Field Trips!

We have had a busy few days of field trips!

On Sunday, Jacob's preschool had a family fun day at Sugar Grove Nature Center.  A cold front had come through the night before, and although it felt like fall, 55 degrees with clouds and wind also felt coooold!  The kids and parents were free to explore the grounds, which is kind of set up like an outdoor adventure/obstacle course.

 Did someone say, "Explore?!"

Jacob was off and running.  Tree forts, a tee-pee made of sticks, and a swing made from tires all captivated him, as did crossing a dry creek bed and moving rocks from one place to the other.  It was boy-heaven!

One of the coolest activities was a zip line!  Frank zoomed him back and forth between the trees, and Jacob loved it.

I managed to get one picture of him and his new little friend K.

Our other little friend Carter did not want to be there AT ALL.  Normally this kind of thing is right up his alley, too, so I'm not sure why he was such a grouch.  After dealing with his fussiness for an hour and a half, we roasted some s'mores and called it a day.

Then on Tuesday, the preschool class had a field trip to Rader Farms, which is a pumpkin farm with all kinds of ag-themed activities for kids.  I wanted to chaperon, but I did not want to bring Carter the Grouch, especially after his performance on Sunday.  Since our sitter was taking a midterm that day, my parents agreed to watch Carter.

There were several other chaperons.  Actually, I think all the moms came with the exception of 2 or 3.  I was so curious to see how he interacted with everyone!  It was cute to watch all the kids line up in their school t-shirts... it made him seem so grown-up!

We took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch, and the kids got to choose their own pumpkin.

They also looked at some animals, which the class wasn't super-thrilled about.  ("They smell!"  "They'll poop on me!"  "Get it away!")

And finally it was time for free play.  The giant jumping pillow below is always a hit!

(Jacob is in the middle in this picture.  His buddy K is on the right, and the little girl in front is his good friend E.)

He got to drive a "caterpillar" tractor (below) pulled by a lawn tractor, climbed in a huge spider web, and jumped off hay bales.

After a quick snack, we were ready to go.

I'm so glad I was able to go with him on his first real field trip!