The (fake) Pumpkin Patch

We neglected to make it to this commercial "pumpkin patch" last year, and we told Oliver we would come for sure the next year. So this year, with all the business of daily activities, next thing we know it is the day before Halloween and we haven't been to the patch. It sits along the road next to Sam's Club, and on the way to a grocery run, Oliver reminds me that we promised to take him there this year. Uh. Talk about an excellent memory. Oliver's main desire at the patch is not necessarily to look for a pumpkin (not that I'd buy one here), but rather the giant puffy slide, and the petting zoo. I turn in. A nice man leaving the patch offers to us his last ticket to ride the slide. We accept with thanks. We walk around and check out the gourds and pumpkins and get a few pictures.

We stopped and bought some tickets to the "petting zoo" and the puffy slide. We hit the petting zoo first. Oliver cooed over the fluffy animals, and marvelled as he watched a goat poop (no, I don't have a picture of this).

Next stop: Puffy Slide. The last time we were here Oliver couldn't climb by himself, much less go down the slide, but this year he did everything himself...climbing and all. A big step for a boy that does not carry the "NO FEAR" gene. He was so proud.

And HE'S OFF! Check out the mouth. Wide open and screeches of delight pouring forth, non-stop.

Don't believe me about the screeches? Check out the video. It was like this all 6 times he rode it! You might want to pause the music so the screams can be heard :)

Here's the happy boy after cruising to his heart's delight...

As we buckle up, Oliver is perfectly content. It does not take much to please a 5-year old. It makes me so happy we squeezed in this trip to the "Pumpkin Patch!" To see more pictures from our trip to the patch click here.

King's Faire 2009

We enjoyed our first visit to King's Faire at Canyon Ridge Church this year. Just one more way to enjoy the Halloween/Fall Festivities, have fun, and acquire more candy. Oliver never contains his excitement for all things new!

First stop was to pick up a bag of candy. Let's see what we have...

On to the bouncer. Oliver just turned 5 and it was his first time inside one of these bouncy houses. I think of them as giant GermBoxes, but it was time I loosened up. The kids don't pay much attention to what they're doing, so I was waiting for an arm to be broken, but we managed to get through this unscathed.

On to some games. Win or lose, the reward is always the same...candy or some little trinket. Having never been to any festival, all the games were fabulous fun for Oliver. Truly simple pleasures where each game ended in screams of happiness. Oliver tries his hand at fishing.

Pure JOY at winning a lollipop.

On to more carnival rides/bouncy house things. This one included a maze which ended up in a slide. Oh, the thrills!

The Obstacle Course. IN.....THROUGH....and OUT.

We all take a break, deciding what to do next. Oliver gives his best girl and hug and kiss.

The kidlets are so sweet!

Maddie

Oliver

Oliver starts pouting when things don't go his way. Is this pathetic, or what?

Oh...the torture of being 5.

When all else fails...grab hold of the hand of mommy's friend :)

We head off to the preschool area where more Bouncy House Things awaited to be filled with scads of youngsters crawling with germs :0 Oliver loved all but one, where he refused to enter because "there was too much air." I told him the houses were filled with air so they would be fluffy, all he had to do was plow through the wall of air coming through the door to get inside. But, it just wasn't gonna happen. All-in-all it was a great time. The kids ran through the bouncy houses several times with such concentration. Notice the tongue...

The little ones didn't want leave, but the Faire was getting packed and the adults were ready to head home. On the way out, the kids got to pet the security horses.

Back at home, Oliver dumps his candy bags out on the kitchen table and scours the contents.

Happy. Boy.

His head lifts to the sky and a smile a mile-wide comes across his face. And this smile is what fills my dreams at night!

To see all the photos from the evening at King's Faire, click here.

More Taekwondo Pictures??

Why not? I show up every Thursday with my camera in hand and can never get enough of the Tiny Tigers in action. They are SO cute! Here are some shots of Oliver from this week's class.

Oliver is 5 - Godzilla takes Tokyo!!

Although we had been thinking about what "theme" to have for Oliver's rapidly approaching birthday this year, nothing was set in stone. An impromptu trip prior to his birthday left very little time to plan much of anything. His first four birthdays had had a lot of thought put into them, with invitations, goodie bags for the guests, games and prizes, a homemade meal for all the guests, and neat homemade cakes...but not this year. Well, except for the cake part. We just didn't have the energy, or, quite frankly, the money. We would do things the simple way. Quick, and easy. Although there was very little notice, we called Oliver's little neighborhood friends, and invited them over for pizza and cake...he is happiest when surrounded by his gang of kidlets.

Back to the theme. Let me preface this by saying Oliver is ALL BOY. He loves anything having to do with monsters, creepies, and all things scary...just not "too creepy" as he puts it. Since 3, he has been fascinated by the old Godzilla movies, and all the associated "monsters." From Fire Rodan to Mothra, Biollante to Mecha King Ghidora, and Ebirah to Hedorah, the boy is an expert at identifying and naming all the monsters of the Godzilla movies. So, naturally, we decided on a Godzilla Cake. I spent some time on google to get ideas. Yes, apparently there are many Godzilla fans out there, young and old alike! I took a few different ideas I liked and meshed them into my own, trying to keep it easy enough for me to do somewhat quickly, with what I had in my own kitchen. I spent one day making some cakes. I then put this baby together the next day, in the 3 hours prior to the guests arriving at our house. No...there was NO stress! Aaack! But, it got done, it looked pretty good considering the small amount of time I had, and, the best part, Oliver was totally thrilled with it! What else could a Momma ask for?

No, Mr. Godzilla is not made of fondant. I am not a total sucker for punishment! He was a very large figurine bought for the purpose of the cake. A perk was that he could also be used as a birthday present afterwards! I did make some fondant and used it to cover the rectangular tupperware container, covered it, and decorated it as a building. This container was what held some water and dry ice to create the smoky effect as Godzilla smashed down parts of "Tokyo." There were also a boatload of candles to create the effect of a city on fire. All the square buildings were cakes, as was the taller "pagoda" in the back. There was a crashed helicopter, some water, and a city street with rubble along both sides made from crushed Oreos and 'Nilla Wafers.. Godzilla's fire breath was a piece of paper I cut and colored, and taped in his mouth. All the buildings were frosted and spray-painted.

Oliver shows his age as he beams with excitement over his cake!


A couple photos of the birthday boy.

No games necessary. All the kids played out back until it was time for presents and cake. Some shots of Oliver & Friends.

Oliver and his girlfriends.

Oliver pauses to take a Birthday Call from Meme.

Oliver and Maddie

Present Time. With the economy the way it is, no gifts were necessary, but everyone was still so generous and Oliver received so many nice things. Games, balls, transformers, puzzles, some brainy-type games, a remote-control car, and some building sets. Enough to keep a little boy busy for a long while!

A quick picture with his cake before the Cake Lighting

Oliver & Company with the Godzilla Cake

Ryan, Zack, Layton, Tommy, Oliver, Karissa, Sierra, Amanda, Lindsay, and Maddie

Oliver takes a good gander at his mission. He said he forgot to make a wish because he was trying to figure out how in the world he was going to blow out ALLLL those candles!

With a little help from his friends, all the candles were finally blown out, all that hot fire had made plenty of melted mess, and the kids were ready to dive in!

Picture with Mom.

Picture with Dad.

And the aftermath.

Oliver's fifth Birthday party was a Monster-Stompin' smashing success! Oliver stills talks of his "Triple Marvelous" cake, and how fun it was to have all his friends over. To see more pictures from Oliver's Godzilla Birthday, click on the link.