Halloween Festivities

We had a very fun and very busy weekend. We started off with a fun zoo trip with Glenn on Friday afternoon. I love those half day Fridays. They have a dinosaur exhibit there for just a few more days and Tate loved it last time I took him so we thought we'd have a go with Daddy. They have huge dinosaurs that move and make noise. The first time we went it was all I could do to keep him from crossing the rope and climbing on them. This time he was a bit more timid. He was glad Dad was there to reassure him that these big guys were okay. He has new favorite animals all the time but right now his favorites are definitely the fish. He loves all the fish exhibits. We've tried to convince him to crawl in this tunnel underneath the fish several times but this time he agreed...as long as Glenn went first to make sure it was okay, and then I had to go through with him.
He also loves the sting rays and the jelly fish. It's nice to have an excuse to just stare at these creatures. They are pretty incredible.
Saturday the 30th was really our Halloween and we had a full day. I got up early to go for my longest training jog. 10 miles. I found a few ladies from a different ward who jog every Saturday and met up with them. One lady is training for a marathon so she had to do 20 miles. I ran 10 with her then she kept going. It was great. It was the first long run where I felt like, "That wasn't so bad. I could totally do another three miles" afterward. It was a huge confidence booster.
Glenn took Tate to his first little birthday party and I met them as soon as I got ready. A little girl in our ward here turned two and she invited him to her party. He was in a great mood and being well behaved until I showed up and then he turned into the fuss monster. What's that about? He seemed to have a good time playing with all the other kiddos. I was so proud of how well behaved he was. I love those times.
Then we took kiddo home for his nap. He took a great nap but for some reason woke up a total grumpster. He was ornery pants for the rest of the day, which is a bummer. We dressed him up in his "Woody" costume and went over to a neighborhood festival for a bit. This is the only picture we got with all of his costume pieces on. He kept removing them as the night went on.
They had pony rides at the festival which was a must for our little cowboy. He loved having a chance to ride "bullseye" just like Woody.
Then of course there was the petting zoo which he loved. I think he could just chase and snuggle smelly animals all day if I let him.
After that we headed to the ward Trunk or Treat. It was a good time. There were so many darling costumes on tiny little people. Glenn and I took turns walking around with Tate, sharing a root beer float, chatting with ward members, and trying to get rid of all our candy. I think Tate got the "trick or treat" thing by the end but he was really content just to carry around a couple candies in his fists until they melted and got all squishy inside. He had moments of giggling and being sweet and happy but if anything went wrong he would just melt down. Silly kid. All in all though, I think we had a pretty great day.