A visit to Natural Valley Ranch!

I love October! Halloween is definitely one of my favorite holidays because of the wonderful crisp, cool air of October! My sister was lucky enough to be born at the end of October so her birthday parties are always either Halloween themed, or fall themed in general. This year, she decided she wanted to have her party at Natural Valley Ranch, a horse farm and boarding facility in Brownsburg Indiana. They were hosting their Fall Family Fun Night tonight where the kids could ride the horses all they wanted, there were goats, ducks, chickens, and a Llama to pet, you could take a spooky hayride through the woods, and make a bonfire to cook your own hotdogs and eat at their picnic tables.

The kids couldn't wait to get on the horses of course so that's what we did first! They had several horses out in the arena of all colors and sizes with one of their workers leading each one. They also provided helmets for the children's safety.

The kids were having so much fun on the horses, we almost weren't able to get them off long enough to do or see anything else! LOL Once we got them away from the horses, we went to see the other animals! There was one little grey pony tethered to a round pen that the kids wanted to groom so they were all given brushes. That little pony was so patient with all those kids around! LOL Poor thing!

My Jaden especially liked the chickens and the duck! He was allowed to hold one of their Silky chickens and he was so proud of himself! Look at this grin!

Everyone was getting pretty hungry by this time so we all went to our picnic area to roast some hotdogs. We had an area with a firepit and a few picnic tables all to ourselves away from the other guests. After dinner, we sang Happy Birthday to my sister and had some cake. Then we headed back out to go on a hayride!

My niece M loves tractors so before we went on our hayride, she hopped up in the driver's seat!

When it got dark, we went on our hayride. It was pretty darn spooky! We went way out on a trail through the woods! I think my husband was more freaked out than the kids were! LOL Sorry honey! It wasn't a short ride either, we were gone about 20 minutes I'd say!

Once we returned to the ranch, it was time to go. Jaden wanted to know where the horses were, so I told him that they had gone to bed. He then wanted to see where they slept so we all went to the barn so Jaden could say goodnight. He went to each stall and asked what the horse's name was and said goodnight to each one calling them by name. It was very cute! 

We all had a lot of fun at Natural Valley Ranch! There was so much to see and do, it wore Jaden out. He fell fast asleep on the ride home.

If you'd like to plan a visit to Natural Valley Ranch, please visit their website http://naturalvalleyranch.com/ to see everything they offer. 

Until next time...

Hugs,

Tammy

Giveaway: Playful Threads Lingerie & Costumes $30 Gift Card

Rachel's Giveaways and Reviews is hosting a giveaway for Playful Threads on her blog! She is giving away a $30 gift card to www.playfulthreads.com where they have lingerie, sexy Halloween costumes, and clubwear! They have plus size too! If that's not really your cup of tea, they have jewelry, swimwear, and more! If you'd like to enter, head on over to Rachel's Giveaways and Reviews (http://rachelsgiveaways.com/2011/10/giveaway-playful-threads-lingerie-costumes-gift-card/) and fill out the rafflecopter form! Please let her know that Lucky Emerald's Reviews sent ya!

Hugs,

Tammy

Spooky Story Time at the Public Library!

This morning, Jaden went to Spooky Story Time at our local public library. I had signed him up for it about a week ago. At 10:00am we joined about 10 other children in the art room at the library. There were 2 ladies running the group, Ms. Peggy and Ms. Lori. The children put on paint smocks and sat down to do a craft. They had a small paper plate, some orange paint, a paint brush, and several construction paper cutout pieces. They were making Jack-O-Lanterns.

Once the children finished their Jack-O-Lanterns, they could go play with toys on the storytime mat.

While the children were playing, Ms. Lori made some homemade playdough in an electric skillet. After it cooled, she put a ball of it at each child's place at the table. There were small rolling pins and Halloween themed cookie cutters on each table.

Then the children were called to the storytime mat for some reading time. Ms. Peggy read aloud 3 different books. Pumpkiin Jack, Five Little Pumpkins, and The Hallo-Weener. The children were all captivated by the way Ms. Peggy was so energetic, using different voices for different characters and asking questions about the pictures in the story. 

After storytime, it was snack time! Jaden's favorite part! LOL They were having cupcakes and orange colored lemonade. The cupcakes were premade but the children were able to ice their own and add sprinkles! 

Spooky story time lasted a little over an hour, but it seemed longer since they did so many activities! It wasn't rushed though, just very organized and well thought out. Jaden had a lot of fun and definitely wants to go back for November's story times. I was able to sign him up while we were at the library. They have 3 dates set up for November and I signed Jaden up for all 3!  

