Day at the Farm

Leah's preschool class had their first field trip last week, and visited J Razz & Tazz Farm.  Leah was SO excited and exclaimed, "It's my first class field trip in my ENTIRE life!"   Despite coming down with a nasty ear infection earlier in the week, Leah rallied and was able to go to the farm on Thursday.  It was a gorgeous day, and the farm was picturesque and idyllic: 

The preschoolers learned about the crops that grow on the farm and took a hayride around the fields.  Leah sat beside her "new best friend", Silas, and these two were inseparable all day: 

After the hayride, we went through the corn maze, and the kids' favorite part was standing on the bridge that made them "taller than the corn":

Next it was time to play!

The biggest hit of free play on the farm was the silo filled with corn.  The kids were allowed to jump and play in this giant structure, and they absolutely loved it:

Leah proved to be a very good farmer, and honed her tractor-driving and chicken-raising skills, too:

Mommy was thrilled to take pictures of the cute fall displays, and each child was given a small pumpkin to take home at the end of the day:

So happy that I was able to be a part of the day at the farm with my adorable little pumpkin and her class!

Great Wolf Lodge

On Friday, we had a special opportunity to go to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, thanks to Bean and Poppy, who procured day passes for us!  Mark and Luke had been to GWL several years ago, but this was the first visit for the girls in our family, and we were all excited.  The inside of the lodge was decorated for Halloween, and was very festive:

We were amazed by the grand size of Great Wolf Lodge.  The facility sprawled over a large area, with hundreds of guest rooms.  Even the entrance was impressive, with giant wolf statues that dwarfed our gang:

In true Winterhoff Family form, we arrived just as the water park opened for the day, which was wonderful, as we beat the crowds and didn't have to wait in any lines.  The kids ran straight into the wave pool, and got drenched right away:

We loved all of the water slides at Great Wolf Lodge, from the smallest kiddie slides in Whooping Hollow to the giant twisting slides of Totem Towers:

Our favorite family slide was River Canyon Run, where we all rode in one giant circular raft and sped down a twisty-turny, fast slide: 

Another hit was Alberta Falls, where we splashed down a four story water slide and ended up in the plunge pool:

Crooked Creek provided a chance to catch our breath and lounge as we floated down the lazy river:

Fort McHenry was a favorite of Luke and Leah's, as there were tons of kid-activated water features, swinging cargo nets, suspension bridges, and a giant bucket that tipped every few minutes, dumping water on the people below:

There was also a water agility course, and both kids succeeded at balancing on the logs and lily pads to cross Big Foot Pass:

Leah and Daddy found a winning strategy to score points and shot some hoops, too:

Then there was the Wolf Rider Wipe-Out.  This indoor surf simulator attracted Daddy's interest, and looked absolutely terrifying to me.  When Luke asked if he could do it, I muttered something about how it looked like a grown up ride, while Mark answered at the exact same moment, "Sure, Buddy!"   There is a reason why Daddy is the fun parent.  Here is a photo of Mark riding, followed by a video of Luke, so you can see just how fast and tumultuous those waves are:

 

So... guess who insisted that she wanted to surf, too?  I almost had a heart attack:

Leah was a pro, and loved the surf simulator just as much as her big brother and Daddy!  It's not every day that you see a sweet little 4 1/2 year-old girl riding waves like this, and the big men and boys in line for the Wolf Rider Wipe-Out were tickled to see Leah's enthusiasm and courage.

Great Wolf Lodge was so much fun for our family, and our kids were at great ages to take advantage of all that the water park had to offer.  It was an awesome family adventure, and we are so thankful that we had the chance to visit such a neat place!

Rainy Day Fishing

The past few weeks have been full of rain, rain, and more rain for the Carolinas.  We felt very lucky to avoid the terrible flooding that parts of South Carolina endured, but were tired of the non-stop drizzle and gray skies this month.  So, we decided to find a rainy day hobby, and have gone fishing several times recently.  The kids don't mind bundling up and putting on their rain boots when night crawlers and friends are involved, and we had lots of luck at the McGirr's pond last week.  As soon as the fishing rods went into the water, those hungry fish started biting, and we had a blast:  

Even Mommy caught one, which shows that you can don a girly, floral pink raincoat and still be "outdoorsy": 

When our good friends from Greenville, SC, came to visit this past weekend, it was still raining (of course), so we told them to pack fishing rods and we tried our luck at our neighborhood lake:

These fish were just as hungry, and the fishing expedition was a big success!

While the boys were bonding down at the lake,

the girls walked back to play inside our warm dry house, and had fun chatting and making pizzas for dinner:

When the daddies got home, they toasted their impressive fishing skills with some sort of fancy cheers:

and we all had a great weekend together!

 And guess what?  It's a new week, and the sun is finally shining.  We were thrilled to need our sunglasses on the way to preschool, and Leah exclaimed, "HELLO, Mr. Golden Sun!  I am SO happy to see you!" 

What fun to make special memories fishing with friends, rain or shine!

WFU Homecoming

Last weekend was my Wake Forest Homecoming Weekend, and we had been planning and looking forward to these 15-year reunion festivities for months.  The BBs (my friends/roommates from college) descended upon Winston-Salem with families in tow, and we were able to fulfill a promise that we all made to each other at college graduation:

"BB Kids will play together!"

These 4 BBBs (BB Babies) have mommies who were college roommates and daddies who are also WFU alumni, so they have been brainwashed into loving all things Wake Forest since birth!

The weekend wasn't exactly what we had imagined, as it rained the entire time... It was wet, soggy, and many of the fun family activities including Festival on the Quad were moved indoors.  However, the wet weather didn't dampen the spirits of these little Demon Deacons, who loved the pre-game tailgate and marching band:

It was wonderful for me to catch up with many of my WFU girls, and as you can see, we haven't aged or changed a bit (and we love this hazy picture that allows us to believe that!):

One of the best parts of the weekend was having BBs and kids visit our house and stay with us.  There were several special connections made, including Leah and Liam, who were two peas in a pod.  After Liam went home, Leah announced, "Well, now I have another boy that I may marry!":

We loved being with our special Wake Forest buddies last weekend, and can't wait to see them again soon.  Go Deacs!