Maize Maze

We took the kids to Lancaster, PA for some fall fun a few weekends ago.  Seany has been to Cherry Crest Adventure Farm two times before, but it was Clare's first time!  The weather was kind of strange that day - the afternoon was warm-ish with threatening skies but soon those clouds were chased out by clear skies and chilly air.

The kids played on the wooden train out front while we got our bearings...

Then we checked the kids' heights relative to the farm's scale:

After a quick potty break, we checked out some of the activities - there was rubber duckie racing:

And a "left-turn only" maze to warm up in.  I asked Sean to give me a "serious" face so that I could match up a current picture of him...

...with a picture of Seanybear at almost 6 months old!!!

Soon, it was time for the "stalk talk" - which is when we are given our instructions for the maze. 

Family selfie!

And then it was time to get lost! I snapped this picture of the kids a couple of minutes into our adventure - I feel like I should have a caption contest for this one:

Inside the maze, we took little breaks to try out different obstacles and play equipment.

We made sure to take a break to refuel our energy stores with kettle corn:

Say "haybale!"  "Haybaby!!!"

And then we were finished!  We found and collected all of the puzzle pieces that make up the map and soon we were on our way out of the maze!  Hooray!

We celebrated by checking out the barnyard - the kids looked at and/or pet baby goats, sheep, llamas, piggies, and the biggest bunny I've ever seen.  And the main attraction of course, was the baby chicks:

After we'd had enough of the animals, we headed up to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins!!

 

Periodically throughout the day, the Strasburg train would chug by the farm and the kids loved hearing the whistle blow and then squeal about all the smoke coming out of the train.

The kids took a turn on the giant pillow bounce and then the big slides.

After the slides, we got one more snack and then headed home.  What a great way to kick off our fall!

Clare on Clare

Some snippets from Clare - I don't think we need to worry about her self-esteem right now:

Brushing her hair and looking at herself in the mirror:  "I'm the fairest one of all!"

Running towards me to get into the car one morning:  "Pretty girl on the loose!"

Clare told Sean a story and he laughed a lot, then Clare said: "I am SO funny!"

Her preschool had an Eagles spirit day to celebrate the Philadelphia Eagles last Friday.  Clare said, "No way, Jose!  Boo Eagles!  Go Giants!!"

Fire Station

It's Fire Prevention Week, so our town's fire station opened its doors once again  to let residents explore and meet the personnel.  For the fifth year in a row, we gladly attended:

"Driving" the fire truck:

Hanging out in the ambulance - Sean was the patient and Clare gave him giggle therapy to nurse him back to health:

I asked the kids to smile BIG!

Then I asked them to show me their brave faces:

And Seany, last night at age 5:

Last year at age 4:

Seany at 18 months:

Seany working the hose - he put out all the little fires in the windows of the playhouse - several times over.  Clare worked up the courage to do it, too but I had to stand right next to her instead of taking pictures :-)

After playing with a bunch of friends from school, the kids had hot dogs to finish off the night and Sean said he couldn't wait until next year's open house :-)

Beach pictures

It's October - why not share pictures of the beach?  :-)  We had a really great beach day one Saturday a few weeks ago.  We thought summer was over, but on a really hot, humid day, we headed for the shore after Seany's soccer game.  I made a point to bring me camera this time!

Taking off our flip flops:

Looking for our blanket...

Watching Seany as he goes boogie boarding with Daddy!

Cheese!

Memories

We have a lot of happy times here on the Sooy Kids blog, but it's not always day trips, ice cream, crafts, and silly faces.  There are mountains of laundry, unending grocery lists, daycare issues, booger-y sleeves, crumb-y floors, and tantrums, too.  Since this blog is a scrapbook/baby book for the kids, we like to keep the mood positive but sometimes things happen that are out of our control.  The Sooy Kids lost their Great Aunt Eileen this past weekend and we're upset and saddened by the loss.

I read a quote on the internet yesterday attributed to Dr. Seuss:  "Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory."  I think back to the many moments (both before and after the Sooy Kids arrived) that we have had at holidays, get-togethers, and visits.  These moments have built up in my mind as memories and I'm glad to have them.  It is good to be able to tell the kids about these memories in order to keep the memory of my Aunt Eileen, a/k/a "Baby Luke's Gramma", preserved for them and for me.