Corn Maze-ing It Up!

Last weekend of course was American Thanksgiving.  We so enjoyed the four days off, and tried to cram in as much as possible on our "to-do" lists as we could.  It reminded us once again that we could REALLY do some serious catch-up if we ever could resign ourselves to a "stay-cation!"

We started off the holiday with Thanksgiving dinner at our house with Grandma and the Johnsons. It was a yummy meal and we have a fun visit.

The next day, we went on our second trip out to the Long & Scott Farms corn maze.  We went last year, and it was enjoyable enough that we decided to do it again.  It was a huge group this time (sorry, there were SO many people that I'm not even going to attempt to write down who was there, because I'll for sure miss someone, but let's just say that the usual suspects were there!) :). 

This year, we decided to tackle the kid's maze, which was just perfect.  They had five color stations where you would mark your fingers one-by-one, and at the end you'd have a fortune.  It kept the kids very entertained hunting for these things because it was fun to mark your fingers!  The kid's maze was much smaller, and so we were in there for about 30 minutes total - unlike last year where we wandered in the big maze endlessly until we found a map of the board and Amy "cheated" by taking a picture of the maze so that we could refer to her camera as a makeshift GPS to get ourselves out of there.  This time, we all walked out of there with smiles on our faces, so it was a success!

Marking his finger at one of the stations

A few of the kids at the top of a rickety bridge!

The other entertainment there is really fun, so the kids had a blast on the playground set, a bounce "pillow', and of course the famous zip line.  The kids could have stayed all afternoon, but the parents decided that afternoon naps should occur so we reluctantly left after a very fun morning.

What an action shot of Zachary in mid-air before landing on the bounce "pillow"

Zipline fun!

 We ended our Friday with having the Isidros and Johnsons over for supper.  We had missed Alan's birthday a few weeks back, so wanted to make it up to him.  The kids all had a fun time - especially when we made "rockets" out of alkaseltzer tablets and old film cases.

First time holding baby Erik - Zachary is in love!

 Saturday we hit the bowling alleys for a bit of fun - the kids really think that bowling is just wonderful.  We are hoping to go 5 pin bowling while we're in Canada, where the balls are perfect size for the little guys!

Sunday ended our fun, but busy, weekend with a Zbaraschuk "first".  We actually put up lights on our front hedge.....and tiny reindeer with lights.  We didn't want to go too crazy, so we haven't done anything else yet but it is a far cry from the old dark house that we've had in years past.  It is amazing what you'll do for a 5 year old, who is begging to have lights on the house.  Speaking of which, we have begun the nightly "Christmas light pageant" drive, where Karis and the boys drive around neighborhoods looking for the most amazing lights. Good times! :)

Phrase of the week:  We went to Amy's office to pick up some things (they're moving to the new Corporate Office building in a week), and Kaleb saw the baby pictures on her desk and said "That's Baby Me!"  So sweet.  Zachary's phrase this week was part of a conversation about school.  Amy asked him whether he had made a new friend at lunch that day by introducing himself.  Zachary said "no", and Amy replied that this is the method of making new friends, you introduce yourself etc.  Zachary then said "I have lots of friends, but I'm keeping it a secret."   Ha ha - not sure how they can be friends with you if it is a secret Zachary, but oh well!

Totally random, but I took a picture last time we went to Canada of them in their snowsuits.  Zachary was in the red one last time of course!  They're so excited, now cross our fingers for a lot of snow!