Daddy, How Many More Days Till Halloween? None?!

It's was finally here. Halloween. After what must have been a month of asking how long till Halloween, I awoke on Sunday, October 31 and was reminded that it was Halloween. However, before I could don my Darth Vader costume and hit the streets, I had to head to the Lakeview YMCA for my first Pike (re: no Dad) swim lesson. Once that was out of the way we headed to Gigi & Papa's for some trick-or-treating. I threw on my Vader costume, Daddy became Luke Skywalker with Yoda in tow, Casey was Princess Leia and, by default, Boga was an Ewok. No costume necessary there.

It was a beautiful Fall afternoon in La Grange and the sidewalks were packed with a bunch of kids and their families. People loved our trio of costumes and I got a bunch of candy. Dad was surprised when I wanted to pack it in so quickly, but I had my sights set on helping Papa pass out candy, so I could take in all the costumes. How long till next Halloween, Dad?

It's Alive!!!

We thought the Lego Kids Fest would be a great way to kickoff Halloween Weekend. So Mom, John and I resurrected a Hollywood Horror movie classic by going as Dr. Frankenstein, The Monster and The Bride of Frankenstein. Lego Fest was excited to have us, especially since we were the only ones in costume. A few fest goers even asked to have their pictures taken with us as we enjoyed the out-of-this-world Lego creations. I even got to pose with a couple of my favorite characters.

Chicago Botanic Gardens

On a recent Sunday afternoon, after swimming and a great burger at Edzo's, Dad and I made a trek north to The Chicago Botanic Gardens. It was a stunningly-beautiful almost Fall afternoon and while neither one of us had ever visited, we met Dad's Godparents, Sylvija and John there and they are veterans.

Sylvija initially recommended we visit to see a cool garden built around train sets. The trains ran through models of famous American cityscapes or iconic architectural and natural locations. All the models were made from trees, shrubs, stones etc... Very cool.

We casually walked around the amazing grounds for the remainder of our visit, then headed home exhausted from our Sunday fun.

Pumpkin And Money Farm

Occasionally, Dad and his friend Michael make plans for me and Michael's son Alister to get together. Last month we went to Haunted Trails for some go-karting and mini-golf and- in anticipation of Halloween- this month we went to Bengstons Pumpkin Farm.

Bengstons is kind of a hike from Chicago and there's not a whole lot around it, so Dad thought we might be one of the few there. That was until we reached the top of a small hill and saw a sea of automobiles. Casey, Dad and I were one of thousands, who all paid a healthy admission fee, plus the cost of whatever pumpkins you carried out.

Once inside, we eventually met up with Michael, Alister and his sister Audrey and then all explored the well organized and clean "farm." I loved the Haunted Barn, and the rides with Ali and Audrey were fun too. Dad enjoyed some kettle corn and loved the people watching, when he wasn't keeping an eye on me.

I said I wanted to come back as soon as we left and, little did I know at the time, I would be returning a couple weeks later on a field trip.

Minneapolis Fantabulous

Corn mazes the size of 7 football fields, Malls of America and Shakopee Art Shows, that's Minneapolis to me. We decided to make a quick Fall weekend trip to Minneapolis to see my Uncle Matt and meet some of John's friends from the North. First stop, Sever's corn maze. This place is a dream come true, complete with kangaroos, giant slides, corn pools, miniature reindeer, kettle corn, hayrides and more. After Sever's we headed to Mt. Holly in Shakopee to see their art show. It was amazing and I had a lovely day playing in Autumn's yard. See you guys in the Spring! We couldn't leave town without visiting Mall Of America and it's indoor amusement park. It was like Great America with perfect temperature, short lines and a creepy awesome log ride. Autumn is definitely coming with me next time.