Keeping Busy

Now that summer is over (or at least is supposed to be, not sure what is up with the 80 degrees the past couple of weekends, but the vampire gene in me is detesting it....by now we should be maxing out at 60's!!), we have been spending a lot more time playing outside.  

We have been going on bike rides:

Taking walks (thanks again to all those who supported our Jimmy Fund walk. We raised over $1,000 as a team!!):

Spending time at playgrounds:

Enjoying the shores of the lake in CT:

Although this may appear to be a frog pose, it is actually Hunter's signature Spider-Man stance

And participating in Fall Festivals:

Hunter, GG, and Boppa watching a border collie herd up some sheep

I was not too thrilled that there was a trampoline at the entrance of the festival....Hunter didn't want to do anything else until he got his turn...which meant standing in a line for over an hour.  Ah well, the money went to charity, so I guess I can't be too bent out of shape about it.  Plus he loved doing Spider-Man jumps, and watching him have extreme fun for his five minutes was worth the wait in the end.

We went on a hay ride around the grounds of the school

Hunter insisted that this tortoise is "The" Raphael

That would be a giant cockroach in his hands.....ewww....

This little guy made me miss our old beardie, Maxx....can someone please help me convince that husband of mine that we need another bearded dragon!!

I'm pretty sure this is the first bald eagle I have ever seen in person

The festival we attended was at the Green Chimney's Special Education school, which is a program for children with social and behavioral issues that need extra care and attention that isn't always offered in public school systems. The therapeutic program incorporates academic, behavioral and emotional support in a comprehensive learning environment to help each child achieve new skills and confidence, and return to their home school district with the best chance of success.  Part of the program includes having the children learn to care for the animals on the farm.  Also, the animals that live on the farm are ones that have been injured or have defects that will not allow them to live on their own in the wild.  Here is a link to the site if anyone is interested in learning more or donating http://www.greenchimneys.org

In other Hunter news, he dresses up in his Spider-Man costume everyday.  Depending on the situation, Alex and I have to be Carnage or Venom (some of Spidey's foes), Batman, or Ninja Turtles.  He is doing great in school, and recently his teacher commented to us that he has such good independence skills that she uses him as an example for the other students to follow his lead.  His current favorite book is Giraffe and a Half. His favorite color is still red (although there was a day not too long ago where he switched it go blue). He enjoys super-hero movies, but the movie he repeats watches the most right now is Madagascar.  He still likes to be my little helper, and whenever he sees me carrying something (whether it be an armful of laundry or a little box) he asks if he can help me carry it. He is working on sounding out words to figure out the first letter (for example "sss,sss, sss sandals....sandals starts with S"). He is very excited about Halloween this year, he will be Spider-Man (if you couldn't guess already), and he wants Alex to be Carnage and me to be his girlfriend MJ...I told him that was too boring and I am going to be Raphaela (Raphael's twin sister) instead. He is getting very good at almost staying in the lines when coloring.  Long story long, he continues to get even more amazing every single day.

Happy Fall everyone!!