- Children's Museum Haunted House
- Conner Prairie Headless Horseman
- Indianapolis Zoo Boo
- Stoneycreek Farms pumpkin patch
- apple orchard (Emma went w/ preschool
Monday, October 31, 2011
Zoo Boo
We completed our last Halloween adventure on Saturday with a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo Boo. If you're keeping track, we did the following fall activities (have I mentioned that I LOVE the month of October?!?):
- Children's Museum Haunted House
- Conner Prairie Headless Horseman
- Indianapolis Zoo Boo
- Stoneycreek Farms pumpkin patch
- apple orchard (Emma went w/ preschool
- Children's Museum Haunted House
- Conner Prairie Headless Horseman
- Indianapolis Zoo Boo
- Stoneycreek Farms pumpkin patch
- apple orchard (Emma went w/ preschool
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Secret Pooper
So I have a confession I'd like to make, on behalf of my son.
He likes to poop in secrecy.
Preferably a corner, but really anywhere will do.
As long as you give him his "space" and leave him alone, he's good to go.
In his pants.
And we have finally captured a picture of this act.
He likes to poop in secrecy.
Preferably a corner, but really anywhere will do.
As long as you give him his "space" and leave him alone, he's good to go.
In his pants.
And we have finally captured a picture of this act.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
The Headless Horseman
On Sunday we took our annual trip to Conner Prairie to visit the Headless Horseman. I have been going to this for over 20 years now, so I am so happy to be passing one of my favorite fall activities down to my kids.
Just some of the many activities they have:
Just some of the many activities they have:
- Halloween Arts & Crafts
- Scary-O-Ke
- Legend of Sleepy Hollow Puppet Show
- Apple Store
- Hoe Down
- Make-Your-Own Gooey S'mores
- Story Telling
- Rhythm Fun & Dance
- Shocking Science Lab
- Pumpkin-A-Pult
 |
| Starting to get a little worried of the Headless Horseman on the Hayride.... |
 |
| ...the fear is starting to set in, with a little whining.... |
 |
| ....and this is the position Emma took for the entire ride. Scaredy Cat! |
 |
| Trying to get Emma to sit up next to me. And - being the true peach that she is - she refused. After all, the Headless Horseman could chop her head off at any time! |
 |
| The best we can do for a family picture. |
 |
| Poor Dubie. He was so scared, walking back to the car. His defense mechanism? Covering his ears. |
Monday, October 24, 2011
Purdue's Homecoming 2011
I decided to go to Purdue's Homecoming this year, and boy am I glad I did! Prior to this past weekend, I had only been back twice since graduating. And man, is it different! It's like an entirely new campus. The stadium is now (seemingly) twice as big, the Levee has doubled in size, and there are dozens of new buildings.
The one BIG thing that made me sad, though, was the lack of fans that showed up to Ross-Aide Stadium. There were a lot of empty seats. Hell, if it weren't for all the black and gold, you would have thought you were at an IU game.
Well, wait.
No. No, it wasn't that bad.
But it was completely different from my days. Back in the Brees era, our games sold out. They were on major networks. They were awesome.
But as I mentioned above, I found a lot of things different. And I felt - gasp - old. I kept saying, "When I was here...." And I referred to the players as "kids." Which is totally what they are. Just kids, having the time of their lives, playing the best sport in the world.
One of the "new" things I enjoyed was the song and dance number that everyone does - including the players - before the start of the 4th quarter. Everyone was dancing and acting a fool....it was so much fun to watch. I caught the very end of it, which you can see on the video at the end of this post.
I'm so glad I made it back to my Alma Mater! Hail Purdue.
The one BIG thing that made me sad, though, was the lack of fans that showed up to Ross-Aide Stadium. There were a lot of empty seats. Hell, if it weren't for all the black and gold, you would have thought you were at an IU game.
Well, wait.
No. No, it wasn't that bad.
But it was completely different from my days. Back in the Brees era, our games sold out. They were on major networks. They were awesome.
But as I mentioned above, I found a lot of things different. And I felt - gasp - old. I kept saying, "When I was here...." And I referred to the players as "kids." Which is totally what they are. Just kids, having the time of their lives, playing the best sport in the world.
One of the "new" things I enjoyed was the song and dance number that everyone does - including the players - before the start of the 4th quarter. Everyone was dancing and acting a fool....it was so much fun to watch. I caught the very end of it, which you can see on the video at the end of this post.
