Hiram Pumpkin Festival

This past weekend we met a co-worker of mine (the same who I planned the best birthday party ever with) and her two boys at the Hiram House Pumpkin Festival.  It’s a fun-filled day of rocket car rides, crafts, food, archery, pony rides, haunted houses, bouncy houses, candle making, and cookie decorating.  Needless to say it was an exciting day and despite the unusually warm weather and general insanity of traveling with 4 children between the ages of 2 and 6… we all had a great time.

Fi having a blast on the rocket car

The cookie Fi decorated

Lexi enjoys her cookie

Alexis was especially excited about riding the school bus (which drives you from where you park your car to the festival) and pony rides.  She was talking about these two exciting events all morning and in the car all the way there.  She’s ridden on a school bus one other time when we took it to Fiona’s school for open house.  She loved it so much that now every morning when she sees Fiona get on the bus to go to school she tries to sneak on too.

We began our day with pony rides where there was actually a mule to ride!  Fiona didn’t want to ride him, for some reason, maybe because he was too goofy looking.  Alexis tried, but I think she felt like she was too high up.  Unfortunately for Alexis all the ponies at the pony ride were pretty much horses.  She tried three different times and was too nervous.  It was too bad since she was really looking forward to riding a pony

We tried the haunted hay maze, but poor Fiona was completely petrified.  I had to carry her through it and she was screaming and shaking.  One of those situations where you ask the teenaged boy out front if it’s really scary and he says it’s not.  I really was pretty scary, even I jumped a few times when someone dressed like the scary guy in Scream comes jumping out at us from a dark corner while screaming. Somehow, we made it through and were able to enjoy the rest of the day.

The only other mishap took place during the rocket car ride when Lexi dropped the purple bear she picked up at one of the booths.  The rocket car was speeding down an awesome hill and suddenly the bear popped out of her hands, hit my mom in the head behind us, and fell down to the street.  Lexi was so upset.  The amazing thing, though is that on the drive home we found it laying in the street!  Now it’s our ‘Miracle Bear.’

And my scrapbook pages for the fun event…

The Great Geauga County Fair

Every year we end off our summer by going to the Geauga County Fair.  I’ve been going since I was Fiona’s age or younger and it was always so much fun as a kid.  I rode an elephant there, rode a countless number of ponies, and enjoyed all the fantastic food that county fairs have to offer.

Fiona looks forward to going every year now too, and for the first time this years trip really involved Alexis.  Last year she had only just turned 1, so now at just 2 years old she really got into the fair atmosphere more. She really enjoyed a funnel cake (how could you not?), seeing and petting all the animals, and did her first pony ride after watching Fiona have a turn.  Lexi was all smiles during the pony ride, and I foresee many more pony rides in her future. 🙂

Fiona tried her luck at a few games and won a very tiny-little purple dolphin after taking about 5 separate turns.  I guess it’s all about the fun… Fiona also rode the kiddie ferris wheel for the first time, and she loved it.  She also tried the kiddie roller coaster but thought it was to jarring.  I was just so proud of her for trying, she tends to be a more hesitant and cautious child, so the fact that she actually did these two rides was amazing.  I was so proud of her.

Both girls enjoyed the merry-go-round, as did I since I had to go with Lexi since she’s so small still.

And here are a couple scrapbook pages featuring our trip to the fair…