Christmas Eve Eve

For Christmas, the weather reports were citing big storms and blizzard conditions.  We made it a point to go to church and visit Nana (to deliver presents - and also Culver's!) on the eve of Christmas Eve.  Connor was due to be at his Mom's for Christmas, so we were missing his sweet face.

Pumpkin Patch Fun

 One of the local churches hosted a pumpkin patch and Fall Fun event, with free hot dogs and hot cocoa, bouncy castles, an acre worth of pumpkins, plus some photo op areas.  There were a LOT of kids there and Ramsey was one of the older kids.  We still lots of fun and full bellies.

2023 Harvest Stroll & Fun Day

 The annual Harvest Stroll at the museum is always a fun escape and excuse for a day of festivities.  This year, we recruited Ramsey's friend Orion, his Mom, and sister Tehya.  

We roamed all through the museum.  My favorite is always the animal exhibit (that's been there since God knows when!).

Ramsey loves the guns and WWII memorobilia.   In the gun area, they had a crafting section for apply tissue paper to mini pumpkins with decopage.  ...much less messy than carving one!

The kids bolted around more, goofing off in the tents, teepees, and Native American history area.

Upstairs, kids could try their hand at chopping wood, the old-fashioned way.

This one log must have been a little wet yet (or very dense).  Ramsey chopped on that thing for a while.  He got about half way split, then was pooped.

Orion gave it a whirl and and hammered it.  He could be a lumberjack someday!

Ramsey wanted to try it again.  It wasn't a one-hit wonder, but he got one split!

We bought some fun old-style toys at the gift shop and headed out.

It was off to Allevity for more entertainment!

The kids played loads of video games, climbed in the ball tower....

They moved around like spider monkeys on the climbing wall.

And, they played a ton of laser tag.

Ope!  And bumper cars... lots and lots of rounds of the bumper cars!

Film Fest 2023

We're still a Star Wars family, through and through.  The South Dakota Film Festival had been plastering details about the upcoming event all over Facebook.  Seeing "Star Wars" in the advertising caught my attention.

Of the multi-day lineup of many short films and documentaries was "Behind the Bucket: A Garrison Story".  This is a documentary that explores the Midwest Garrison of the 501st Legion, a community of Star Wars super fans who create and wear costumes that are exact to the films.  They show up for charitable events, visit sick children, etc.  

Eric and Ramsey donned some Star Wars gear and we headed out.

At the event, there was a VIP room, but the cost for passes was $250/person.  We're Star Wars fans, but we're also a bit cheap.  As we were walking into the venue and checking things out, one of the volunteers saw Ramsey in his Darth Vader hoodie and asked us if we'd like to meet Darth Vader, Obi Wan, and visit with the filmmakers in the VIP Room.  CHA-CHING!  Why yes, yes we would like that very much.  :-)

I suppose having a rather cute small child in tote is a rather useful tool when trying to score freebies. hehe

We first went into the Red Carpet room to get our pictures taken with Obi Wan and Darth Vader.  Ramsey had his picture taken with them, but then they asked Eric and me if we would like to also be in the pictures. Of course!  Unfortunately, they did not post the pictures online, so we don't have copies of the family photo. But, lots of pics of Ramsey!  

Ramsey was THRILLED, but he was acting very shy, so he didn't chit chat much with the director/star, producers, Obi Wan, or Darth.

After the photo shoot, we went into the VIP Room for hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and to mingle.

Then, on to the main event... the film!

The director (star of the film), producer, plus a few of the SD Film Festival people spoke about the making of the film and gave some history of the making of the documentary.

We enjoyed the film and the fun night out together.  ...wonder what will be on the venue NEXT year?!?  

Until next year, Capitol Theater.... unless, of course you have something else fun we must go see or do!

County Fair - Rides Day!

RIDE DAY at the BCF!!   We were going to meet up with our friends Jonah and Charlie so Ramsey would have a "ride buddy".   

We thought the day was going to be chilly (hence the long pants and LS t-shirt), as the sun was hiding for quite some time.  But, once we got to the fair, the sun came out and it became rather nice!

We hit the food first so Ramsey could enjoy a fair funnell cake.  Thumbs up, per Ramsey (though the picture is missing his thumb. Doh!).

We found Charlie, Jonah, and more friends.  

A few years back, I took Ramsey down this big slide, but this year, he wanted to do it alone.  I was happy to hear that, as my scaredy-cat self was NOT looking forward to climbing up those rickety stairs again and trying to maneuver myself into an old potato sack!!

Ramsey got a late start, but he made it.  He was rather astonished, but also quite exhilarated!

His favorites are always the racecars, it seems.

Ramsey didn't love the spinning bear, but he made it.  HA!

He asked himself "What the heck have I done?!?!" here!  He wasn't looking forward to it.  But again, he made it.  I think he enjoyed it a little too.  The exhilaration is the fun part!

The Fun House was a popular place for them.  I think they hit it about three times!

The wobbly walking boards were throwing them for a loop... in a good way. ;-)

And, the BCF wouldn't be the BCF without "The Happy Swing".

Ramsey tolerated it, but still doesn't find it extremely "happy".

We ran into his friend Henry later who needed a ride buddy for his last ride.  :-)

So these kids still had a TON of energy and did not want the fun to end.  Ramsey and Charlie wanted to have a play date afterwards.   So, the boys and I left the midway, but stopping for Dippin' Dots before we left.

Before leaving the fairgrounds, we hit the kids' play area.

And the awesome bouncy houses, of course.  I thought the Butler combine/corn picker was a super fun inflatable!

The boys didn't care what it looked like.  They just cared that it was full of air and fun to bounce in!

Later that evening, I had to snap a shot of the boys with Connor.  Connor was just getting ready to leave for an outing with his friends... happily donning his "party hat".