I'm so glad I made it back to my Alma Mater! Hail Purdue.
 |
| Here comes the jets.... |
 |
| An awesome fly-over! |
 |
| Me and Dad |
 |
| I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the band! |
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The Pumpkin Patch
One of our favorite family fall activities is visiting the pumpkin patch. And we love going to Stoneycreek Farms, where they have a plethora of things for little kids to see and do. Train rides, peddle cars, jumbo bouncy pillows, a small animal farm, corn mazes, "haunted" houses, and hayrides. They have it all.
 |
| Emma getting after it, on the peddle cars. |
 |
| Trying to get the two of them together, smiling is IMP. POS. ABLE. Take 1 |
 |
| Take 2 |
 |
| Take 3 |
 |
| Take 4 |
 |
| Okay, fine. I give up. |
 |
| The sign of a good time: both kiddos passed out! |
Monday, October 17, 2011
The Container Store's "Super Fan"
How did I become Indy's "Super Fan," you ask? Well, I randomly responded to a post on Facebook, asking why I love The Container Store so much. Such a simple thing for me to explain. I [super] *HEART* organization. In my world, everything has it's place....so this store is a dream.
Here's a snippet from my winning post:
I am the ULTIMATE fan of The Container Store! So much so that I've sent out a calendar request to my fellow co-workers, so that they'd have the grand opening of the Indy location on their calendars. I organize every thing from my accessories at home [HELLO--I made an "accessory station" in my bedroom] to the pens that are on my work desk (in color order, from type of pen). I *heart* The Container Store!!!
 |
| Posing in front of my special cart |
 |
| Enjoying all the employees cheering me on, as I was the first official customer to walk through the front door! |
Tangled Birthday Party
The theme of Emma's 5th birthday was "Tangled," as she absolutely loves this movie. I got a lot of cute ideas - both from a decor perspective, as well as an activities perspective from the following blogs. Check 'em out:
Tangled Invitations
I ordered some custom-made "Tangled" invitations, stickers, and return lables from Green Castle Design on etsy.com. They turned out super-cute!
Favors, Treat Bags, and Decor
I wish I would have taken some pictures of the favors and treat bags that I made for the kids; they were so cute. But I was so rushed the entire day, because I started my morning off with The Container Store (I was their "Super Fan".....seperate post to come on that), so I didn't think to take pictures of the decor and favors. Dangit!
So you'll just have to visualize it, if you weren't there. I made dozens (and I mean dozens) of these "Sun Flags", which I made multiple banners from, throughout the house and outside. They turned out fantastic. I used these same suns for the treat bags. I just bought plain old purple bags and glued the suns to them and filled them with candy, custom-made chocolate bars, and hair accessories for the girls.
Since kids love balloons, I decorated the walk-way up to the house with bright yellow balloons. I clustered groups of 4 together by threading the ends together using a needle and thread. Then I taped them to dowel rods and stuck them in the ground. Again, I wish I would have taken a picture of this.
Games and Crafts
To keep the kids entertained for 2 hours, I created an ROS - Run of Show - which included a handful of games and craft projects.
Bean Bag Toss
I made a Rapunzle Tower out of cardboard, which I used for this game (click here to check out the originator of this idea). The kids each got a chance to toss some bean bags into the tower. The object was to get the bean bag into the top floor. (There were a couple of "levels" to this game, as the tower had multiple floors.)
Find the Hidden Jewels
I hid a plethera of those chunky diamond jems (you know, the ones you use to decorate floral vases with) all throughout the back yard. I gave each child a goodie bag to use as their "stachel" to carry their jems in. After saying, "On your mark, get set, go!", each child was off and running, trying to find as many jewels as they could. This was a fun game for them to play; everything's a competition to them at this age.
Pinata
Of course we had a pinata for the kids to take a whack at! Although the end result is always a hit (hello...candy!), I've never had success with actually breaking the thing open. The two times I've done a pinata, I've had to tear it open myself. But, it's still fun for the kids to try whacking the heck out of it!
Pin-The-Frying-Pan-On-Flynn's-Nose
Keeping the theme in mind, I found a template of Flynn Rider with a missing nose here. If you're familiar with the movie, one of the funny scenes is when Rapunzle whacks Flynn over the head with a frying pan. I made the frying pans (click here for a template of those) ahead of time for all the kids....except Emma. Whoops! I was so concerned with making sure there would be a frying pan for everyone, that I forgot about the birthday girl!
Frying Pan Necklaces
Emma loves to do crafts, so I wanted to incorporate some sort of craft-making activity into the party. I found these cute necklaces on disneyfamily.com. Instead of using baby jar lids for the base of the pan, I substitued with the base of a tea light holder. You know those little tin foil things that they sit in? Well, they turned out to be the perfect size. I premade those bases by decopaging them with black tissue paper and hot gluing the "handles" to them (with a black pipe cleaner). I also pre-cut strands of ribbon (pink, purple, and black), allowing the girls to chose their own color for their necklace. I purchased some rhinestones in various colors, shapes, and sizes, allowing them to custom-make their own frying pan. Now, this is definitly an adult-aided craft, as you use a hot glue gun to attach the rhinestone to the pan. All in all, this turned out to be a fun craft. Some girls even made frying pan necklaces.
