Cruising

We have been trying to find a bike for Alex for a while. It seems like everytime we go out to look, he either doesn't want to try any of them, or he only wants to try the tiny bikes. Finally today, he was in the perfect mood for bike shopping and here is what he picked out.The handle bar even makes a fun revving sound! He could hardly wait to get home from the store to try it out.

Our neighbor was excited for him too and was giving him pointers.

Banjo

Zachary thinks his guitar is a banjo. And he loves to play.

The runny nose is just a bonus!

Giraffe

The other day Zachary came running up to me and said "Mommy, look at me!" "Oh, you're doing the splits." "I'm a giraffe!"

On our last trip to the zoo, we saw the giraffe drinking from the moat. He had to do the splits to get his face into the water. What a smarty-pants.

Happy Halloween!

We stuck to our routine, and went trick or treating at the shopping center down the street. Since it was a Sunday night, the church's fall festival must have been another night. But we still had fun and even took a mid trick or treat break for sushi.



When we got back home, the neighbor kids ran over and took Alex and Zachary trick or treating around the cul-de-sac. They were having so much fun that Phil took them down the street a ways. This is the first year that they have gone door to door, and the first year that Alex (and by extension, Zachary) really understood the whole concept. They enjoyed it and were so excited when they got back home.

Here they are with their haul.

The next day Alex was talking to someone and told them "I filled my basket all the way to the top!"

Parade and Festival

Alex's school was having their Halloween parade today. Since Alex was wearing his costume to school, Zachary decided to wear his to music class. About half of the kids in music class were dressed up, they were all super cute! We went back to school, and Zachary ran into the classroom to line up for the parade. The kids started out marching, but towards the end, only Teacher Elizabeth was still attempting to march!

After the parade, the kids handed out trick or treats to all of their friends, and Teacher Renate let them all pick one treat to enjoy before heading home. We took lunch to Daddy at work and visited his co-workers. Alex was so excited to show off his costume, he ran up to two ladies in uniform outside of Phil's building and told them "I'm a giraffe!" They were properly impressed. Later in the afternoon, we went back to the Island for the fall festival. The boys didn't want to go into the haunted house, but they did try out the jumpy house and had hot dogs and Halloween candy. We were going to try out the hayride, but they were waiting for dark to start running it. Apparently it was supposed to be a scary hayride.


And since we failed to remember our camera for Boo at the Zoo, I'll just make a note of it in this post. On Saturday the boys wore their costumes to the zoo and participated in the scavenger hunt. There were 5 clues, and they had to find the animal that the clues described. After they visited all 5 stations, they got a goody bag. So, while I actually remembered to go to Boo at the Zoo this year, I forgot the camera. Next year, next year.

Oops

Another opportunity to get a playgroup photo foiled. Karen hosted a pre-Halloween potluck and we all had good intentions of getting the kids together with their costumes for a picture. This is as close as I got....Zachary wearing his costume and part of Julia's.

Pumpkin Patch 2

We wanted to take a fun family adventure to a pumpkin patch and found a great one! The boys wore their costume jackets to keep cozy. They were warm and adorable!
This time we even got to ride in the wagon behind the tractor. The tractor took us out into the field to find the perfect pumpkins. We found some cute corn children too.
Then, when we were ready, the tractor took us back to the farm where we wandered aimlessly through the corn maze. Fortunately, Alex was able to find the way out. We visited with some of the animals, and Alex and Zachary went through the hay tunnels. Then, while Zachary went to listen to the music show in the barn, Alex discovered his love of corn grinding. He would have been happy to spend all day grinding up the corn and he talked the ear off of the poor girl working the stand. After grinding up some corn, the kids could take a little cup of the cracked corn to feed to the peacocks and chickens. Alex kept running back and forth to grind up more corn for the birds. Zachary eventually had a chance to grind it up too!