Pumpkin Patch

We went to Carmichael’s Pumpkin Patch with some friends last weekend. It was the first time that our kids had gone to the “real” pumpkin patch and they had a blast! There was a nice petting zoo area. Ben and Elizabeth both fed the animals with help from Mom and Dad. Most of the animals were in pens, but the birds were all out and about which encouraged Ellie to climb up Dad and Ben to chase them down to give them food. Apparently Elizabeth was the only one that got the memo that beaks are sharp. :)

After feeding the animals, Ben was very eager to do the corn maze. The dads took all of the kids in the maze and they had a great time. When chickens and turkeys started running out of the maze, the moms knew that the kids must not be too far behind!

Our friend was a “veteran” pony rider so she was eager to do that again. Ben had never been on an animal before, but eagerly agreed to go for a ride as well. Ben rode Blaze and his friend rode Cookie. They both enjoyed the time and Ben sported a funny grin as he tried to figure out the best way to hold on.

We finished up our time at Carmichael’s by climbing on and selecting our pumpkins. The little kids even enjoyed that part and took turns on top of and in the piles. We had a wonderful time!! We can’t wait to go again next year!

Ben’s Bounce U Birthday

Ben decided a couple of months ago that he would have a bouncing birthday party with dinosaur decorations and cake. He selected how the cake would be specifically decorated, all of his party favors and requested special decorations. Hopefully we came close to his “vision”. The kids seemed to have a great time and Ben was proud to share his cake and treats with everyone.

By the time it was all over Ben spent about a week and a half celebrating with various family and friends. It was very exciting for him to turn four and be a “big kid”.

His first birthday celebration included a guitar pinata!

Dino cake #1

Dino Cake #2

The Fair

Ben enjoyed his first trip to the State Fair with Mom and Dad. He toured the Children’s Building, Petting Zoo, Birthing Center and the midway. Ben had predicted that there would be elephants and dogs that you could buy. We are not sure who told him about the fair, but it was funny what his preconceptions were. Anyway, we started at the Children’s Building and they had lots of hands-on science experiments, an obstacle course and other stuff to do that he really loved. Then we went to the petting zoo and birthing center. We fed some goats and “petted” a sheep. The pig was too far away to pet, but we looked at him for a long time to see how muddy he was. We also saw kangaroos, emus and other “wild” animals. In the Birthing Center they had chicks hatching, newborn goats, sheep and pigs. It was a huge hit for Ben. He wanted to know all of their birthdays (each cage had a sign) and said he wanted to see each one and we couldn’t go around anyone to skip any of the cages. He liked seeing the pregnant mommies too that were waiting for their babies to come.

After that we headed for some rides. We did the Ferris wheel first and it was a big hit. Then we had some dinner and headed to find more rides. Ben saw the giant roller coaster and was ready to jump on it. We had to go buy more tickets for it and on our way saw a smaller roller coaster that he could ride by himself. He said he would like to try that instead and loved it. He waved each time he came around and smiled and laughed the whole way. He did a couple of other fun rides after that and then it was time to head home for bedtime. He stopped to get a balloon from the clown on the way out in the Children’s Building and was excited to show it off at home to Ellie.