Fall Festival at Foxhollow Farm

Yesterday we headed out to a fall festival at Foxhollow Farm. It was great--they had a lot of kid activities, live music, food trucks, a hayride, pumpkins, etc. Kevin found it online and we didn't really know what to expect, but it ended up being a nice way to spend our morning!

 Riding the green tractor (of course)

 

 Going fishing

I so remember doing this as a kid at our school's fall festival. He dropped in his line and (magically) out came a toy clipped to the end. He caught a little green frog that he carried around the rest of the day. :)

 

 Inside the Hay Castle

 Waiting for the hayride

 Thankfully they had 3 hayrides running, so we really only had to wait a few minutes.

On the Hayride

After the ride, we walked towards a big contraption with children flying around all over the place. (I think it's called a reverse bungee?) Kevin asked Lewis if he wanted to do it, he said yes, so we got in line! Unfortunately the wait was close to 20 minutes, so we took turns walking around with Lewis while the other waited in line. Finally it was our turn, and it was soooo worth it:

 Starting out with some small bounces on the trampoline

 And then getting raised up for the big fun

Whee!

 

 Lew's flying!! 

I think those pictures are blurry because I was switching between pictures and video (and/or because my camera couldn't focus fast enough with him flying around), but you can still tell that he's grinning from ear to ear. :) It was awesome. 

Here are videos that Kevin and I took:

We made one last stop on the way out for a pony ride:

:)

It was a fun way to spend the morning. I love fall!

Feathered Friends Class at The Zoo

Our 2nd/final fall class at the zoo was yesterday morning. The theme was Feathered Friends, and they did a great job of talking about eggs, feathers, nests, colors, flight/wings, beaks, etc. Unfortunately, all Lewis was concerned with was riding the blue train! He was not interested in the class much at all--I was able to get him to sort of try some of the stations, but otherwise he was trying to make an exit from the building (which is always fun for Mama). :) They also had 3 or 4 birds for the kids to see, but Lewis wasn't swayed by them either. He had the train on the brain. :)

The first station he tried was making a bird's nest:

 Helping flatten the dough

 Adding strings and plant fibers to it

Next was an activity involving different beak sizes and shapes:

 He was supposed to try to pick up objects (bark, gummy worms, etc.) with different sizes and styles of tweezers to see how each worked.

Next, feather painting:

I thought he was going to give this one a go, but he quickly lost interest.

At the end of class we headed over to see some birds. Of course we ran across some other animals along the way:

 Checking out the armadillo :)

 The orangutan

I couldn't get a clear/non-reflective picture with or without the flash, so this was the best I got. He is just so cool.

 One of the birds we saw on our bird walk

As we finished the bird walk, a couple of zookeepers came by and told us they were getting ready to do a tiger training exercise nearby. Lewis and I headed on over to see it:

 Sit :)

 Stand? :)

 Good kitty cat :)

His name is Sparky and he weighs around 240 pounds. The treats they gave him for following the commands were fish and ground up (hamburger-like) horse meat. Yum! It was so, so neat to be that close to him!

Lewis, of course, didn't care to watch the cool tiger and just wanted to ride the train already. As is the case most every time we're there, it seems, the train had a delay. The girl said it wouldn't be running for an hour, so we headed to see some animals and play at the playground to fill some time. Along the way, we also decided to ride the carousel! I think Grandma Sharon and Uncle Scott took him once, but I'd never been on it.

Lew chose to ride a horse:

 I believe that is his thisissocool face. :)

 Trying to take a picture of us while going around in a circle and with Lewis going up/down on the horse was more challenging than I imagined. :) This was the best I could get.

 Petting a giraffe's hide

And cheesing it up with Elmo!

The whole zoo was decorated for the month-long Halloween party (which happens on weekend evenings). It was neat to get a view of what it's like without actually having to go and fight the crowds.

We finally made it to the playground and played for a little while until we heard the train's horn. We headed back to get our tickets and had a nice ride (though he didn't want to sit and wanted to lean his head out of the side). Still, he was happy so I was happy. Another (relatively) good zoo day.

Taking a Hike

Yesterday Lew and I talked about going for a hike. I told him we'd have to put our boots on to go since the grass would be too wet in the mornings (he's had a history with boots), and, much to my surprise, he actually went along with it! I gave them a trial run around the house yesterday, and he didn't want to take them off. He even wanted to nap, er 'not nap,' with them (though I didn't let him). I think I tried to put boots on him about a year ago and then again last winter, and he freaked out. I don't think he liked the way they felt, and he would throw a fit until I took them off. I'm so glad he's finally okay with them, although this particular pair won't be fitting him for much longer. For now, for today, they were fine.

I gave him the option of going to Creasey Mahan or Henry's Ark to hike. C.M.'s nature center was open this morning for a nature craft, plus trails to hike, playground, picnic area, etc. H.A. is where we can feed carrots to the animals and isn't really a 'hike' (more of a walk down a sometimes muddy gravel lane). He chose Henry's Ark (I tried to sway him, but that was his choice). :)

:)

Facing off with a turkey

Again, being pestered by the white one thisclose to us and the brown one on the other side of the fence. 

