Other October Outings

During October, I felt like all we did was go shopping. However, when I went back and looked at pictures from this month, it seems like I did a few more things than just shop. 

We had a few playdates (well, Marco did).

We went to a sorta-science day at Old Salem with Asher

When we pulled up to Walmart (to go shopping), we were approached by a Colgate RV and the kids got their teeth checked and free teeth cleaning items. I didn't trust a word they said, but the kids had fun.

Lily had fun exploring the movie theater when I went to get some popcorn for our Halloween Party.

We ventured out to Lexington for their annual BBQ Festival. It was the largest festival (not carnival or fair) that we have been to yet.

Lily had a Preschool Halloween Party. When I came (for the last 30 minutes that parents were allowed to attend), Lily was so eager to name all of her friends and asked me to take her picture with all of them. The only two who were willing to get their picture taken were the teachers, and Colton. 

Overall, October was a great month. Kids had fun, kids were happy and their faces in the pictures prove that.

Halloween

We were invited to Allie Tucker's Church for a Trunk-or-Treat and Halloween Festival on Halloween Day from 5-8 pm. We were excited to jump at the opportunity, but were blown away at how extravagant everything was!

We pulled up to the church and it was a Mega-Church, and once we made it through the entrance - we were welcomed with rows of bounce houses, pony rides, rows of trunk-or-treat and dozens of extremely large pots of various types of chili (along with hot dogs). It seriously put our church's Halloween Party to shame. These guys sure do know how to throw one heck of a party. 

Now that Lily knew what trick-or-treating was, and how to go around asking for candy - she quickly became a pro. And everyone giving out candy thought that she was the most adorable little monster. (They also appreciated our family themed costume.)

I was very impressed with the amount of work that these church members went to in decorating their car to make for a fun trick or treating experience. And I was very impressed with the amount of service that they gave by freely giving of all of this candy to thousands of little children who attended this Halloween event. This was probably not cheap, and they didn't seem to bat an eye. They were more than happy to serve. While many of the people passing out candy told us, "Jesus lives" or "Jesus saves" or "Jesus loves you" it didn't bother me at all, because the love they had behind their statements was so genuine and so humble. It was an outreach on their part, and one that I noticed and warmed my heart that there are people out there that are so full of love and so willing to serve and do so without batting an eye. Thank you so much Allie Tucker's Church!

While we were at the Halloween Festival we received a text from Anna Marsh asking us to come over and go trick-or-treating at her house. Once we got there, Lily was in heaven! In fact, both of our children were in heaven. They loved the attention that they received from the Marsh family, and we enjoyed chatting with them and getting to know them better. 

Thank you Marsh family for having us over and letting us relax. We had a wonderful Halloween evening!

We rounded out the night by trick-or-treating at the Connor's home down the street. Lily came home telling me she was so scared of the skeleton. So, naturally, I had to head down to their home and check out their set up. It was awesome! We have such great neighbors. 

When it comes to friends, we really seem to always get so lucky!

Pre-Halloween Fun

Celebrating Halloween this year was so much fun because Lily was so into her costume and dressing up. Every day she asked if she could wear her Sulley costume, and several times I found her with Marco's Mike Wazowski costume on (true story). 

Our Church Halloween Party was the introduction to Halloween and "Trick-or-Treating." As a family we decided to go all out and have fun this Halloween and do a family-theme. Our Family theme was:

Monsters University

Daddy was Art

Mommy was PNK cheerleader Monster

Marco was Mike Wazowski

Lily was Sulley (James P. Sullivan)

Lily was especially excited to participate in the parade.

After going through about half the cars, Lily caught on to the concept of "trick or treating" and was so excited to go to the next car. Mommy made sure that she said "Thank You" each time she received a pice of candy.

The third time Lily was able to wear her costume was at her Preschool on the 30th. 

She loves her preschool class and her preschool teachers and she loves dressing up and she loves monsters. So the last week of October was one of the best for Halloween because she was so in her element and so happy. I love living vicariously through her happiness and enthusiasm and watching her experience new things.

Lazy 5 Ranch

On October 26, I was invited (through Parkgroups) to go to Lazy 5 Ranch. Apparently, if you get a group to go, then you get a discount ($10/person ages 1 and up compared to $16/person). I invited Rachel McClung (and her two adorable little boys) and we ventured out to find out about all the hype behind this Ranch. 

