Halloween

We were in Boise, with Mema, for Halloween this year. AND, Ron ended up coming home early (thanks government shutdown). So, we had a big, family evening of trick-or-treating!! Ron's Aunt Sandy joined us and we made the round of the neighborhood. My MIL and I found Aidan a robot costume at Saver's and he was adorable!!! So excited that he was old enough to understand and enjoy!

The North Pole (Colorado)

Continuing on with the previous post, I made sure we had a lot of fun activities before heading to Idaho. After going to the Botanical Gardens on Saturday, we met up with another group of friends and headed north, to the North Pole that is! Near Colorado Springs, there is an amusement park called The North Pole, . I had never heard of it, but was excited to check it out. It was October, only a couple mores months until Christmas, wouldn't hurt to get into the spirit a little early! Also it was military month, so Aidan & I got in free! Woot!! Aidan was still a bit small for many of the rides, but enjoyed the ones he could go on. We even went and saw Santa, of course this year he was not so much into him. Kinda traumatized the kid, I think (plus it was way past naptime)!!!

Since he was still small for some of the rides our friend's daughter, Tessa, rode with him. They are just like brother and sister. Aidan behaved pretty well for her and they had a good time.

I took him on the sky ride & ferris wheel. Not going to lie, I was so terrified of doing that. On the sky ride he tried kicking his shoes off, of course. Rachel went on the ferris wheel with us, so he had an adult on each side. I was a bit less panicky. We also went on a ride where you drive a car around a course. That was Aidan's favorite. He would sit at the fence, "car, car, car"! There was also a petting zoo where you could feed...what else, reindeer. Aidan was scared of them, so we just looked at them and took a picture. We came home exhausted (and then had to pack for our next trip), but it was totally worth it!! I would love to take him back before we move!

Pumpkin Patch @ Chatfield Botanical Gardens

After we came back from our trip to Montana, we had a week before heading to Boise, ID to visit my mother-in-law. We tried very hard to stay busy with activities ALL week! That Saturday we went up to the Chatfield Botanical Gardens, with a big group of friends, to enjoy the activities they put on at Halloween. This year they had a carnival too. Aidan LOVED riding on the rides. The rides that were a bit too big for him, he went on with our friend's daughter, Tessa. All in all, a super fun day!

We also explored some of the gardens. I have only been there in the Fall and the colors are always lovely! It was a bit cool that day, but still ideal for getting into the Fall/Halloween spirit!

First Montana Trip

Our plane trip to Bozeman, MT was TERRIBLE! It started out fine and Aidan was even being a good boy but when we arrived at the Bozeman airport, we ended up circling for about an hour as a private plane had crash landed on the ONE landing strip. Ugh. Once we finished circling the captain (who was very funny and stayed in great spirits) told us we would have to fly to Billings, gas up and then fly back to Bozeman. This ended up being about 30 min in the hour and about an hour (give or take) waiting on the group and then another 30 minutes back to Bozeman. My poor parents sat and patiently waited for hours at the airport for us.

Montana in September ended up being quite pleasant. We did have a day or two of snow, but overall it was warm enough that we spent many days playing kickball or pulling the wagon in the backyard. We also went for many walks where Aidan was introduced to the neighborhood horses. We also made good use of the playground at our church! We had a couple trips out of town that always ended at a local park (no matter how cold it was).

We had the opportunity to do some "site seeing" while home. We didn't feel like paying to tour the Old Prison, maybe we'll take Aidan another time when he can appreciate it. But we did take him to see some of the old trains on display (he loves trains) and then to Grant Kohrs Ranch where we walked around and enjoyed all the wild animals.

My parents really wanted to take the opportunity to take Aidan to a carousel (or two)! We took trips to Missoula, where Aidan and I rode an older (and kinda scary) carousel I rode as a child and then to Helena where we rode a newer carousel. Aidan LOVED it. He would cry every time he had to get off.

Aidan enjoyed his time with both Grandma & Grandpa. He spent his time with Grandpa reading books, playing with Grandpa's train (I grew up enjoying this train under the Christmas tree), playing legos and blocks and cleaning the house every week!

Grandma time was spent reading books, several library visits, playing playdo (which we made) and painting!

Aidan and I very much enjoyed our time in Montana. My very close friend from high school, Joana, was able to make the trip up and visit Aidan & I. I was so happy to introduce her to my little tornado! She always brings a smile to my face. My parents even gave us the opportunity to spend the day up at Fairmont (a hot springs resort) enjoying the warm water and some girl time! My Aunt Carol was also able to make the trip down from Lewistown to meet Aidan for the first time. We had a wonderful time at the park, going for a walk and of course book reading. I was so happy she was able to visit! I am so thankful to have the opportunity to spend a month with my family!

Aidan enjoyed his time too and looks forward to more visits this summer for graduation!