Back at the Farm

Just as we have for the last two years, my dad invited us to Grant's Farm to celebrate Halloween with his work people. This is always such a fun night because the place is closed just for the company and all of the beer, hot chocolate, and food are free!

I decided to get a quick picture of the kids all dressed up before I put all of their winter gear on them.  Unfortunately, also like other years, the night was FREEZING!   I am glad I got this picture, though, it was the best I got all season of the kids as Peter and Wendy.

After the chilly tram ride in, Amelia and Henry both enjoyed feeding the goats--always a highlight at Grant's Farm!

Then, it was off to the carousel!  Even in the cold weather, we just couldn't pass up a free ride with no wait.  Afterwards, we made a quick stop to pick up some hot chocolate though!

I didn't have a lot of chances to get pictures (and the only camera I had was my phone), but Amelia and Henry visited with the Clydesdales and danced the night away with Frankenstein, the Wizard of Oz cast, and others.  It was chilly, but we still enjoyed (pretty much) every minute!

On the way out, Amelia wanted her picture taken with this guy, but would only go by him if my parents joined her.  She thought it was great fun being by him and apparently she loved it so much that she woke up for the next 2 nights around 2 am talking about him.  Yikes--will have to re-think that picture next year!

Halloween Event #3

Event #3 was Amelia's pre-school party.  Henry and I didn't get to stick around very long because he had slept in that morning and I didn't even have time to feed him breakfast before we had to drop Amelia off at school.  Since he was a ticking time bomb, we just joined the trick-or-treat train around the school, grabbed a few pictures, and then left.  Unfortunately, Amelia wasn't REAL happy with my decision to stick around for such a short time, but she eventually recovered.  I think it had something to do with the cookies, candy, and cupcakes.....

 Trick or treating around the school.

Halloween Event #2

 Just like last year, my dad got special tickets to a private Halloween party at Grant's Farm.  And, just like last year, we had a great time!

 We started off by taking a "spooky" tram ride through the park grounds.  As soon as we exited, Amelia and Henry were given glow sticks and immediately directed to the goat feeding area.  The kids had unlimited access to the bottles of milk for the baby goats, but one was enough for Amelia.  I think she was afraid the goat was going to chew up her dress.  She abandoned ship about halfway through the bottle.

Henry, on the other hand, thought it was the best thing ever!  He giggled the ENTIRE time and probably could have handled watching another bottle.

 Next up was the carousel.

After dinner and a little dancing, Amelia enjoyed some Dippin' Dots.  There has been some talk that this may be the last year given all of the turmoil with Anheuser-Busch InBev, so Amelia decided to given all the treats a try--Dippin' Dots, kettle corn, and hot chocolate.  This, of course, is in addition to the super pretzel with cheese and hot dog she had with dinner. Jason and I choose to partake in other "treats", like beer.

And hanging out with the Clydesdales!

This was a really great time!  Here's hoping that the tradition (and free beer) will continue for years to come!

Halloween Event #1

 As usual, I am extremely behind in my documentation.  I will try to keep the Halloween festivity posts short and sweet.

We had a trial run or sorts with a Halloween-themed library story time on the Tuesday before Halloween.  There was stories, games, songs, and even some dancing.  I was only able to snap a few pictures because Mr. Henry was all. over. the. place.

 Amelia suggested we make an oil can for Amelia as well as an axe.  The oil can was made from a hospital grade mucous sucker and some tin foil.  The axe was cardboard, a ruler, and foil.  Both only lasted about a day.

My first and only attempt at a picture of Amelia and Henry together in their costumes.

Pumpkins Galore

 I will spare you a lot of commentary and just say that this was our first trip of the season to the pumpkin patch.  If you don't include Eckerts (and I don't, since we went there for apples, really), this was Henry's first pumpkin patch experience.  I'm not sure that he knew what to make of it, but I am sure it will only be a matter of time before he loves pumpkin patch visits as much as his sister does.

The Main Event!

This year, our main trick-or-treating came on the day before Halloween when we took to Main Street to score some candy. Since we were fully booked for Halloween this year (and not with a single Halloween activity, actually), we were hoping the weather would work out and allow us at least to do a little candy collecting this year.