I came with no expectations. And left completely BLOWN AWAY! It was one of the coolest things I have done in a long time. I felt like I was on a safari/adventure/traveling/exploration/entertaining hay-ride. And I'm sorry to ruin the surprise for you, but if you ever come out and visit me - we are definitely going to Lazy 5 Ranch (even if we have to pay $16/person), it is so worth it! I hope that over the next few years I am able to post more pictures of this cool place on my blog and really give you a feeling like you're there on this wild wagon ride with me!

Word of advice (mostly to myself). Next time, I'm going to come better prepared...

~ I'm going to dress more appropriately (it was extremely cold and I only had on light jackets for the kids - we all got colds as a result of my carelessness). 

~ I'm going to make sure that I bring lots, and lots, and lots of hand sanitizer.

~ I'm going to bring another adult with me so that I'm not trying to manhandle two children, a camera, a phone, a purse, and a bumpy wagon ride (where any of the above could have easily fallen off).

~ I'm going to learn to take better pictures of this place.

~ I'm going to take advantage of feeding the animals, or having my children feed them.

~ I'm going to make sure that as Lily get's older that she gets to relieve this experience so that she can remember it and talk about it when she gets older.

Whew.

So... Lazy 5 Ranch is essential a great big area of land, where you can drive your own car through - or take a wagon ride (which I highly suggest) and you get to see all sorts of interesting and intriguing animals that you've probably never seen before, of never gotten that close to before. On top of that - you can pet them, feed them, be slobbered on by them, and have your picture taken with them. It is so incredible. 

Here's a list of some of the animals that we saw: 

Zebras

Ostriches

(Every sort of interesting) Cow

- Scotch Cow

- Watusi

- Texas Longhorn

Buffalo

Water Buffalo

Deer

Scotch Cow

Lemurs 

Pigs

Giraffes

Apparently on the 185 acre tour we went on, there are over 750 different exotic animals from all over the world. And in addition to all the animals we saw, we were able to see some animals on the ranch that were born the day before we came (as well as many mothers who were in active labor).

While on the wagon ride we were able to feed the majority of the animals. Even though it was a little intimidating to feed some and have them get so up-close, in your face - it was still a thrill!

Feeding the animals

Besides being cold, Lily loved seeing all the animals. Notice how at the end of the ride, her bucket is still almost full. She was a little timid and didn't want to feed the animals, but she sure loved looking at them and waving to them.

I was so proud of her for being brave and feeding the giraffe. I think that she would have fed more animals, had I not had my hands so full.

Here are some of my favorite group shots of everyone who came!

10 stars out of a possible 10 stars. 

This place is one of those hidden gems I never knew existed! It makes me want to continue exploring North Carolina to see what else is out there that I can discover!

9 mo. dr

October 23

Marco 9 Month Wellness Check Up

Stats:

Height = 27.5" (69.9 cm) 17%

Weight = 16 lb 3.5 oz (7.357 kg) 4%

Head Circumference = 44.1 cm (17.36") 23%

Shots = 1 (Flu Shot)

Marco is such a cute little boy. He is doing well and seems to have the pediatrician wrapped around his little finger. (We really are so lucky to have our pediatrician, not only as a family doctor, but as a good friend as well).

9 Months

Happy 9 Months Little Boy!

You are one resilient little boy who is full of smiles, determined to get your way, does not enjoy cuddling, and ultra skinny.

Here are some interesting facts:

Teeth: 4

Mobile Situation: Still stands up on his own, but can crawl faster than you'd believe

Words: None, just full of grunts to let us know he's communicating with us

Sleep: Goes to bed between 5:30-6:00 pm. Wakes up between 5:30-6:15 am to eat. After eating, goes to bed for another hour. 

Naps: 2 - Regularly (Morning - around 9:15 am, Afternoon - around 2:00 pm)

Favorite Toy: Anything Lily is interested in

Loves to eat: Anything. Seriously anything!

Size Diapers: 2

Very mischievous, always wants to play, hardly hardly ever cries, and has us wrapped around his finger.

Thanks for being such a cute little boy and coming into our lives! We love you Marco!