Gymnastics

We took Calvin to a gymnastics open gym time the other evening. 

 There were rings,

 and balance beams, 

 and lots of bars to hang and fall from. 

 His favorite thing by far was running down the bouncy runway 

 and jumping into the foam block pit. 

 Getting out was almost a fun as getting in. 

We will definitely be taking him there again for some late in the day energy burning. 

Jackolatern

Before Halloween, Calvin wanted to carve a pumpkin. 

 He picked out which one of the many pumpkins we have that he wanted to carve and did what he could to help. 

 When cutting the top was difficult, he agreed to scoop out "the guts". 

 That part he was pretty good at. 

 He picked a picture of the face he wanted on the pumpkin and helped me carve it.

 He was rather proud. 

Halloween is so much fun!

Hand-in-Hand

Calvin and I have been checking out an activity called "Hand in Hand" at our local Audubon Nature Center. 

 Our neighbor William and his mom were at one of the last ones we went to. 

 The theme was "ponds". 

The classes start with play time in a classroom with activities related to the theme, then a circle time with a story and getting to see and touch a real animal related to the theme. 

 Then we go for a walk and get hands on with what we just learned about. 

 Here they were trying to catch creatures from the pond. 

 They caught lots of water bugs and snails. 

 Calvin has no issues getting down and dirty with the activities. 

 Especially when there are mud puddles. 

Good "clean" fun! And educational!

Lilttle Pumpkin

Unplanned by us, a pumpkin vine grew in our front yard garden this year. 

 Calvin has been patiently watching it grow, looking forward to the day we got to pick it. 

 A few weeks ago, the day finally came!

 Calvin was very happy with how his pumpkin turned out. 

 He put it with the other pumpkins we had 

 and named it the "daddy pumpkin". 

It was very fun to watch it grow. Now he wants to carve it! 

Little Cal

A project we were given at Calvin's school was to decorate a large body shape however the child wanted to represent themselves. Here's Calvin's. 

It's the first one you see as you walk in the door. Calvin was the director of the project. He did the  letter stickers for his name on the hat. 

Petting Farm

We had another adventure with Jolene and her mommy this past summer. 

 We met up at a petting zoo on the Illinois/Wisconsin border. 

 We bought a bag of hay to feed the animals. 

 Calvin's favorite animal to feed was this massive cow. 

 Jolene, not so much. 

 Calvin wanted to give the whole bag of hay to this one animal. 

 No complaints from the cow. 

 Here they were getting a look at a very sad looking weasel. 

 And they stared at this empty cage for some time. 

 Calvin liked the pig pressing his nose up against the cage. 

 They got to brush the sheep,

 which they both enjoyed. 

 Couldn't get these pictures to turn the right way but they were too cute to not include them. 

 This is what their free bounce house looked like, not surprisingly. 

 There was also a little carousel with unlimited rides. 

 I think they would have stayed on it for hours if we had to let them. 

 We drew the line at 8 or 9 times. Lost count. 

 But then we were on to the miniature golf. 

 There was no one else playing so they could take their time and do what they wanted. 

 Last was a little playground. 

 They co-habitated for a while. 

 And had a great time doing it. 

Such a fun summer outing!