What a fantastic weekend full of Halloween fun! We had such beautiful weather and we made the most of it by doing some final fall activities before we get cold next week. Saturday we went to Halloween Nights at
Parky's Farm. We had told Leah about this on Friday - and all we heard for the next 24 hours was 'When are we going on a hayride?" I dressed Leah and Max appropriately for fall in their
Osh-
Kosh before we headed out for the day.
Before anyone was going on a hayride Saturday night two kiddos needed new winter coats (see pics below). After a quick trip home from our long day of shopping - yes, I did start my Christmas shopping! - we headed out to
Parky's Farm.
Parky's Farm is a part of the Hamilton County Parks and is a great place for toddler and preschool age children. There are many petting zoo type animals, playground and a small hiking trail. Each year
Parky's Farm puts together a month filled with fall activities at night. We were lucky enough to arrive just before the sun set for the night. We parked right along the fence of about a dozen horses. Leah made friends with one in particular. She really liked to pet him, but she was a little afraid to feed him.
Once we got through the main entrance, there were several activities to choose from. We decided to do the hayride first since there was not much of a line. The tractor pulled us through the lit-up woods. There were mainly large blow-up characters scattered throughout the woods, but Leah enjoyed it. Afterwards, we enjoyed a children's sing-a-long that Leah loved. She danced, laughed, sang and clapped.
Next we headed over to the pony rides - another activity that Leah had mentioned several times. She is learning patience. There was a long line for the pony rides, but Daddy kept her happy up on his shoulders.
It was finally Leah's turn, and she could not have been any happier.
Once we were finished with the pony ride we walked throughout
Parky's Farm to see all of the animals and found some great photo opportunities.
We then decided to do a hayride one more time. The line was quite long at this point, so what better way to distract Leah - with a pumpkin cookie!
We enjoyed sitting in the hay looking at the light displays. We know Leah enjoyed the night and can't wait for next year so that Max can be a bit more involved.
After leaving
Parky's Farm we headed over to
Graeter's for ice cream. This was a first for Leah. We ordered her vanilla, but of course she saw our 'purple ice cream', and there was no sharing on her part. Now, in the picture, she looks like quite a 'wild' child. Her pig tails had fallen out and fortunately there was a headband in the car!
After a busy Saturday we had a low-key Halloween Day. Both Leah and Max took excellent afternoon naps and were well rested for some pumpkin carving.
It was another beautiful day, so we headed outside to carve our pumpkins. Max hung out in his
exersaucer and Leah was very interested in what Daddy was doing.
For costumes I had
originally thought I would dress Leah and Max as Minnie and Mickey - but I saw a really cute scarecrow costume for Max - so I switched to Dorothy and the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz. Leah was the perfect Dorothy and Max a perfect Scarecrow!
I took Leah and Max to a few houses on our street while Pat gave out treats. Leah was a little timid at first. She is always very careful around strangers, and tonight was no exception. She wasn't too sure about going up to other people's homes, but after a few houses, she got the hang of it. She was really good about saying 'trick or treat' - we had been practicing all day - and she is always good about saying 'thank you.' After we had been to about a dozen homes, we headed back to our house. Leah had several suckers in her pumpkin bucket, so she was a happy camper - she wanted to go home to have a sucker! When we got back to the house, Pat and I switched duties so that he could enjoy some time with Leah and Max. The fresh air and stroll had Max sleeping pretty fast, while Leah was full of energy!
Once they got back, Leah wanted to hand out candy, and she did a pretty good job. She was frightened by some of the scary costumes, and she would run into the garage. I think she enjoyed passing out the candy more than going door-to-door herself.
What a perfect weekend!
Before anyone was going on a hayride Saturday night two kiddos needed new winter coats (see pics below). After a quick trip home from our long day of shopping - yes, I did start my Christmas shopping! - we headed out to Parky's Farm. Parky's Farm is a part of the Hamilton County Parks and is a great place for toddler and preschool age children. There are many petting zoo type animals, playground and a small hiking trail. Each year Parky's Farm puts together a month filled with fall activities at night. We were lucky enough to arrive just before the sun set for the night. We parked right along the fence of about a dozen horses. Leah made friends with one in particular. She really liked to pet him, but she was a little afraid to feed him. 
Once we got through the main entrance, there were several activities to choose from. We decided to do the hayride first since there was not much of a line. The tractor pulled us through the lit-up woods. There were mainly large blow-up characters scattered throughout the woods, but Leah enjoyed it. Afterwards, we enjoyed a children's sing-a-long that Leah loved. She danced, laughed, sang and clapped. 
Next we headed over to the pony rides - another activity that Leah had mentioned several times. She is learning patience. There was a long line for the pony rides, but Daddy kept her happy up on his shoulders. 
It was finally Leah's turn, and she could not have been any happier. 
Once we were finished with the pony ride we walked throughout Parky's Farm to see all of the animals and found some great photo opportunities. 
We then decided to do a hayride one more time. The line was quite long at this point, so what better way to distract Leah - with a pumpkin cookie! 
We enjoyed sitting in the hay looking at the light displays. We know Leah enjoyed the night and can't wait for next year so that Max can be a bit more involved. 
After leaving Parky's Farm we headed over to Graeter's for ice cream. This was a first for Leah. We ordered her vanilla, but of course she saw our 'purple ice cream', and there was no sharing on her part. Now, in the picture, she looks like quite a 'wild' child. Her pig tails had fallen out and fortunately there was a headband in the car!
After a busy Saturday we had a low-key Halloween Day. Both Leah and Max took excellent afternoon naps and were well rested for some pumpkin carving. 
It was another beautiful day, so we headed outside to carve our pumpkins. Max hung out in his exersaucer and Leah was very interested in what Daddy was doing. 
For costumes I had originally thought I would dress Leah and Max as Minnie and Mickey - but I saw a really cute scarecrow costume for Max - so I switched to Dorothy and the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz. Leah was the perfect Dorothy and Max a perfect Scarecrow!
I took Leah and Max to a few houses on our street while Pat gave out treats. Leah was a little timid at first. She is always very careful around strangers, and tonight was no exception. She wasn't too sure about going up to other people's homes, but after a few houses, she got the hang of it. She was really good about saying 'trick or treat' - we had been practicing all day - and she is always good about saying 'thank you.' After we had been to about a dozen homes, we headed back to our house. Leah had several suckers in her pumpkin bucket, so she was a happy camper - she wanted to go home to have a sucker! When we got back to the house, Pat and I switched duties so that he could enjoy some time with Leah and Max. The fresh air and stroll had Max sleeping pretty fast, while Leah was full of energy!
Once they got back, Leah wanted to hand out candy, and she did a pretty good job. She was frightened by some of the scary costumes, and she would run into the garage. I think she enjoyed passing out the candy more than going door-to-door herself. 
What a perfect weekend!