We walked on by together and they left us alone (until we had to walk by them again to get out of that area...). I'm not a fan of being approached by turkeys, roosters, ducks, etc. It gives me flashbacks to childhood when I got bitten on the fingers by a couple of aggressive ducks we were feeding. Oh well--we made it out alive.

Such a strange sight to see in Kentucky...

Finally, a goat to feed.

We had a hard time finding animals to eat our carrots at first. I think the animals were still resting when we arrived--when we passed back through on our way to the car, a lot were out and ready to see us.

:)

I think he ate that carrot, himself.

Glad to see our zebra friends again.

It was a very nice morning spent 'hiking' with my buddy. Before too long, we'll have to get out in the actual woods on an actual trail. I am absolutely loving this cooler weather and watching the color of leaves change on the trees. My favorite time of year. :)

Tots in Motion Class

Monday of this week, Lewis and I attended a class for 2-3 year olds at the Science Center. It was supposed to be 'Tots in Motion: Join us for a morning of music and movement, using children songs,' but it was more just about fall. They did have music going in the background, but the only songs we sang/danced to were The Wheels on the Bus and The Hokey Pokey. It was kind of disappointing. The teacher read a few fall-related books, we talked about why leaves fall and made leaf bracelets, the kids randomly played with (made a mess with) streamers, and there was a squirrel-related activity where the kids were to go around and gather cotton balls. Not the best class we've been to. It felt like we were winging it (coming from someone who used to wing it a lot as a teacher).

 Scooping oatmeal

 Lew lifting his foot like an animal in the book

 Light table

 Silly Lew

 Listening to another book about fall

This is Lew's version of 'You put your head in, you put your head out, you put your head in, and you shake it all about.'

After the class ended, we hit up KidZone and Science in Play for a little while:

 

Build Your Own Roller Coaster

Lew just liked taking the balls and throwing them through the holes.

One Soaking Wet and Wild Wedding

Yesterday was our friend Marian's wedding in Indianapolis. It rained most of our drive up, but there was just enough of a break in the weather to have the ceremony outdoors. Once it was over, people moved inside the venue (it was at the Indianapolis Art Center), under a covered patio, or inside the dining tent as it started to storm. Eventually we all had to go in the dining tent, and the ground turned into one sloppy mess of muddy water. Everyone ended up with varying degrees of wet/muddy shoes, and poor Marian's gorgeous wedding dress received a nice dip by the end of dinner. :) (My hair also grew in size as the night of off-on-storm-humidity went on...) 

The Waycross contingent, before the ceremony

Adie and I, waiting for dinner

With the beautiful bride

And Ben :)

Fully enjoying the open bar at our table :)

Marian's Dress!

Kendra's feet!

Adie, me, Kendra, and Julia (and a random stick from the meat-on-a-stick hors d'oeuvres)

There are literally 10+ attempts to get a picture on my camera, all with varying degrees of laughter and interruptions by others.

The groom, jamming as we were getting ready to leave.

They had a live band, and Reid (in the middle) got up and performed a song with them. It was pretty great!

The pictures kind of started going downhill from here on out, so we'll just stop there. :) It was great to see people and was a super fun celebration. Congrats, Marian and Reid!

Sick Days

I took Lewis to the pediatrician Monday morning after he woke up very warm and snotty and cough-y again. (He clocked in at just about 40 pounds and 40 inches tall.) The doctor found that he had an ear infection in his left ear and strep throat, so I'm glad we went and didn't try to tough it out! He had to miss both days of school this week (M and T) and will miss next week for their fall break, so he'll have plenty of time to get back to 100% and ready to kick some germs' butt yet again.

He has been on antibiotics since Monday, and today he seems to be in much better spirits. He's still a bit on the fussy side, but he is no longer feverish, is much (much!) less snotty, and his appetite has returned. I overheard Kevin asking him what he and Mama were going to do today, and he said, 'Eat pancakes?!' in a very sweet, hopeful voice (we usually only make pancakes on the weekends). I made them this morning and he ate 3-4 small ones, strawberries, and some of his yogurt. That's a lot, compared to the past 4-5 days, so things are looking up.

We did have a pretty good meltdown this morning. We ran to get some dog food and treats, and I picked out a couple of hot dog-shaped cookies for the dogs. Lewis really wanted to hold one, so I let him while we were checking out. At one point, I heard him say, 'Delicious,' and looked over to see that he'd bitten into/tasted the cookie (he didn't actually ingest any, but did get a taste of the icing on it). We finished checking out, loaded the car, and I took the cookie away so that the icing didn't melt all over him. That was it--he started crying and thrashing for 'Hot Doooooog!' as I was buckling him in his seat. He cried through the drive, through a stop for gas, and the rest of the way home. I'd ask him what was wrong, and he'd stop crying momentarily to say 'Hot Doooooog!' No amount of explaining that the cookies were for the dogs was getting through to him--when we got home, I let him give the cookies to Peter and Hattie, and he was fine after that. :) Phew! 

Kevin took a few pictures with his phone from a day last weekend--I'd run to Kroger during Lew's nap, and he'd woken up very upset and wanting Mama. Kevin sent me a text asking if I was going to be home anytime soon, and I arrived home to the two of them sitting on the porch, waiting for me. :) 

Poor Lewis was a hot mess. :)