Hee Haw Farms

On October 23rd, we took the boys to Hee Haw Farms. This has become our yearly fall tradition as opposed to Cornbelly's. I just can't handle the crowds and I can't justify spending an obscene amount of cash on something that really shouldn't cost that much. So Hee Haw Farms is where it's at!

The slide is always a favorite. I made the mistake of not taking my keys out of my back pocket before sliding down. That was fun.

They had a new bunny house this year and the boys were all over that. Miles especially. They kept making us go back to hold the bunnies. Those poor bunnies.

After that, we took the wagon thing (which was clearly built by a Cub Scout because the thing was going to fall apart any minute) to do the corn maze. I personally detest corn mazes. They trigger my anxiety and I'm either afraid of getting lost or one of my kids getting lost. But we stayed together for the most part and it wasn't too bad. I did, however, regret instantly dressing Miles in orange and gray.

After that, the boys rode the little animal train and rolled inside a giant tube. Because I guess that's fun.

Then we did my favorite activity: The Corn Pit! I helped them cover themselves and then Dave decided to "shower" them with corn feed. This led to the boys intentionally filling up their shirts and pants with corn, upon which hilariousness ensued.

 We had taken two cars so Dave could leave for work. He ended up leaving after the corn, so after the boys were finished, we got ice cream!

The boys rode the slide a few more times, climbed up this big hay stack, and then we went home! They had dirt in their shoes and corn in their underwear, but they had fun!

The Rest of October...

Last Boat Ride of the Season
On the 14th, we took our last boating trip before Dave had to winterize the boat. Cruise & Jett hadn't been on it yet and they really loved how fast it went. We had brought the GoPro, but a certain child who was in charge of it left it in the car. It mostly was because he was deathly afraid of this goose that was terrorizing the boat launch area. And it's true, the goose wanted to be fed and was using intimidation tactics.

We drove around the lake a little and then stopped at the little island for the kids to walk around. I sat around and broke rocks in half to see what was inside. It was more exciting than it sounds.

Halloween Cookies
Every year we make Halloween cookies. It's tradition. I found an amazing recipe this year and they are by far my most favorite. They turned out really soft and they kept their shape as well. Definitely one I will keep using. The boys had fun decorating as well as delivering a bunch to some of our neighbors. That may sound like I'm super nice, but really it's selfish because I know I'll just eat all of them and either get diabetes or gain 10 more pounds...probably both.

Flu Shots
Last year we let the boys get the flu mist but apparently the flu mist isn't effective according to the CDC, so we had to make them all get shots. Which was terrifying for Cruise. He's had sever anxiety about it for the past year or so. Dave and I didn't know how to tell them we were going to get shots one Friday, so we told them we had to grab dinner and run some errands before we went to the arcade. All true things. We got some dinner and then headed to the health department. Immediately Cruise and Jett recognized the building. Cruise went into full-blown meltdown mode with crying, and screaming, and shaking. Jett took another approach and remained calm but had the look of complete and utter betrayal on his face paired with quiet tears. It was heartbreaking. And then there was Miles who had no idea what was going on but was enjoying the emotional show laid out before him. We waited 45 minutes to get shots. 45 minutes of talking Cruise down from his anxiety ridden rant, as he paced back and forth, scaring small children everywhere. And of course after the shot, Cruise looked surprised and said he didn't feel a thing. Hopefully he will remember that next year.

My Birthday: #31
Ah, birthdays. Less and less significant the older you get. I honestly didn't really care this year about doing anything, and I don't like it when people make a big deal about it. I just want my cake and maybe a date.

My birthday landed on a Thursday. I got to get my hair done, but the rest of the day happened to be super busy, so we celebrated on Friday. We were actually going to go eat at Tucanos, but as we pulled up to the Riverwoods, I was reminded that every year, right before Halloween, they do a trick-or-treating event. Which meant 1: no parking and 2: our kids didn't have any costumes. So before the boys could see kids in their costumes getting candy, we quickly turned out of the parking lot and headed to Noodles & Company. Because, who doesn't like noodles? Afterwards, we headed home and had cake! Every year Dave makes me a cake and I always ask for German Chocolate because it's really the best kind of cake there is.

Dave got me some nice sterling silver, CZ post earrings that I had wanted. Jett made this adorable note for me. He is so sweet and thoughtful. And the fact that he gave me one of his dollars is kind of a big deal. That kid really likes having money in his wallet.

Halloween!
Halloween landed on a Monday this year. I woke up Halloween morning sick. Like, "I think I have strep" kind of sick. Before I had to take the kids to school, I called and made a dr. appointment for the afternoon. We took the kids to school and parked the car so we could find our seats for the big Halloween parade the school does every year. We were a little early, so Jett hung out with us until the bell rang. Jett was Luke Skywalker, Cruise was General Grievous, and Miles started out as Yoda, but refused to wear the ears, so he ended up being a Jedi. He learned how to use the force, so it was pretty adorable when he used it against Jett and Jett would throw himself backwards.

 It's always fun to see the costumes every year. Cruise always manages to wear a costume no one else has.

After the parade, I had to stay to help with Jett's class party despite feeling completely awful. Two hours later I was able to make it to the doctor only to be told it was just a bad virus. Yay. After picking the kids up from school, I took them home and then grabbed some jack-o-lantern pizzas that we get every year. Our neighbors across the street also invited us to a hot dog dinner at their place with the rest of the street, so we ate more food over there before the kids took off trick-or-treating.

Dave took them again and I stayed home to hand out candy. They actually didn't stay out very long and Miles had completely removed his costume after only a few minutes. But they still got a lot of candy!

And that wraps up October!