Trunk or Treat

James' school has their Fall Festival tonight which included "Trunk or Treating" - which is where parents decorate the trunk of their cars and pass out candy (instead of going house to house, the kids get to go trunk to trunk) - and carnival games. When I got there James was super confused and got a little upset when we werent leaving... but once we started playing he got more comfortable with me there and began to have a good time. Until the Festival began, and then he got even more confused with all the different costumes. His teacher put on an orange wig and James was about 5 seconds away from a meltdown. But then a little lion ran by with a cupcake and James snapped out of his almost freak out and started his hunt for candy. It truly amazes me how kids catch on to the whole idea of trick or treating. James even figured out that if he smiled and flapped his Batman cape the teacher and parents would give him more than just one piece of candy.

James was definitley ready to leave by the end, but he had a blast. And the best part is that now I dont have to feel guilty for not going trick or treating this year! Thats what I call a win win for everyone :)

Parking it up

Yesterday John and James went to the park, and from the pictures - James had a blast. I don't know how many more days are going to be this beautiful, but we are trying to live it up while we can. Even walking the dogs every day has turned into something that we look forward to.

Most of the leaves have not even turned color yet, but James loves playing in the ones that have fallen. I cant wait until they all fall and we can make a huge leaf pile for him.

Warning Labels

Charlotte has an Ikea. John tried to hid this fact from me in fear that he would have to go there. A few years ago, we went to the Ikea in Cincinnati with my mom. John made it about 20 feet into the first "show room" before getting overwhelmed and walking out. He has lived in fear of Ikea ever since. I on the other hand, love that store - and once I realized there was one less than 10 minutes away from me, off we went. John sat in the car looking defeated but I promised him we would by-pass most the rooms since we are currently overflowing with stuff in our townhouse... which basically meant we went right to the kids section. And wow, that had to be the coolest section. I'm not sure why we have ever shopped anywhere else! The cute little furniture and creative toys were just perfect and I don't know how James has ever lived without any of it! After I found several things that we just had to have, James found a toy that he could not let go of - a push cart. James has always loved his push toys but has outgrown all of them. This one is just perfect and seems durable enough for a toddler. As in typical Ikea fashion it was not put together, so when we got home James went down for his nap and John started putting it together. I headed out to walk the dogs and when I came back ... John was pushing James around the house in the cart. Literally in the cart.

Now, I have learned in the past that some of James toys are just way too much fun for John and he has a hard time using them as the toymaker intended. Never did I think that a simple wooden push cart from Ikea would be one of those. But it was. And has been for the past few weeks. And it always gets a little rambunctious, especially because the dogs always have to get involved in the chase. Without fail, James outlasts John and the dogs in this game - and so when John gets tired and stops, James takes over and just runs around pushing his cart and trying to get the dogs back in the game. Usually it ends up with the dogs just trying to get out of the way.

When James is finally done he plops down in front of the TV exhausted...  in his cart - I'm not sure what the weight limit for this cart, but I have a hunch it is not made for how it is being used. However, as John so diligently pointed out, there was nothing on the warning label about not using it as a riding toy. Can't argue with that logic.

Just one more picture...

Seriously - all of these animals were so incredibly cool!! John thinks I was joking when I said we should go back this weekend.

Petting Zoo of Dreams

I heard from someone at work that there is a petting zoo right outside of Charlotte that I just have to take James to - he will love it. My first thought was a bunch of goats that will try to eat our shirts and shoes and he will be terrified (I know I was terrified from my memories of a petting zoo!). Earlier this week John and I were talking about what to do this weekend and I mentioned that I heard of a petting zoo... and John was on his phone calling them for more information by the time I finished my sentence. He was told that they have lots of different kind of animals, not just bard yard animals. So now my curiosity was piqued. Fast forward to this morning, we were loaded up in the car early since we had a 9 am reservation for the wagon ride. John was grinning ear to ear. James and I were not so thrilled.

We pull in the long gravel driveway (I wish I got a picture of the entrance) and go through an open gate, on the other side of this gate were camels, llamas, goats, cows, deer, pigs and lots of other random animals just grazing. John and I just looked at each other - the gate was wide open! A camel could very easily just wander out and start walking down the road. It was surreal. I have never seen a camel grazing right next to a cow with a warthog walking by.

Once we parked and were lining up in the barn with the rest of our group for the wagon ride I began to realize that this really is a petting zoo and all the animals were all right up close. In the stalls next to the horses, there was a baby giraffe and a baby camel. They were both abandoned by their mothers so they were being nursed in the barn with the colts.

We were loaded up onto a wagon pulled by the biggest draft horses I have ever seen and off we went, bucket of food in hand. Our driver was awesome, pointing out all the different kids of animals and how to feed each one - but honestly, it was so hard to hear him over the oohs and ahhs of everyone.

This guy (no idea what he was... some sort of antelope is what John thought) got smart and bypassed all the people and went right to the floor of the wagon where all the spilled food was.

All of the buffalo and cows literally just opened their mouths and stuck their tongues out waiting for you to dump the food in - there were a few crude jokes from the dads on the wagon, but it was pretty hilarious.





The goats (mountain goats?) all tried getting in the wagon with us. They were super friendly but were a little more determined to get fed than some of the other animals

It was an amazing petting zoo, the wagon trip was about 90 minutes with nonstop animals - so it was a little overwhelming for James. By the end of the trip he was half asleep. He did great though, had a bit of a hard time sitting when the wagon was moving - but in all fairness, I did too. There was just so much to see! Hands down, this was the best petting zoo :)

Farm Fun

Last Fall, in Cleveland, I searched and searched for a farm that would let us actually go into the fields and pick our own pumpkins. We would have driven miles and miles just to go and pick our own pumpkin - but we could not find a single one in Northeastern Ohio. We could go to a farm, drink some apple cider and get the excitement of seeing the fields... but then the pumpkins were already picked and lined up by size for us. Kind of a buzz kill. We still went and we did have a lot of fun (looking back I can't believe how little James was then), I just kept thinking that it would be so cool to go get our own. I remember doing that when I was little and loving it.

THIS year, we were able to find just that - a farm that let us do all the work! And it was only 20 minutes away. And it had homemade cider! And it even had horses! Best. Farm. Ever.

It was a long morning, but so much fun. James kept running from one pumpkin to another trying to gather them all up - it was a wonderful way to welcome the beginning of Fall!