fall fun at Hill Ridge Farms...

Deacon is old enough now that I wanted to take him to an area farm that boasted of kid-friendly, fun fall activities.  Things like a tractor ride and/or pumpkin patch, a corn maze, etc.  It just so happens there is such a place called Hill Ridge Farms and -- bonus! -- it's 10 minutes from where we have friends living in Wake Forest!  So we made plans to come visit them and they were able to go with us to the farm.

And while there wasn't a corn maze at this farm (there's always next year!), there were other fun things for little ones to do, including a "colorful maze".  And for the short amount of time we had before the little ones were [subconsciously] ready for a nap, we found plenty to keep them busy!

1) the "colorful" maze -- it was a little wet from rain the night before but we enjoyed it anyway
2) Deacon loves to slide!
3) "driving" the 'cool bus :)
4) a long tube stuck in a mound of hay bales

 [Scarlett, Emily & Deacon checking out the gigantic tee pee]

I think the adults liked this one just as much as the kids!  They had pig races (and duck races and goat races) around this small circle track.  It was the cutest thing and the kids were right there at the gate when the animals came around.  I think they really enjoyed that.

 [nothing like a big pile of hay bales to keep a boy busy...]

 [tractor ride!]

It was a picture perfect day -- seriously, we couldn't have ordered it better than it turned out -- and we enjoyed spending time with our friends out in the beauty of God's creation.  We love fall in this household!

Spring Fling 2013

 

Deacon went to his 3rd Spring Fling today.  Our church hosts this event every year and it's always a lot of fun for kids and adults alike.  The event caters to kids, but I think their parents enjoy seeing how happy they get just as much.  I know I do.

 

At this stage, I'm always curious to see how Deacon is going to react to something he's done before -- like going to the beach for the first time since last year, or an annual event like this that he was an entire year younger for last year.

 

Last year, he was in the "up to a year old" egg hunt so he was "big man on campus", you might say.  He was almost a year and a half old last year.  This year, he was in the 2-3 year old egg hunt so Jeff had to coach him a little bit...

 

"Buddy, you're gonna have to step up your game a little bit for this one...a lot of these kids are older/bigger than you so you're gonna have to bring it."

 

It was quite eye-opening for us as parents, too.  Considering the egg "hunt" is just a big open field with hundreds of eggs dumped on it, we had to really rush around to help Deacon get the 7 or 8  eggs he ended up with.  He still gets distracted easily so we had to keep after him to "keep looking for eggs".  But he did great, picking up the eggs he found and putting them in his basket (vs. licking them and putting them back on the ground, or worse, in other kids' baskets, like last year :).  It was a lot of fun to watch him.

 

[um, apparently he gave some kids the stink-eye...]

 

 

We also took a hayride.  Deacon loved this last year, and this year was no different.  We were able to be first in line for the next tractor (they had several running) so we got the benches right at the front of the trailer so Deacon was able to watch the tractor as it pulled us.  That happened last year, too, so I was thankful for that opportunity again.  Deacon really enjoyed it.

 

 

And then we took a pony ride.  I really didn't think this was happening this year because when we saw the horses + pony, I asked Deacon a couple of times, as he watched them, if he wanted to ride and he would always say "no" with his eyes as big as saucers.

 

Well, then we were talking to some friends and they asked him about the pony and he said he DID want to ride.  Right.  I'm thinking we're going to get back over there and he'll change his mind, but nope.  He got on, with Daddy close by and Mommy capturing the moment.  There were no smiles, and he balked a couple of times, but he stuck with it (the ride was only about a min long).  I was proud of him for trying it.

 

 

The weather was definitely not what we would prefer (it's actually kind of funny to look at photos of the first Spring Fling, and the second one, and notice how different our clothes were in each one), but it didn't keep folks away and we had a good time watching Deacon experience his 3rd Spring Fling.

 

Kids are never bothered by cold or hot, rainy or snowy weather anyway.  :)

Spring Fling 2012

This year's Spring Fling at our church was MUCH different than last year's, considering Deacon was almost a whole year older for it (17 mos vs. 6 mos last year).  He had the same time as last year for his egg hunt, 10:30am, but it meant something completely different.  We couldn't put him down until the whistle blew cuz he would make a bee-line for those eggs!

It was a lot of fun chasing him around the yard, watching his reaction to the eggs and other kids.  He still doesn't have the concept of gathering eggs yet, of course.  Last year he was chewing on eggs.  He was still doing that this year, but he could pick them up himself.  Then he would lick them a little, drop them back on the ground and move on to the next ones.

Nice.

So mama was following him around the yard with the basket, grabbing the ones he licked to put in his basket.  No need to spread those germs around, even if they are from my sweet boy.  :)

After the egg hunt, we went over to get in line for the tractor rides!  Oh man, did Deacon like that!  We got on the trailer that was hitched to the tractor that my boss, actually, was driving, Pastor Jimmie. 

Jimmie loves him some Deacon Wenzel.  :)

We sat right in the back of the trailer, so right next to the tractor and Deacon just watched it the whole time.  It was really a nice ride, longer than I thought it would be, and we had really nice weather -- windy, but very sunny, and not a cloud in the sky.

After the tractor ride, we went to get a hot dog and some popcorn for lunch.  By the time we finished up, Deacon mama & daddy had pretty much had all the fun they could take so we headed home for naps all around.

Of course, you know we took tons of photos...

Special thanks to our sweet friend, April, who volunteered to take photos for us during the egg hunt!  Gotta love thoughtful friends!  I'm looking forward to returning the favor for her after their first baby arrives in July!  :)