Halloween 2009 (2 months later...again)

So, here's another long-overdue post about our Halloween festivities.

September and October meant several trips to farms to see animals, pick pumpkins, and enjoy some hayrides. Our first excursion was in mid-September with some friends from church. We took a "girl's trip" to tour some local farms one Saturday, and both the kids and adults had a blast! The most interesting farm we toured was a lily farm, but the most exciting farm we toured was a more "conventional" farm which came complete with a hayride across the farmland. Sarah and her friend Sophie had a blast on the hayride, which really helped to kick-off our fall 2009 farm experience!

The first farm we visited as a family was Hill Ridge Farms in Youngsville, NC, which is about a 40 minute drive from Cary. This is definitely an all-day trip since there are so many activities on the farm. We didn't pay the extra costs for the gem mining or the train ride, but there were lots of other activities included in the admission price. We fed the farm animals, played in the house of corn (my FAVORITE activity), took a ride in the tunnel slide (Sarah's LEAST favorite activity), jumped in the hay barn, and had so much fun on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch where we picked our pumpkins!

Later in October, we took a trip to SC to visit Mimi and Papa Bagwell. While we were visiting, we took a trip to Denver Downs Farm where we enjoyed the corn maze, the hayride, and the various activities in the hay barn.

Needless to say, after all the farm festivities, we were feeling sufficiently "fall-ish" and we were excited for Halloween and trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood. Sarah's preschool had a Halloween party and parade where all the kids paraded through the school in their costumes. Halloween night itself brought unseasonably warm temperatures in the 70s, which meant that Sarah was sweating in her witch costume that was complete with hat and tights. Despite the summer weather in October, we had a great time trick-or-treating this year. Sarah really got the hang of ringing the doorbell and saying "trick-or-treat" and then saying "thank you" when she received candy. There were tons of kids and families out in the neighborhood and the Halloween festivities ended in a sort of impromptu neighborhood "street party" in one of the cul-de-sacs. The kids were all eating candy, and the parents were drinking their alcohol of choice and chatting, so everyone was happy. Sarah loved being a witch for Halloween, which was a welcomed relief from all the other 3 year old girls in Cary who were dressed as princesses. She was by far the cutest witch I've ever seen! (Please note my craftiness in making the striped tights which got LOTS of compliments...I purchased regular white tights, taped them off in stripes, and spray painted them with a metallic black paint.)

Sorry again for the delay in posting. Now that Christmas is upon us, I venture to say that the Christmas pics and updates will make it on the blog in, oh, say mid-March! I'm joking. Sort of. I hope. Maybe one of my 2010 resolutions will be to resume my blogging more regularly. But in the event that it IS March before you hear from me again, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2010!