s website for when their different crops will be available. After a quick tractor ride to the orchard we got down to business picking some Johnson apples. Our goal was to get around 10 pounds of apples. My wife and I have a few plans for these which I plan to write about in a later post. After picking some tasty apples (we know, we tried one in the orchard!) we headed back as it was just about time for our lunch reservation. We could tell the kids were ready to eat with how fast they were munchin’ on the apple we gave them. So into Eckert’s Country Restaurant we went. Just in time for us to get seated immediately. That was the best part! A pro-tip from this dad is that if you are at Eckert’s and plan on eating after some apple picking, make your reservation before you go picking!

BIMG_5891Lunch at Eckert’s is always amazing. This go around I had a pull pork sandwich with an awesome apple butter bbq sauce. It was so tasty. My wife ordered a chicken pot pie which she said was delicious. It must have been since she finished the whole thing. Surprisingly, both of my children ate their entire lunch. They must have been either famished or Eckert’s just has the special touch that got my kids to finish their plate.

Let’s just say that never happens. Ever.

Let me also mention the biscuits and apple butter. O-M-G. My little picky daughter got in on some apple butter action. I was afraid she was gonna fill up on it so I had to slow her down. So and in a grilled cheese and hot dog, and now Abby and Alex were energized up for the rest of the day playing in the Fun Corral.

Every Saturday and Sunday in September Eckert’s is having Apple Fest. Pick apples, get some lunch, and then let the kids go crazy riding carnival rides, ponies, a camel and more! We got six tickets for the kids to use on some carnival rides. We also knew they wanted to ride either the camel or the ponies, but they took their time to decide. The first ride the kids enjoyed was the train. Alex is a trainiac, so it was a lot of fun for him and his big sister to ride together without mom and dad. Next up was the pirate ship. Mom had to ride this one so Alex could go too. That’s okay, my wife loves a good carnival ride. Because mom used up a ticket, Abby used the last ticket to ride the ferris wheel. She was hootin’ and hollarin’ inside the yellow cage about how awesome it was and that she couldn’t see our car. That’s okay kid, neither can I down here.

Mamma riding the pirate ship with the kids! #eckerts #applefest #notactualspeed

A video posted by St. Louis Dad (@dadstl) on

After the last ride the kids had made their decision. The camel didn’t make the cut, so it was off to the ponies for a nice relaxing ride in the shade. My wife thought Alex would freak out on the horse but he had a blast. Abby thinks she’s a princess when she’s on any sort of horse. I’m sure she’d love a pony from Santa this year. I might have to check the animal laws around my neighborhood.

WBIMG_5908e could have bought some more tickets to ride a few more rides but there are also things you can do that do not require any sort of tickets. Eckert’s has a little mini golf course setup that kids can try to putt around on. There is a huge sandbox that is always a popular option. Especially for my kids. It’s hard to keep them out when walking by. There are so many different photo opportunities and things to explore with your kids that it doesn’t have to be all about the carnival rides and bounce houses. They are awesome, but getting dirty in the sand with your kids is just a fun sometimes.

Finally using up the last bit of energy our lunch provided we had to grab some frozen custard. The menu is huge and the toppings are vast. However, I am a simple man, so I went with a plain vanilla, while the kids went just a little crazy with gummy worms and mini M&M’s. It was a nice way to top off the day. My wife and I had a blast with the kids and made many memories today. I know the kids had an eventful day as well because they both passed out on the ride home. Once home Abby asked for another apple, so I obliged. They’re just that good.

IMG_5993Now that you have made it this far into my exciting adventure at Eckert’s then I’ll let you in on a little secret. Follow me on Instagram and watch for a special post for a chance to win a $25 Eckert’s gift card later this week. It will be obvious when I post it, but you will have to follow me, like the photo, and follow Eckert’s on Instagram as well! 24 hours later I will make a list of everyone who liked the photo, verify they are following Eckert’s and will randomly select a winner. I will contact the winner and they will have 24 hours to respond before I select another, so on and so forth.

I would like to thank Eckert’s for the awesome day today and I think that if you haven’t been to Eckert’s to pick some apples and have a bite to eat, then you definitely need to find some time. It is well worth an adventure to Eckert’s, even if you don’t bring the kids.

Eckert’s provided St. Louis Dad with complimentary vouchers for Apple Fest in exchange for social media posts and an honest review of the days events. Check out Eckert’s online and be sure to follow them on Instagram!

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Eckert’s Apple Fest This Weekend!

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Eckert’s out in Belleville is inviting St. Louis Dad out for an exciting day and we wanted to spread the word! This weekend is Apple Fest which occurs every Saturday in September and includes: Pony & camel rides, carnival rides, bounce houses, animals for petting & more! You can check out Eckert’s website for more info or just wait for my full roundup review of our day out at Eckert’s.

You can also follow StLouis Dad on Instagram and Twitter for updates while I’m picking some apples this weekend! I hope to see you there!