Here's a very happy Jaden with his Jack-O-Lantern he made and his playdough they let him bring home! If you have children, please check with your local library to see if they have similar children's programs. I think these programs are so beneficial and help instill a love of reading in children. I know Jaden loves me to read to him. I read him a bedtime story every night and most days, I read to him 2 or 3 times during the day! We visit the library at least once a week to check out new books and return the old ones. I got Jaden his own library card last year and he is so proud of it! Having that card also makes him want to get involved at the library.  It's such a cheap and easy way to get your child interested in reading! If you other moms are anything like me, you really like the educational aspect while your child is just having fun! 

Thanks for taking the time to read this! I hope everyone gets involved in library events! It may just be in my genes since my mom is an elementary school librarian! LOL  Until next time...

Hugs,

Tammy

Our trip to Exploration Acres- A review!

This past Sunday my family, including myself, husband, son, my mom and dad, my sister, brother-in-law, and their children, my niece and my nephew, went to a place called Exploration Acres. It's located about 5 miles South of Lafayette, Indiana. Exploration Acres is primarily a pumpkin patch where you can go to pick your pumpkins for Halloween! They also boast about 7 miles worth of corn mazes broken up into 5 different areas. There is also a Country Store where you can buy local jams and jellies, honey, home decor, and souvenir t-shirts. The kids were most excited about the kids area we read about on their website, http://www.explorationacres.com.  Admission is $9.00 for adults(13+), $7.00 for Seniors(65+), $6.00 for children(ages 6-12), and Free for children 5 and under. They are open from August 26-October 30 every year on Fridays 6pm-11pm, Saturdays 10am-11pm, and Sundays 12pm-7pm. There are $2.00 off admission coupons available at the Lafayette Visitors Bureau. If you give them a call at (765) 447-9999 they will mail you as many coupons as you need!



Pay no attention to the timestamps on these pictures! LOL I obviously didn't update my camera before we left!

This is my son J at the entrance to Exploration Acres! He was so excited to be here!



My nephew T and my son J climbing on a giant haystack. This was in the children's area, and the boys and my niece played on this, jumping in the hay and burying each other for quite awhile! They had a blast!



My brother-in-law took my niece M on a pedal cart ride! These are the big carts for the adults to ride. There are also tricycle pedal carts for the little ones!



My husband and my son shooting off the corn cannon. There was a target about 50 yards away, and if you hit the target you would win a 2-liter of Root Beer. Whereas all the other activities were included in the admission price, the corn cannon cost $1.00 for 3 shots.



This is my mom,  my son, nephew, and my dad (in the background) walking through one of the shorter corn mazes. We were given a map and a punch card, and were told to find numbered checkpoints throughout the maze. Once you found a checkpoint, there was a hole-puncher to punch your card in the designated numbered area. Once you were done, you turned your punch card in at the General Store to receive coupons for local businesses based on the number of punches you had. I got coupons for free kid's meals at Bob Evans and buy one get one free coupons for Dairy Queen.



My son J out in the pumpkin patch looking for just the right pumpkin for him!



3 exhausted kids, dirty faces and all, after a long fun-filled day at Exploration Acres!

If you have any questions before visiting Exploration Acres, give them a call during business hours at 765.296.2863 or email them at mary@explorationacres.com.

I hope you have as much fun as we did!




Hugs,


Tammy H.

Hello!

I'd like to welcome you to my blog and thank you for stopping in! This blog is geared towards women with children, stay-at-home moms, working at home mom, and basically just moms in general! I like to blog about what I know, and that is a woman's life being revolved around her children!

I personally have one child, a 4 year old son Jaden. I have been a stay-at-home mom since he was born, but before that, I worked in Home Health Care as a CNA for over 6 years. I also have a history of working with children since I worked as a preschool teacher, at a Children's Home for orphans, and also as a guard in a youth detention center. I still don't feel like it all prepared me to become a parent! LOL

The purpose of this blog is to talk about my family life, fun things we've done, exciting places we've been and reviewing products and services that pertain to everyday life as a wife and mother. I love giving my honest opinion about my successes and failures with household products, hygiene products, and children's items so I'm excited that I now have a place to do that!

This is a PR friendly blog. I look forward to reviewing products and services honestly for my readers! If you have a product or service that you would like me to review, please feel free to contact me at daisies0999@yahoo.com. I would love to work with you to benefit both your customers and my readers!

As I said before, thanks for stopping by! Please become a follower! I look forward to getting to know my readers through your comments, so feel free to let me know what you think!

Until next time...

Hugs,

Tammy