Maple Leaf 2012

We're getting pretty good at figuring out how to enjoy Maple Leaf and avoid the crowds.  First step: parade Saturday morning.

Cooper, Parker, and Zachary

As Coop was collecting candy from one of the parade entrants, he yelled back to Alan and Michael, who were doing this:

 "Hey fools!  You're missing all the candy!"

Second step: Return Saturday evening to ride rides:

And one more time on Sunday afternoon for donuts made in this fancy machine:

And more rides:

This was the first year Coop was interested in the carnival games.  I'm not a fan.  I wasn't prepared to pay $3 for the chance to win a goldfish that (a) we wouldn't likely win anyway and (b) would probably dead in a matter of days, if not hours.

Be we came upon this shark fishing game.  The sign says "1 shark = $3, 2 sharks = $5."  And then depending on how many sharks you get, you could choose a stuffed animal prize.

I was a little confused.  Is there a time limit?  "No."  Is there a limit on the number of times he can try to catch a shark?  "No."  Ok, so I pay you $5 and he gets to stand there until he catches two sharks.  And then he can trade in those two sharks for a stuffed animal from that pile?  "That's right, ma'am."  So in theory, I could just give you $5 for one of those stuffed animals?  "Um... yeah, I guess so."  If we don't want stuffed animals, can my kid just stand there and fish for sharks for as long as he wants?  "No, I'm sorry."  Fine.  Whatever.

Coop used some of his allowance money to buy vampire teeth.  They go well with the pirate costume.  A vampirate, if you will.

We made our yearly zombie friend, Little Bill.  I think he's actually currently sitting in Cooper's room wearing a witch costume.  Very versatile.

I love this drawing:

The big thing in the middle is a skeleton (you can tell because of the arm bones and scribbly ribs).  The thing on the left is a "spook," according to Cooper.  It's a guy who's holding his own head in his hand.  How awesome is that?!


Coop spent room time last weekend making mummies out of his stuffed animals and a roll of toilet paper.  Even the dolphin (far left) and the kitty (second from right) got in on the fun.

There's a house in Baldwin with creepy gory zombie-like Halloween decorations.  Cooper loves it, so whenever we're nearby, we have to stop and check out the from yard.  (Ick.)

Fall

Coop and I made a pumpkin pie:

Good thing Coop's mom isn't neurotic about raw eggs.  The boy loves to lick the bowl of whatever we're making.

And then we enjoyed gorgeous October weather by raking leaves off of the deck:

And into a pile in the yard:

A book and some decorations

Coop's cousins passed this book of riddles along to him.  Fabulous.  Just what the class clown needs.

Coop spent some of his allowance money buying white spider web stuff to tape in his windows:

And he made this 3-foot-tall pirate, complete with clothes:

A new friend, Skeleton.

 Unfortunately, Skeleton already broke his hip (which Alan replaced with a screw) and his elbow (which Alan fixed with fishing line).  So far, he's still hanging together...

One day during room time, Cooper asked for "a bucket of nails."  Um, no.  "A bunch of sharp sticks?"  Also no.  Turns out, he just used scotch tape and ran string all over his room to make a life-sized spider web:

Raintree events

A few weeks ago, Coop and I went to his class's potluck.  Here he is with Ava and Madeline, giggling like lunatics.

His food.  He started, of course, with the cupcake.  Made it through the pudding and some of the grapes, and then got distracted by the playground.

Note the pig-in-a-blanket.  When one of the parents dropped those off at the table, another parent said, "Oh, my child will be so exicted.  He usually only gets pigs-in-a-blanket at this picnic each year." 

Hunh.  My kid practically gets them every Tuesday.  Oh well.  We like nitrates.

Coop's class also took its yearly field trip to the pumpkin patch.  Here's Cooper and his friend Thomas on the hay wagon:

Cooper's pumpkin.  The kids are told that they can pick one "as big as your head."  Not bad.

Coop and Alan carving a jack-o-lantern.

Around the house

Lounging on the couch:

The three of us played a several-day-long game of Monopoly.  I ended up in jail at least seven times!  Crazy.  Coop was pretty ruthless buying properties, but he much prefers having more pieces of money ("three $10!") instead of larger denominations.  And he landed on my hotel one too many times, and we eventually had to call it.

We've also decided it might be time for Coop to earn an allowance (mostly so he can stop begging me to buy him crap).  So he gets $2 a week now, provided he makes his bed and keeps his room clean.  Day one:  Check.

And he can also earn extra money by doing other chores around the house.  He was on top of it the first weekend, vacuuming and sweeping the kitchen floor and bringing the trash downstairs and folding laundry.  Apparently, he's decided he doesn't need the extra quarters any more, though.

 Oh well... it was good while it lasted!

When my hair looks like this after a shower:

 Coop and Alan call it my "England hair."  Apparently, when we lived in England, I frequently went down to breakfast with Coop without actually combing my hair or making it not stand up.  Whatever.  I was living with college kids.  They wear pajama pants and fuzzy boots all the time.  So there.

Train-palooza in the living room:

A new pirate costume!  That fits!  For only $3 at a garage sale!  YAY! 

Arkansas, Arkansas, I just love ol' Arkansas

Last weekend, Cooper and I headed down to Fayetteville, Arkansas to visit some friends.  The three kids enjoyed riding together in the back of Stanley (my vehicle):

Caroline, who'll be two in December, Henry, who turns five in November, and Coop.

The boys walking downtown:

Enjoying a cinnamon roll at the farmers' market:

Digging:

Coop built this castle with Caroline's pink mega-blocks.  And he added Henry's dragons to guard the place.

He described it to Alan:  "This is the wicked witch's castle.  She looks like a pink princess, but she's really a wicked witch, and that's her evil pony."  Ok, then.

Soccer

We signed Coop up for soccer through Baldwin City Rec this fall.  Or, as Coop tells it, "now I can play soccer ball, too!"

 

Practices are 7pm on Wednesday evenings, which isn't a great time to ask a 5-year-old to focus, so he's been a little silly (shocking, I know) at practices.  And he claims to not like soccer.  Though he did make the winning suggestion for the team name: The Green Carnivores. 

Check out the tall socks covering little shin guards!

I'm not sure if this is proper form, but it seemed to work.  Sort of.

Warming up before the game.

The Carnivores' first game went well.  No one keeps score officially (except my kid), but we won handily.  Even Coop lost count once it got to 8-to-1 in the first quarter.  Miraculously, Cooper scored the first goal for our team!

Running toward the goal (or rather, following the herd to the goal):

And the obligatory "good game" line:

I think he had fun, but the red team had better post-game snacks than we did, so the day might've been a wash for him.

New play place and a new butterfly!

Lawrence has finally opened up an indoor play area!  About time.

 

This is the "inflatable pillow," which was like a cross between jumping on a trampoline and jumping on a bed.  Pretty cool, even for littler kiddos.

The obligatory hamster-cage style play gym:

And a rock wall:

The rest of the place was set up like the best playroom you could dream up but never afford with small cubicles with various play settings -- a kitchen, a costume area, a book nook, a work shop,  a vet's office, etc.  Pretty cool.

A co-worker of mine picked up an extra monarch chrysalis from [some organization in Lawrence that was handing them out].  We hung it up in Cooper's bug barn to wait and see what would happen.

Within 24 hours, the monarch emerged!

We released him outside to fly away to Mexico!

(Yes, Cooper's wearing Alan's shoes.  I'm not sure why.)