Halloween

This year Millie had a blast at Halloween. Millie was two different fairies. For school she dressed up in a Tinkerbell fairy costume that she has had for a while. She looked really cute. I went to the party at school. She got to parade around the school and watch all the other kids K-4 march in the parade. After that she got to play games, do a craft and have a special snack. In the evening I took her to the next town north Hudson. She got to go trick-or-treat at the local businesses. It was a little crazy with LOTS of people, but she enjoyed herself immensely. She was the only kid to stop and talk with each person that gave her a treat. She was very interested in talking to each of them. The next day we took a trip to visit Uncle Jim, Aunt Sheryl and cousins Jimmy and Josie in Chicago. We carved pumpkins and did trick-or-treat the next day on actual Halloween day. Aunt Sheryl made Millie a beautiful Rosetta fairy costume and her cousin Josie had a matching Tinkerbell costume. Aunt Sheryl was "mother nature" and Millie LOVED it. She had a blast. We all had to wear coats outside. It was pretty chilly, but we all had a great time.

Dussel Farm

In October we went down to Brimfield to Dussel Farm for some pumpkin picking. They had a lot for little kids to do there. Millie especially enjoyed the kid's "corn" maze. It was not made of corn though, but she really enjoyed all the blow up characters and trying to find her way out. They also had a full size bus filled with all sort of very scary Halloween ghosts and goblins. It didn't seem to phase Millie. I don't think she understood that they were supposed to be scary. We went on and off quickly because I don't like any of the "scary" of Halloween and just enjoy the harvest of the fall. We will skip the bus next year. We bought some local honey in addition to the pumpkin we let Millie choose. She really enjoyed it.

Fun at Maize Valley

Also in the middle of October we went to the Church Family Retreat followed by some fun at Maize Vally Farm. At the retreat Millie and I got to take a paddle boat ride and watch some friends do the climbing wall and zip line. I had to convince Millie that she should wait until next year to try the climbing wall. So, at Maize Valley there were lots of activities for her to enjoy. Here are just a couple of pictures of some fun things we did. Millie loved climbing on the super huge towers of hay, taking a kids tractor ride, racing ducks, watching pumpkins being shot out of a cannon, pig races and a hay ride. We followed up this fun with a meal at the Hartville Kitchen with some friends.

Our First Fall Hiking Spree

This fall Millie and I completed our first Fall Hiking Spree. Shannon hiked with us on a couple of occasions. We had a lot of fun and great exercise. Millie has recently become really interested in birds, so it will be even more fun come the Spring to hike. We completed eight walks between September and November. Most weeks we walked after church on Sunday's with a big group of friends or week night evenings with a smaller group of friends. We are hooked and will definitely continue with many more hiking spree's in the future.

Papa came this week for a 1.8 mile walk on a

Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful day.

Hiking this night with Jonah, Nene and Alli (not pictured.)

A Visit to Pon's Pon's House

Early in October we went down to Byesville, OH to visit Shannon's dad (Pon Pon) for a weekend. Pon Pon likes to take Millie fishing down at his pond. Millie loved the worms Pon Pon bought. She kept picking up the worms and then throwing them into the pond. We would yell "NO!" She kept on doing it. She thought it was so much fun. Mama helped Millie catch only one fish this time. Millie got too cold standing on the dock and wanted to explore. Shannon followed Millie around the pond's edge for about 5 minutes until she ended up IN the water and had to go inside and change. On our visit we also got to see Grandpa Harry's new purchase, and old Ford. We got to go sit in it. It was really fun. Millie also got to take a ride in the John Deer tractor with Pon Pon.

Standing in front of the Bruner Land Co.
sign where Papa and Pon Pon work.

Beckwith's Orchard

This year Millie's class went to Beckwith's Orchard again with all the preschool classes. Unfortunately, it poured down rain the entire time! We had to stay inside and learn all about the orchard. Lucky for us, we went last year so we already knew a lot about the orchard. Millie volunteered to be the first one to pull the rope to ring the bell. This was a great field trip for Millie because she could eat the apples just like all the other kids. We learned how they pick, sort and wash the apples and lots more. Millie also volunteered to be a tree during a demonstration and decided she wanted to be a "granny smith apple tree." She also loved getting to wear her rain-gear!

Aviation Heritage Fair

On September 12, 2009 I took Millie to Kent's Annual Aviation Fair. I had seen it advertised for the past two years and thought maybe Millie would enjoy it. We had fun seeing lots of different things. Millie really enjoyed going inside the old plane from WWII. She went in by herself and never wanted to come out. She enjoyed sitting on the seats inside. Millie liked getting to touch some of the planes and once she was allowed to sit in a few of the helicopter's/planes then she wanted to sit in them all. We will go back next year for sure!