For 366 days, Ben told me that he was going to be a ghost for Halloween 2016. Every single time we read a story about Halloween, he stuck to the same costume idea. So of course, when we had half of his costume on, he decided that he would no longer be a ghost! Instead, he declared himself a ninja. So I took a scrap of fabric, wrapped it around his head, and agreed that he was a ninja. Done. I’m so glad that I did not invest more than $10 into his costume in the first place. Preschoolers are hilarious. And even more hilarious, I themed our family costumes around Ben being a ghost. So, here we are: a ghostbuster, the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, Slimer, and a ninja.

We spent a beautiful fall afternoon at the zoo’s Night Eyes event. It was our third year in a row and had a lovely trip around the zoo. Ben was finally old enough to enjoy the bounce house and got a kick out of all the decorations.

My attempt at a Fall photo shoot. Isn’t it picture perfect?

Another family tradition is visiting Center Grove Orchard. Things that made this trip extra excellent: Both boys being old enough to enjoy the variety of activities, the opening of a new train ride, Uncle Nate’s company, visiting on a weekday afternoon when the crowds were down, and having gorgeous weather. The only downside was that we went a wee bit late in the honey crisp apple season…

After several weeks of Halloween/Fall/Octoberfest/Etc celebrations, we wrapped things up by trick-or-treating! Another tradition is heading over to the nursing home to see Great Grandma and partake in the excellent tradition of getting candy every two steps from residents that are more than willing to bend the “one piece per child” rule. When we arrived home, I took Ben around to the neighbors that still had lights on. He was SO excited to knock on doors and tell jokes. It was pretty special to run around with him and see some friends.

Little did we know that this would be our last outing for a long time. Within 12 hours, Fred would be at the doctor and the rest of us would be sliding into quarantine with a variety of ailments. So well done, October. You were a beautiful party of autumnal glory. AhhhhhCHOO!

I was starting to accept that Ben’s love of trains and Thomas might be lessening over time. Jake the Pirate, Lightning McQueen, and other interests started popping up in his life. But Thomas the Train Engine made a big comeback in our house, just in time for the annual Day Out With Thomas event in Boone!

Ben was still in love with the experience, even though his reaction wasn’t as extreme as when he was three – squealing with joy at THE Thomas. But he was still excited and loved playing in the toy room, riding in the coaches, and meeting Sir Topham Hatt!

Fred was a little more impatient during the ride, as he just wanted to walk the aisle of the train and did not enjoy being confined to the seat for 20 minutes.

I don’t know how many more years of train obsessions we will get, but I’m going to soak it up while I can!

McHenry Park was such a great surprise on the tour, and the whole family made the trip!

Once again, I had no idea that this park existed before the challenge. Not only did it have awesome spray features, but it had fun bridges and natural play elements. We barely touched the play ground, because the other areas were more fun to explore.

I was surprised at how brave Ben was with the bridges. Maybe it’s because he has stayed up past his bedtime a couple times to watch part of America Ninja Warrior with me – maybe he got inspired.

There are many reasons why I like my husband. This is one of them.

The view from the shelter was spectacular. This was really a great find! If it hadn’t been so close to bedtime, we would have explored a little bit more. Once the 31 are done, I could see us heading back here to check it out!

Favorite Parks on the Tour:
1.) McHenry Park
2.) Sargent Park
3.) Grandview Park
4.) Westchester Park
5.) Good Park

Favorite Non-Parks on the Tour:
1.) Greenwood Park: Rose Garden
2.) Trestle Trail
3.) Woodlawn Cemetery
4.) Northwest Aquatic Center
5.) Waveland Trail

The third stop on our parks tour was Greenwood Park. We’ve been loving the new splash area at the playground part of this park, but the official challenge led to one of my favorite spots in the world: The Clare and Miles Mills Rose Garden.

It’s where we got engaged. It was the site of our wedding pictures and a variety of other family pictures. We were happy to make it part of our photo challenge and a quick stop on our anniversary date.

Favorite Parks on the Tour:
1.) Sargent Park
2.) Grandview Park

Favorite Non-Parks on the Tour:
1.) Greenwood Park: Rose Garden

We took advantage of my parents staying at our house to take a mini staycation for an early anniversary celebration. It was off to Madrid to bike the High Trestle Trail Bridge. After being on our list of things to do for a few years, I was thrilled to check it off. And the adventure did not disappoint. The views were spectacular; it made a great date!

Why, yes, we did sing the Jurassic Park theme song…

We stayed until the lights came on, but we left before it got too dark.

We stayed in Ames overnight, which was my first night away from Fred. Whew! I missed our little buddy, but it was pretty awesome knowing that Nina and Papa were going to take care of the Freddy alarm in the morning. 🙂 Jesse slept in, while I went to the hotel lobby and read a book with coffee. Like for real. Without interruptions. There were multiple chapters involved. It was amazing.

We also caught a movie – The BFG. It was a very pretty movie and an enjoyable experience, but I don’t think I would have liked it as much if I hadn’t have read the book first. It was one of my favorite books as a kid, and it was a great adaptation. However, if you didn’t have the background of the book, it would have been a little confusing and odd. But that’s a Roald Dahl story for you!

The grand finale was a belated birthday lunch for Jesse at Hickory Park. An excellent vacation and date with this guy. Happy 6th anniversary!

We took on quite the challenge this summer: TourDMParks!

