Halloween is coming...

So I thought I'd post pictures of Halloween's past to see how much they've grown!

Halloween 2009

Monkey and Dracula

Halloween 2010

Star Wars Trooper and Yoda

Preview: Halloween 2011

Batman and Robin

Traditional Lebanese Boys

This time of year has the 'costumes' out. We have had this adorable traditional Lebanese outfit for a year or two and have been waiting for the boys to grow into it and hoping that their school will have a day celebrating their heritage and that they would get to wear it. So...being that it's the 'costume' time of year, we thought we'd get it out and try it on!

The World's Best Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we visited the local pumpkin patch. It is a charity run organization that specializes in miniature horses for horse therapy. They have had over 30 horses donated to their farm and this is their annual fundraiser. This pumpkin patch is geared towards toddlers and preschoolers, so it was perfect for us. It starts with a hay ride to get from the parking area to the farm.

Waiting for the tractor to come for the hayride....We bought tickets and went STRAIGHT to the petting zoo!

They had 4 animals to pet. All of the petting zoos that we have been to only have goats and sheep. This one had a miniature horse, a baby cow, a pig so fat that her belly was dragging (hopefully she was pregnant), and a miniature donkey.

The boys were saying 'here donkey!' and 'here cow!'.

A picture is worth a thousand words, you can SEE Zayne's hands are showing his frustration because I used his 'cup' to show them how to feed the little horse.

At one point, Malek accidentally tickled the donkeys ear and the donkey leaned his head into him and pushed him out of the way. Malek was giggling because the 'donkey pushed me!'. He knew that he had tickled it and I think he was really entertained that it had moved so quickly but didn't knock him over.

Then onto the horse rides. I love that they were able to ride miniature horses because they were just the right size and no one was scared to ride a horse that was much too big for them! A volunteer leads them around the arena and back so they each got to ride for a few minutes.

 In this section, the kids could lead the miniature horse through a small obstacle course. It was like leading a dog on a leash....except the Girl Scout volunteer and the horse seemed to be leading the boys instead! Malek LOVED this part, he had to have two turns, one with each horse!

Somewhere along the way they got their faces painted. Malek had a snake put on his cheek and Zayne had a spider put on his.

Zayne really doesn't like loud noises, but wanted to ride the riding lawnmower pulled train. So he rode it with his hands over his ears! It goes around the cages and they were able to see chickens and bunnies on this path. 

 There was a little maze for kids to go through, of course they had to do it on 'horse'. It was their first time on stick horses and they were too busy playing that they were galloping around instead of trying to find their way through!

And finally...the pumpkins. They were donated and not grown on site so they had already been picked. Each of them picked out their own pumpkin that we took home. Not sure if we'll paint them or carve them yet.

Haircuts!

It's that time of year again....much needed haircuts! I realized that Zayne was looking more and more like a baby with his baby curls and his hair was getting tangled. Malek's head was looking much too big for his body and he would sweat like crazy around the bottom of his hairline. Certainly hair cut time! The last time I cut Malek's hair, he asked for me to cut it like a troll and then I had to have everyone compliment his troll hair. This time..he wanted it to look 'just like Baba'. Malek giggled through the entire cut which helped ease Zayne's fear of the clippers.

Playing with a mohawk as we went along! 

Showing off new clothes and new haircuts!

The BIG Hotel

We ended up deciding to stay through the weekend at the resort in San Antonio. They have amazing pools and the kids spent at least 5 hours a day in the water. Instead of rings or floaties, we tried life jackets. They were able to move about much better in the water and I loved not having to worry that they might slip out.

Malek loved going down the 'Raging River' with Bassem!

Malek was floating down the lazy river and hanging onto the inner tube. When I told him I wanted a picture with his feet....he sure showed me his feet, aimed right at the camera!

They both got comfortable floating on their own.

Zayne kept jumping, going under, and coming up saying 'I'm a SHARK!'

Bassem told the boys that he'd make them both float in the lazy river....sure enough, they thought it was great!

Bassem and Malek in the 'Raging River'. They went down a water slide with Malek between Bassem's feet in the front of the double inner tube. At the bottom of the water slide is the river with all of the waterfalls and places that the kiddie pool kids can spray and splash you. Right after they go through this waterfall, they connect into the river where they met up with Zayne and I. Zayne decided that once was enough on the water slide. He wasn't as excited as Malek, who went a few times. :)

After the lazy river, water slides, and kiddie pool all closed for the evening, we ended up swimming up in the big pool. Bassem took Malek to use the restroom so it was just Zayne and I. Zayne started saying 'I'm a SHARK!' in the kiddie pool as he swam. So when he told me he was a 'BIG fish!', it was very cute....Until he threw a curve ball and told me he was swimming like a ......CAT?! What a silly boy! We always rescue butterflies and moths from our local pool so when he found a 'yellow bug' and tried to rescue it, he was very surprised that it stung him. He started screaming, 'The yellow bug bite me!' Luckily he wasn't allergic.

Playing with one of the 'GIANT IPad' coffee tables in hotel lobby later one evening. They played 'ribbons' and then we played a game of chess two on two.