Zoo Boo, 2009

While Grandma and Grandad were visiting, we went to the annual "Zoo Boo" at the Erie Zoo. The kids dressed up, went trick or treating, and had an excellent time!

Daddy holds a tired duck.

Grandma cuddles Nolan, who is teething on his costume!

Grandad, Matthew, and Grandma

Duck-Man down!

Collecting the loot

Our costumes are getting a workout this year- the boys have definitely gotten a lot of use out of them!

Brown's Berry Patch, Part II

In addition to the amazing playground, Brown's Berry Patch has a huge pick-your-own fruit plantation. This time of year, pumpkins and apples are in season. We went to the pumpkin patch and played in the field, the boys loved running around and trying to lift heavy pumpkins.





After playing in the pumpkin patch, we headed to the orchards to pick apples. There were several varieties available, and we picked several Gala and Crispin apples. The boys were able to see that apples don't just magically appear on grocery store shelves, and the apples were so juicy and crisp. There is nothing like fresh fruit, right off the tree!

Brown's Berry Patch, Part I

The perfect fall morning dawned and we departed Rochester for the town of Waterport, New York. The drive was quite scenic, along Lake Ontario with fall leaves glittering in the sun. At moments like these, I can forgive New York for all of its snow.

We drove to Brown's Berry Patch, a pick-your-own fruit farm with a big barnyard playground for the kids. The outer playground is free, and they have a massive playground with a corn maze, pedal cars, silo slide, and a giant outdoor jumping "pillow" for a small admission fee. We'll definitely return to this place- it is amazingly fun!

Hey, where did Grandad go?

ACK! Don't eat the corn from the corn maze!

On the giant jumping pillow

In which Nolan and I levitate

Honestly, this bouncing pillow was the most fun- ever!

Why Grandad has a bad back

Matt- driving without a license

Navigating the tire tunnel

Racing rubber ducks

How tall this fall? About 2 1/2 feet!

This one's nearing 3 1/2 feet.

Nolan loved riding the pony.

Matt takes his turn on a pony.

Grandma, getting ready to catch!

The Strong Museum of Play

My parents came out for a visit, and we decided to visit Rochester and the amazing Strong Museum of Play. This place is paradise for children, with a "Sesame Street" area, a miniature Wegman's grocery store, and a million other things that are all hands-on for the little ones. The butterfly room was beautiful, and they even let the children hold a butterfly while they are inside the exhibit.

At the mini-Wegman's, the children can shop for food and play the cashier role. Matt really liked pushing the button to make the conveyor belt move.



It was also "Superhero Weekend," so the boys were able to meet Spiderman, make their own capes, and play several games related to having super powers. Nolan was "No Man," since the power of "NO!" is the super power that all two-year-olds wield. As soon as he donned his cape, "No-Man" fled to demonstrate his powers to the masses.



The Sesame Street area contained several exhibits, including a taxi with a "broken" engine. Matthew was particularly enamored of the tubes and belts, while Nolan was more fond of attacking Daddy with a Big Bird puppet.



The giant museum upstairs was really interesting. Unfortunately, due to short attention spans on the part of the boys, we didn't get to see much of it. Grandad and Nolan did enjoy an area with a plasma-ray thingymajigger (trust me, that is what they're called).


The Story Adventure Land was amazing, and the boys spent quite a lot of time exploring the mock helicopter, boat, Mother Goose house, and Giant's Playroom. Grandma made both boys crowns, and the young king-superheroes ran around like crazy through this area of the museum.



After a full day at the museum, we checked into a local hotel for a "rest." The boys fell asleep in the car on the way to the hotel, but the excitement of staying in a hotel made them perk up as soon as we tried to lay them down. My wonderful parents called the Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse and moved up our reservation, and we headed out for dinner.

The restaurant was amazing, and right up Matt's alley. The food was good, and the animal heads decorating the wall would light up and occasionally talk during the meal. The first time the Bison spoke, both boys watched in wonder. Nolan's eyes lit up, he watched in fascination, then proceeded to freak out. Apparently, the kid is afraid of giant disembodied bison heads that can talk. Who knew? We can add "bison" to his list of strange fears, which includes balloons and plants.

Our weekend of fun wasn't over yet- stay tuned for our trip to Brown's Berry Patch!

Its beginning to look a lot like.... October?

October 16: a beautiful time of year. Pumpkins, costumes, brilliant leaves, and snow. We have three inches so far, and more to come in the next twenty four hours. Yes, in these northern climes we get snow when we should be having hay rides and playing football on the green grass.

Its a twisted version of "Which of These Things Does Not Belong," in which the choices are: Sun, Red Leaves, Pumpkins, Trick-or-Treat, Sleds.*






*In the event you live in a place where the four seasons are NOT winter, winter, winter, and construction: the answer is sun.

Lumberjacks

My dear husband went outside to split logs from our downed maple tree, and the two littlest lumberjacks went along to "help." I always get nervous when the boys want to tag along on these projects, particularly when the tool involved is called a mauler. Dennis always keeps them back a safe distance, and they really enjoy watching the process.




Once the boys realized they would not actually be allowed to handle the mauler, they decided to scale the tree stump and pretend to be on top of a mountain. This made for an excellent photo opportunity. It is very difficult to get pictures of the boys together, and the stump was so small they really had to huddle together to keep from tumbling from their perch.





Of course, Mom Taking Pictures is the most boring activity in the world, so they escaped to the swing set to let off some energy before the rain set in. Swinging is always fun!