The rain ended late in the morning and after lunch, Amelia got her hair did again! Surprisingly, she is totally into having her hair in curlers. They were a great investment and I think they will get lots of use!

The curlers came out before Jason arrived home, so we did a mini photo shoot on the porch while we were waiting for his return. Amelia was totally feeling it and posing like a pro (which is pretty rare these days). Must have been something about the promise of candy.....

Did I mention that GG whipped this dress together in no time flat? I say "whipped" because she had just finished slaving over Amelia's flower girl dress and still had it in her to churn out the Annie costume too. Is Amelia lucky or what?? I would also like to mention that the whole costume cost less than $5 in materials too...woo!

We met a few friends down on Main St. As you can see, everyone was pretty giddy!

Emma made the cutest Minnie Mouse EVER! Check out her tiny pumpkin bucket.

Let the (trick or treating) games begin. Just ignore Uncle Dave in the background who couldn't even stop texting to enjoy a little fun with his only niece. Kidding Dave ;)

Amelia was pretty funny and received several compliments on her talking. She would say "trick or treat" on the approach and then "thank you" after the candy was dropped in her bucket. As she turned to leave, she would throw in a "Happy Halloween" or "Have a good night".

This was year #3 of Main St. trick or treating and one of my favorite Halloween traditions yet. Thanks to Uncle Dave, GG, and Grandma for joining us this year!

Down on the Farm--Halloween Style

Papa John came through once again with a fun family holiday activity. We attended a similar function at Grant's Farm for Christmas, but this time we celebrated a spooky Halloween visit. The park was closed down to the public and open only to those who received special invitations from Anheuser-Busch/InBev.

We learned from last time to get there nice and early and made it on to the second tram out to the fun. Here's our little Annie waiting for the tram to arrive. The fog machine was in full force and made it a little tricky to get a great picture.

On the tram with GG and Papa John. She was pretty taken with all of the "spooky" (pronounced "fooky") stuff. She loves to be scared!

Had to get a shot of her curly locks. Thanks to a suggestion from someone in my playgroup, Amelia was subjected to numerous sponge curlers strapped to her head for about an hour. Despite looking everywhere, I couldn't find a red, curly wig, so this was the alternative.

Much of the night was spent dancing in the courtyard to the DJ. He played everything from the "Monster Mash" to the "Duck Dance" to the new Miley Cyrus smash hit.

Regardless of the tune, she could not get enough!

A little YMCA action with a vampire.

Taking a dance break for a quick snapshot with Frank. Amelia was all for it until they stepped up for the picture. Frankenstein and Dracula were in charge of keeping the dancing going for the night and they both did a great job staying in character.

Back to dancing....seriously there was no stopping her.

The whole night had a pretty sweet set up. All food and drinks were complimentary including the various stands located around the park. Costumed characters greeted us coming off of the tram with glow sticks for the kids and Mad Science put on shows throughout the night in one of the smaller arenas.

And, of course, the horses were available to look at in the stable area. When Amelia wasn't on the dance floor, it was likely to find her here.

Of course, a trip to Grant's Farm wouldn't be complete without feeding the goats a bottle of milk (also free!). Amelia wasn't so sure about these pushy little guys. She did a lot of giggling but was a little squeamish about getting too close.

Personally, I think its great practice for baby Pom Pom. If she can feed these guys, she can feed anyone!

Throughout the park, there were various "fooky" displays set up. Amelia insisted we visit ALL of them. She also insisted that she get her picture taken with Frankenstein--that is, until she got up close to him. She was convinced he was going to move.

GG and Papa weren't scared though.

Another perk of the night were endless carousel rides--thoroughly enjoyed by the little one as you might imagine!

And it wouldn't be a trip to Grant's Farm without a picture with a Clydesdale. Amelia, while stroking the horse's mane, said, "Daddy, I just LOVE this horse!".

What a fun night! It was especially nice that it was planned for the choice night of the week given the rain. The night could not have been more perfect!