Happy Day Farm

This weekend, we visited Happy Day Farm in Manalapan. It was FANTASTIC-- I can't say enough great things about it! Everything was family friendly and for one price, we got to do a few hours of outdoor fun activities. (Except pick pumpkins. It was so hot, and the pumpkins were not included in the price... so we'll do that another day ;)

Hayride pics!

 

They had these giant blow-up horses that the boys hippity-hopped across the track. And these other awesome swings that were made out of tires. Tractor and horse-shaped.

 

 

And then there was the huge playground full of corn kernels. Oliver just LOVED being buried in that!

Pig races & cheesy jokes. Ollie was thrilled that the orange-collared pig won both times.

This gigantic pillowy thing was awesome for jumping! Both boys loved it. The pedal cars went around a little track and there were bigger ones for the adults. 

 

The corn maze was interesting... We walked around for at least 15 minutes and then were able to figure out where our location was on a map. Let me tell you-- we were not even close to getting through the entire maze! And then it hit me that I was feeling a little claustrophobic and did NOT want to be walking around any more & getting lost!
There was also a petting zoo and some awesome duck-racing opportunities.

Everyone loved launching some corn cobs into the air! 

20131006 151358 from Sheryl K. on Vimeo.

Fall Festival, 2013

There is pretty much nothing funnier than watching your kid eat a frosted donut off of a string.

 

 

Each year, I help out on the Fall Festival Committee at Trenton's school. They have a petting zoo, games for the kids, bouncy houses, etc... This year, I helped out with the relay races: pumpkin pushing and three-legged races. The weather was wonderful and the boys both had a blast.

Earlier that day, both boys had soccer games. Oliver's favorite part: SNACK ;)

Then they showered. And hung out with Daddy a bit.

And THEN we went over the Feldmans' house for a post-festival fall cook-out. Needless to say, everyone had a great time. As evidenced by the faces of the boys below:

NYC Day Trip

Oliver really wanted a day trip into the city. So we went!

First stop: the Papaya Dog outside the Port Authority, on 9th. Not a bad sweet treat for $1.50.

We headed uptown to meet Kevin and run around Lincoln Center. Huge fountain! Large sculptures, perfect for playing tag!

 

Then a great lunch at this amazing Mediterranean place, where Oliver had organic raw veggies, hummus, and warm pita. Kev and I had some kind of farro-tahini plate that was damn good.

 

We then took the subway downtown to meet up with my cousin Jen and her boys, Benjamin and Barron, at the Children's Museum of Art.
Oliver was excited to see the music/headphones exhibit that was in this part of the museum the last time we went... but wasn't too disappointed when he saw that they'd totally changed it up, and now huge sheets of clear plastic were hanging from the ceiling. Which of course means that you have to run through them.

 The room with the enormous exercise balls is always a hit.

 

As was this thing! I've never seen one that was so big. I'm telling you, it totally looks like one of those ultrasound pictures you get of your baby at 20 weeks!

He learned about what a chimera is and then made his own out of clay. He wanted to create a half snake, half caterpillar. And he did. Complete with googly eyes.

The return trip (express bus = 1.5 hr commute =  yeeessss!) always requires a late-day nap.

October at the Beach

Long shadows. Shorter days. 

But still 80 degree weather, so you can bet we hit the beach three times in the first week of October.

Only the locals are around to watch the drawbridge go up.

To climb on the rocks.

These kids would dig to China if you let them.

 
Always finding something awesome. This time they found real hermit crabs. They tickled our hands when they peeked out of the shell and started crawling around.
 

 

 

 

 I had to tell them that there was a very good chance that this would be the last time they get to come and swim in the water this year. :(
Ollie is mastering how to walk on his heels in the sand.

 And Trenton is happy to return next spring.

October Begins

These scarecrows don't do much to chase the bugs away... 

This year, the garden was pretty successful. We had a nice crop of cucumbers, which resulted in at least four different batches of pickles. The squash completely died out (perhaps because I tried to trellis it... will NOT try that again) and the peppers and eggplant took FOREVER to bear fruit. But right now, we have lots and lots of peppers and way too much eggplant. I'm freezing it to defrost and put in pasta this fall.

 

The flowers on the right are from our local Bear Creek Herbary. Ollie and I took a trip there the other day to feed the chickens. (Little did we know that the chickens were already fed.)

 

 It was so darn hot, I took it as a sign that I should wash my truck. Check out this little guy who absolutely refused to move off the windshield!