31 Parks in 31 Days. Game on.

The boys are at great ages to do this. Ben (at almost 4) is old enough to be independent on the equipment and young enough to enjoy going to parks all the time. Fred (at 10 months) is old enough to enjoy swings and watch the big kids and young enough to lack the ability to run away – HA!

So far, so good. It has really caused me to branch out of my comfort zone. I tend to stay in central Des Moines and the western suburbs, and most of the challenge is taking me east. I had no idea what I was missing in Des Moines. I will gladly be used as a marketing tool for Des Moines Parks and Rec to gain some knowledge of my city. Here comes the selfies and hashtags!

I was excited to get started and decided to ride the momentum to two parks on the first day!

Sargent Park: What a find! I had no idea this area existed.

Pros: Convenient & clean(ish) potties, close parking, unique and interesting play structures, great views next to a bike trail with prairie flowers, cute design details, water feature

Cons: Some trash in a giant puddle at the end of the only slide, no shade

While it didn’t have traditional play equipment, there was a surprise at every turn. Bridges, a sun dial, and natural play elements really captured Ben’s attention.

Unfortunately, the slide to the lower level ended in a giant dirty puddle. And the net bridge was neat, but I feared Ben’s little foot would just slip through. There were also obviously patched places, so I wasn’t too sad when Ben was “too cared” to go across.

Speaking of being scared, I tried to get Ben excited about the park by reminding him about the Billy Goats Gruff story. We watched a YouTube video with a very tame troll, and I told him we could act out the story and pretend once we got there. As soon as he saw the bridges, he announced, “Ummm…Mom….I don’t want to ‘tend today…..” My sweet boy.

There were sweet details in the park, including little animal prints in the cement and a neat water feature. Climbing on stumps and through a giant log was great fun. It was a nice morning to see Ben experimenting with the different play elements.

And we squeezed in the official picture by the creek access. Sargent Park was a great first stop on the tour!

Grandview Park: After a short drive, we landed in the middle of a disc golf course. Once again, I had no idea this park existed!

Pros: Great spray ground area, shaded picnic tables, quiet location with good visibility

Cons: Long walk to the potty, bottle caps/litter, no baby swings

My parents were driving into town, so they met us here for a picnic. It was an adorable area with a decent playground. Ben loved the bee hive spray feature, but the water was too chilly for Freddy. This was a great discovery!

Favorite Parks on the Tour:
1.) Sargent Park
2.) Grandview Park

I have discovered that if I don’t blog things immediately, it’s really hard to catch up unless it’s a monthly update. That’s why my faithful readers are still be waiting to see our February Disney trip. HA! So while the boys are both napping, here’s the amazing milestone from this morning: the boys’ first trip to Adventureland!!

We were hesitant to go on Memorial Day weekend, but it ended up being a great day to go! The crowds were down, the weather was great (other than a brief rainstorm), and we made it 4 hours without any of us having a meltdown. WIN!

When I say the “crowds were down”, I mean there was a 5 minute wait for just a couple of rides. The rest we completely walked on! There was so much for Ben to ride and he didn’t have to wait for any of it. So awesome.

Ben was so much of a daredevil!! He rode everything that his height allowed and was sad that he couldn’t get on the roller coasters. My brave boy!

Welcomed by Bernie Bernard

We walked right on the carousel. After pointing out how he was going to go up and down, Ben changed his mind and told us he wanted to sit on the chair. What a funny guy.

It was perfect timing again for the train. It was interesting that they are the same cars as the zoo train. But this ride was longer and went over a small lake!

I thought Ben would need a warm up ride, but he agreed right away to try The Galleon! After the first half, he lowered his head and I was a little worried. It turned out to be a bit hit, and I think that just fueled his love of rides for the rest of the day!

I was shocked at the lack of lines. It made visiting with an excited three year old really easy when waiting for things was taken out of the equation. Family tea cups!

The Red Baron – Ben’s first solo ride

Convoy: Ben took this ride very seriously. He actually checked and adjusted the mirrors after getting in the truck. This ride was definitely not long enough. Ha!

Kiddie Kars: Because sometimes you need to ride a pink motorcycle. He had the whole thing to himself!

Frog Hopper: I’m pretty sure Ben would have done this all day if we let him.

Ben has always loved maps, but his latest pirate obsession has made them an even more valuable tool.

Fred took a 45 minute snooze while his brother enjoyed the rides.

Infant Ocean: “It’s a boat race, Daddy!”

They did a round trip on the sky lift while Fred napped. I was a little nervous about this one too, so it’s a good thing he has Jesse as a dad to encourage these things.

The Tilt-a-Whirl

Puff the Dragon: Faster than you would think!

Chuck Wagon: My husband is a good sport…

Ben came with me on the Sawmill Splash. I immediately regretted the decision on the ramp up to the drop and was way more scared than Ben was! He loved it! As soon as we got off, it started to rain. We took cover in the circus, which featured dancers, a juggler, and tight rope walkers. Ben clapped along to the music and ate popcorn. It was perfect timing to dodge the storm!

Lighthouse: We were winding down by this point, but he was so excited for another ride.

And we had to get in one more family ride. We had the entire Giant Skywheel to ourselves! We even went for a second time around before heading to the car.

We went in expecting meltdowns, storms, and heavy crowds, but it ended up being an ideal visit. 18 rides, a circus, and a character greeting in 4 hours! Even better? The boys had so much fun that they took a synchronized nap in the afternoon. It was a fun-filled day at Adventureland!