Pascal Blowers
Before the party, I pre-cut the body of the blower (Pascal's "head") in various colors of foam paper (from a free template I found at disneyfamily.com), as Pascal is a chemeleon and changes colors throughout the movie. Instead of cutting out the eye forms, I bought some googley eyes because well, they're just so much fun! The kids got to choose their own color and make the mouth of Pascal. Again, this is an adult-aided craft as the hot glue gun is needed to attach the eyes and adhear the blower to the foam.
- Paging Supermom
- Recession Home
- Green Castle Design (etsy shop)
Tangled Invitations
I ordered some custom-made "Tangled" invitations, stickers, and return lables from Green Castle Design on etsy.com. They turned out super-cute!
Favors, Treat Bags, and Decor
I wish I would have taken some pictures of the favors and treat bags that I made for the kids; they were so cute. But I was so rushed the entire day, because I started my morning off with The Container Store (I was their "Super Fan".....seperate post to come on that), so I didn't think to take pictures of the decor and favors. Dangit!
So you'll just have to visualize it, if you weren't there. I made dozens (and I mean dozens) of these "Sun Flags", which I made multiple banners from, throughout the house and outside. They turned out fantastic. I used these same suns for the treat bags. I just bought plain old purple bags and glued the suns to them and filled them with candy, custom-made chocolate bars, and hair accessories for the girls.
Since kids love balloons, I decorated the walk-way up to the house with bright yellow balloons. I clustered groups of 4 together by threading the ends together using a needle and thread. Then I taped them to dowel rods and stuck them in the ground. Again, I wish I would have taken a picture of this.
 |
| Favors: Tangled Hair Accessories for the girls |
 |
| Decor: Sun Banners hung throughout the house and outside. |
 |
| Custom Candy Bar (front) |
 |
| Custom Candy Bar (back) |
To keep the kids entertained for 2 hours, I created an ROS - Run of Show - which included a handful of games and craft projects.
I made a Rapunzle Tower out of cardboard, which I used for this game (click here to check out the originator of this idea). The kids each got a chance to toss some bean bags into the tower. The object was to get the bean bag into the top floor. (There were a couple of "levels" to this game, as the tower had multiple floors.)
 |
| Side view of the Rapunzle Tower I made out of cardboard. |
 |
| Emma tossing her bags into the tower. |
I hid a plethera of those chunky diamond jems (you know, the ones you use to decorate floral vases with) all throughout the back yard. I gave each child a goodie bag to use as their "stachel" to carry their jems in. After saying, "On your mark, get set, go!", each child was off and running, trying to find as many jewels as they could. This was a fun game for them to play; everything's a competition to them at this age.
 |
| Searching for some jewels under the playset. |
 |
| Emma stuffing her jewels into her "satchel." |
Of course we had a pinata for the kids to take a whack at! Although the end result is always a hit (hello...candy!), I've never had success with actually breaking the thing open. The two times I've done a pinata, I've had to tear it open myself. But, it's still fun for the kids to try whacking the heck out of it!
 |
| Watching Daddy tie up the pinata! |
 |
| Anna taking a whack at it. |
 |
| Ahhh, the end result: CANDY!!! |
Keeping the theme in mind, I found a template of Flynn Rider with a missing nose here. If you're familiar with the movie, one of the funny scenes is when Rapunzle whacks Flynn over the head with a frying pan. I made the frying pans (click here for a template of those) ahead of time for all the kids....except Emma. Whoops! I was so concerned with making sure there would be a frying pan for everyone, that I forgot about the birthday girl!
Frying Pan Necklaces
Emma loves to do crafts, so I wanted to incorporate some sort of craft-making activity into the party. I found these cute necklaces on disneyfamily.com. Instead of using baby jar lids for the base of the pan, I substitued with the base of a tea light holder. You know those little tin foil things that they sit in? Well, they turned out to be the perfect size. I premade those bases by decopaging them with black tissue paper and hot gluing the "handles" to them (with a black pipe cleaner). I also pre-cut strands of ribbon (pink, purple, and black), allowing the girls to chose their own color for their necklace. I purchased some rhinestones in various colors, shapes, and sizes, allowing them to custom-make their own frying pan. Now, this is definitly an adult-aided craft, as you use a hot glue gun to attach the rhinestone to the pan. All in all, this turned out to be a fun craft. Some girls even made frying pan necklaces.
Pascal Blowers
Before the party, I pre-cut the body of the blower (Pascal's "head") in various colors of foam paper (from a free template I found at disneyfamily.com), as Pascal is a chemeleon and changes colors throughout the movie. Instead of cutting out the eye forms, I bought some googley eyes because well, they're just so much fun! The kids got to choose their own color and make the mouth of Pascal. Again, this is an adult-aided craft as the hot glue gun is needed to attach the eyes and adhear the blower to the foam.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)