It's official-Sophie is part monkey!

Yesterday after a busy morning of a preschool field trip to the nature center (post to follow), we came home to rest and have naps. Sophie had been in her room for more than an hour. I assumed she was sleeping, because usually if she is not sleeping, she is talking or banging on the wall. Benny and I were having some quite time when we heard a loud crash followed by crying. Sophie had fallen out of her crib! I am not sure how she managed it yet. The gate came up to her chin and she didn't have anything to stand on to help her out. She was quite shaken up, but seems no worse for the wear. Has anyone else had a child do this???? Needless to say, Daddy lowered the mattress last night. It seems we have survived yet another dare devil stunt by Sophie!

Our Trip to the Bison Farm

Being from Michigan, it is tradition that in the fall you visit the orchard. You pick apples, have freshly made cider, donuts and goodies, take a hayride, pick pumpkins and have fun! Here in Kansas, we do not have orchards-but we do have bison farms! It seemed like a reasonable alternative to a trip to the orchard and a good way to spend a beautiful fall day. So, Sunday after church, our family headed an hour west to Smoky Hill Bison Farm. The farm boasted a corn maze, corn cannon, gourd slingshot, giant slide, tour of the bison farm, and lots of fall fun. As I mentioned, it was a beautiful day-70 and sunny and very, very windy. But here in Kansas, I find the sun too much sometimes. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and we have very little shade. The wind comes out of the plains at a rapid rate. I have heard that the average day in Kansas is windier than a windy day in Chicago. I don't know if its true, but I believe it! Once we reached the farm we have to put on sweatshirts and sunglasses to protect ourselves from the elements. Once the kids were busy with all the fun things to do, we seemed to forget all about the sun and the wind, and had to race to keep up with them.

First we visited the toddler area where the kids played in a huge box of corn kernels. This was endless fun for both of them. Sophie wasn't sure about it at first, but in no time she was burying her feet and digging, digging, digging. Eventually, Ben spotted the 'big kid' activities and wanted to move on.

After playing briefly in a toddle maze, we moved on to the big corn maze. There are clues throughout to help you get through. We picked up the American History clue sheet. You have to get the answer right to receive the right directions. To be safe, we also picked up the toddler version. Oddly enough, we did have a few discrepancies. Once Nick was insistent on his answer and I have to refer him to the toddler question. The directions weren't really much help because you had to make countless turns in between clues, but at least we felt we had some guidance.

Nick and Ben lead the way with Sophie and I bringing up the rear. Here is one cute shot of our little explorer.

Sophie was growing restless, so we had to put her down after awhile. She was so interested in everything around us, it took forever to move down the rows. She had to examine anything that looked different or seemed out of place. Eventually she resumed her position on Daddy's shoulders.

All in all, it took us over a half hour to work our way through the maze. We were very relieved to find the end. After a drink and a snack (thank goodness I packed Goldfish, because all the food was bison meat) we headed off for more fun. Next the boys took their try at the corn cannon, and the gourd slingshot. Nick was able to get his to fly about 250 yards.

After the slingshot we headed over to the play area where there was a giant slide down the side of a big hill. They had layed plastic down and you had to sit on a burlap bag. Hands down, this was Ben's favorite part of the day. He must have slid for a half hour. I stayed at the top with him and helped him onto his sack.

He flew down the hill so fast it was scary. The first time I thought 'There goes my baby!' He wanted to do it over and over and over and kept right up with all the big kids. Sophie enjoyed watching Ben from the comfort of the toddler area. Finally, we had to stop the sliding and pick some pumpkins. We weren't able to snag a wagon until we were in line to pay so I don't have any pictures of pumpkin picking. By this point Sophie was exhausted, and Nick's arms were full of pumpkins. Benny picked out all of the pumpkins and assigned one to each of us. He can't wait to carve them next week.

While we were in line to pay we were surprised to meet up with our friends the Hogans. They had been there most of the day too, but our paths had not yet crossed. I took a quick photo of the kids-Emma, Anja, Ben, Nicky and Sophie. Ben and Nicky see each other everyday at school, at CCD on Wednesday night and play together twice a week after school. They just can't get enough of each other. Nicky's little sister, Anja, has developed a crush on Ben and talks about him constantly. The kiddos played together a few minutes and then we went our separate ways.

Our trip to the Bison Farm was fun! It certainly can't compete with a trip to the orchard, but it was a great way to spend a fall day!