A Fun Filled Rainy Day at Eckert’s!

with love from the St. Louis Dad familyToday turned out to be an awesome day. Forget the fact that it’s day light savings time and I just lost an hour of sleep. “Spring ahead!” they say… I say ba-humbug to DST. I must also mention that it was raining all morning causing us to be late to Eckert’s. Fast cars and wet roads might be manageable, but with two kids in the back ready for egg hunting. We needed to take it easy on the roads. Things quickly turned around once we arrived in Belleville, Illinois at Eckert’s Farm. It was still sprinkling when we were checking into Eckert’s Easter Egg-Citement event. We figured we completely missed out on the egg-hunt but were surprised to hear that we could participate in the 11 a.m. hunt. Apparently the rain was really coming down during the 10 a.m. hunt, so I guess we kinda got lucky.

IMG_3704Since it was still slightly raining we went over to Eckert’s store to check out the activities that were setup for the kids, but first we had to stop by and see the cutest baby animals ever. Abby and Alex got to see some baby ducklings, baby chicks, and some bunnies! Abby had a little more courage than Alex and sort of held them. Alex really didn’t want them near him, but he liked looking. My wife was asking for one of each. I don’t think we have the room.

After we played with the animals we headed on over to the Eckert’s store. The first thing we noticed was that there were not one but THREE different Easter bunnies there. Two white and one grey. They were taking pictures with all of the kids in a few different areas of the store.

IMG_3644The first station we stopped at had these awesome little balls of soil that kids could plant a bean seed and take home to watch grow. My daughter was very excited to plant her bean. I’m not sure she realizes that it’s a vegetable and not a flower. There was also a station where you could color your own lunch bag. These were sort of like your normal brown lunch bags but a lot cooler. They have a nice seam and a picture that kids can color. Definitely kept my kids busy for 10 minutes.

There was also face painting and cookie icing. You can also check out the store and pick up some goodies to take home, like some delicious apple butter. Mmmm, apple butter, more about that later.

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We had to make a visit with the Easter Bunny. My daughter Abby impresses me more each day and ran right up to him and gave him a hug and got a picture. Alex really didn’t want anything to do with the bunny, so mommy had to get in the picture too. My wife wanted me to mention that her hair was crazy because of the rain. I can agree, it was a little crazy looking. Sorry!

IMG_3713By now it had stopped raining completely and it was time to get ready for the next round of egg hunting. We scurried on over to the designated egg hunting grounds and waited for the countdown to begin. The rules were pretty simple. They have three sections marked off for three separate age groups. 0-2, 3-5, and 6-something. My oldest is five so I don’t remember what the next age group was. Each kid was limited to finding 12 eggs each so it would be fair for everyone. Abby gave me the Robert Deniro look when I told her this but she was a good sport and only grabbed twelve eggs. After the hunt we decided to grab a bite to eat at Eckert’s Restaurant but first the kids needed a little cleaning up from their muddy egg-cursion.

IMG_3656Back at the car we changed the kid’s clothes into something a little less muddy and wet, and a little more clean and dry. It’s always a good idea to pack an extra outfit for your kids if they are known to get dirty. Abby wasn’t as bad as Alex. He is like a magnet to muddy puddles. Abby likes them too but she can show control when mom and dad say no. Alex is just showing off and having a good time. I can’t blame him. I would be doing the same thing.

IMG_3686After cleanup we headed on over to the restaurant. I had never been to Eckert’s before so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect in terms of menu items. I thought it was very cool that there was a little corner for kids to play with some toys while we waited for a table. The wait wasn’t long at all and we were seated and got our order in the kitchen in no time. You get a nice supply of these tasty biscuits and apple butter. The apple butter is so delicious, you really don’t even need the biscuit. Definitely pick some up if you’re there.

Our meal was very tasty and neither child made a fuss about eating all of their food. Which is a really good thing for us. All of that fun really worked up an appetite. After we finished eating it was time to load up the kids and head back home. Alex fell asleep in the car and Abby serenaded us with her best rendition of Justin Beiber’s Sorry.

Does Eckert’s Easter Egg-Citement Event sound like a fun time to you? Believe me, if we had this much fun while it was rainy and wet, imagine how awesome it would be if it was sunny! Get your tickets today!

Eckert’s provided St. Louis Dad with complimentary Easter Egg-Citement tickets and a gift card for the Eckert’s Country Store and Restaurant in exchange for an honest review and social media postings about the event. Follow Eckert’s on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Wanna see a video of some of what we did today? Watch below! Music by St. Louis Dad / Missouri Mobile Productions.

Eckert’s Easter Egg-Citement Event!

STLDAD-bunnyEckert’s has another great event setup for Easter this year. Their Easter Egg-Citement event is a family fun event filled with activities for your family to enjoy. We are planning on taking the kids to do some egg hunting, face painting, see some baby animals and more this year.

Every year we go out and take the kids out on some egg hunts around town and we haven’t been to Eckert’s to participate in their egg hunt, so we’re pretty excited to check it out. We also put on our own hunt with everyone in our family. My wife and I filled around 300 eggs last year and I am sure we will fill even more this year. We are excited about the event at Eckert’s this year and are hoping for some beautiful weather. Be sure to check back for a follow up post after the event. You can follow St. Louis Dad on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to stay up to date about what’s going on in my world. Don’t forget to follow Eckert’s on Facebook and Twitter to stay current on all on the awesome stuff happening there.

The Easter Egg-Citement event does require tickets. Order your tickets online and save 50% March 12 & 13 with coupon code: Easter2016 – Get yours today!