Mommy-Daughter Day

Please excuse our absence from the blogging world. We haven't had very much going on lately. We had some plans for both the previous weekends, but Benny who never gets sick had flu like symptoms both weekends. So, we missed out on the fall festival at Fort Riley called Apple Days. We have been the past two years, so at least we know what we missed out on, but Benny always enjoys it. We had been looking forward to Sophie having some fun this year. Last Sunday, we missed out on the St. Xavier school carnival. I had signed up to work a shift at the preschool booth, so I still went and watched all the kiddos having fun. It broke my heart to think Ben was home with a fever. Maybe we will have better luck this weekend!

On Thursday, Sophie and I had our first Mommy-Daughter day. Even though Benny is at preschool for three hours everyday, I find that we either run errands, or come home and take naps. We never take the time to do something fun! Plus, three hours isn't really enough time to venture too far from home. Lately, we have had an arrangement with my friend Dot. On Tuesdays I pick up her son, Nicky from preschool and bring him home to play with Benny. She returns the favor on Thursdays. The boys both enjoy their extra time together, and it gives Dot and I one day a week where we don't have to be back in three hours for pick-up. So, this Thursday we took advantage of the extra time and took a trip to the zoo!

Sophie has been to the zoo more times than I can count, but this was really the first time she noticed the animals. Plus, since it was Thursday no one was there and she was able to get out of the stroller and walk and explore. But, we did not take this adventure alone! Our friends Piper and Jackson were back in town, and they joined us for our fun day. Jackson is Sophie's friend who is just 17 days older. You may recall that his Daddy, JJ, worked with Nick for the past few years. Now JJ has left the Army and is working in Arkansas. They still haven't sold their house yet in Kansas, so Piper and Jackson come back from time to time to stay.

First we met for lunch at Panera Bread. I am thrilled that I can take Sophie to eat there, because picky Ben doesn't like anything there but the chocolate chip cookies. Sophie ate most of her grilled cheese, some of Jackson's turkey sandwich, and was thrilled by her yogurt in a tube (I found it messy, but she really did like it). We joke that Sophie is our human garbage disposal because she will eat most anything. Jackson wasn't so thrilled with his lunch, so he was sneaking bits to Sophie, and she was gladly accepting them. After our lunch, we headed to Sunset Zoo in Manhattan. It was the most beautiful fall day.

I missed a cute moment in the above photo. The kids had been trying to hold hands as we were walking. Of course I couldn't get them to do it again for a picture. Notice that Jackson is in a much more comfy stroller. By the end, we had traded because Sophie kept climbing back into his when they got out. Plus our stroller was easier for Jackson to push around, and he was very entertained doing so.

The kids stayed in their strollers for the first half of the trip. Most of the animals were sleeping, and there wasn't much they could see. Once we got to a spot in the zoo where there were a lot of exhibits right in a row, we let them get out and walk. They did stop though for a few breaks.

Jackson is much more affectionate than Sophie is. He is always trying to give her hugs, and she is always trying to avoid them. I was trying to sit her on this little ledge to get a cute picture. Jackson came out of nowhere to give her a hug. It didn't end pretty folks. In the picture it looks like they are going to tip backwards into the sunken flower bed. However, they both fell forward instead and crashed onto the sidewalk. Luckily there weren't any injuries.

I tried again for a picture of Sophie, but I couldn't get her to pay attention. She is wearing her favorite new shoes from Target that we picked up earlier in the week. She loves them and wants to wear them everyday. We are running out of things to match the raspberry color! Sometimes she wears shoes with her pajamas because she loves to have them on so much (which is different from last fall when I couldn't keep them on).

After viewing most of the animals, we hit the playground. It was so nice because for awhile we were the only ones there and the kids had the run of it. The double slide was a big hit as was the bridge. I didn't get many photos because our daredevil kids were scaring us, and we didn't feel that our four arms were enough to control them. Piper is helping them down the slide to prevent them from venturing too far onto the playground. After a few minutes, they both had so much courage that they were running too fast and trying to do things that 18 month olds just shouldn't do. Soon, Piper and I were too stressed out to let them play any longer and we moved them on to the petting zoo.

I thought that Sophie would enjoy the petting zoo more than she did. She fed one piece of food to a goat, and that was enough. She didn't want to touch them and after a few minutes just wanted to get back into Jackson's stroller. Benny has always loved the goats, so I assumed Sophie would too. She has no fear around our dog, Smokey, and the goats were much smaller. Jackson loved the goats and even brushed them. Poor little guy tripped though trying to get to one and took quite the nasty fall. Word has it that he has his first shinner.

We had a wonderful time at the zoo, with our wonderful friends. We will miss them so much when they leave Kansas for good! After a few hours our kids were officially tuckered out, and it was time to head home. Thanks for the fun day Jackson and Piper!

I promise more posts soon!