Halloween Fun

Happy Halloween!
Clark dressed up as a farmer for Halloween in his striped bib overalls and chore boots. He seemed to enjoy carrying his jack-o-lantern!Since we live in the country we started out the night by visiting Gabe and Ty. All the boys went trick or treating together. The astronaut, the cheetah and the farmer.Gabe and Clark at the door.

Towards the end of the evening Gabe was still going strong but Clark and Ty enjoyed riding in the wagon and "sorting" their treats.

So, what was Clark's favorite "Treat" -- the pencils!

Exploring Indianapolis

While attending the National FFA Convention, Clark and I had a lot of time to go exploring while Alan was busy working with the Delegate committees and attending sessions. We visited a beautiful park with lots of playground equipment and plenty of walking trails. We went to the Indianapolis Children's Museum (it was one of the best Children's Museums I have ever visited!). Finally, the zoo was so popular we went on two days (of course one of those times also involved trick or treating).

These first pictures were some from the Children's Museum. We spent A LOT of time at the train exhibit. The first picture is of a real engine they brought in.

Here Clark is playing with the model trains. They had trains running up above as you walked in so you walked under them and then they had this area with tunnels and buttons you could press to turn on certain lights and signals. Kids could also crawl under and pop up in the middle to get a different view.
Here Clark is looking at all of the trains and buildings they had in one of the many display cases. He spent a lot of time just looking.The museum also has a glass sculpture that rises from the main floor all the way to the fourth floor. It was really beautiful. To make the process a learning one for kids they had plastic replicas that they could play with. Clark loved moving these big pieces and putting them back in different holes. Again he played with these for a very long time.
Clark playing with the "glass sculpture." If you look above his head that is the floor of the real sculpture. Clark and I lay on the little bench they have in the middle and looked up through the glass -- that was really neat too!We finished the day at the museum in their area designed especially for babies through 3 year olds. There was a section for babies who couldn't walk yet to play. Clark loved the little soft maze they had for toddlers. Below is a picture of him in the play house making a sandwich. He like pretend play with food and kitchen appliances. By this time he was getting very tired so we headed back to the car.On our way back to the hotel for nap time! Clark enjoyed playing in the big passenger van. Lots of room to run (while the vehicle was parked of course) and lots of buttons to explore.
As mentioned we spent a couple of days at the zoo. The first day we were there it was a little chilly so we spent time in the aquarium and the desert conservatory. Clark loves aquariums -- he watched the fish and really enjoyed the shark tank. In the desert set up he pointed to all the turtles and had fun watching the meercats play. We also took in the dolphin show. He sat through the whole thing without complaint but I am not sure if he really enjoyed it -- he must have found it interesting though if he didn't fuss. The second time we went back with Alan for the zoo's trick or treat night. Clark went as an FFA member (again photos were taken of him by FFA members at the zoo). This time we went to see all of the other animals and stop along the way to collect treats!

Here Clark and dad are watching the elephants!
Mom and Clark watch the giraffes.

Clark really enjoyed the children's farm. Goats, rabbits, llamas and chickens were some of his favorite stops.

Clark's 1st National FFA Convention!

Clark had a great time at National FFA Convention in Indianapolis. These pictures are from his visit to the Career Show. While at convention he also went to a delegate session (he has his own Delegate button) and attended some of the delegate dinners. No matter where he went in his FFA Jacket and official dress cameras were flashing. I have no idea how many members and teachers asked to take his picture. Above Clark and Alan had their picture taken in front of the Oscar Meyer weiner mobile with Kool Aid Man and the Kraft Cheese Dinosaur.

Clark is "driving" one of the lawn mowers on display.

Here Alan and Clark are in the cab of a brand new tractor. Clark threw a small fit when we made him get out of the cab. He probably could have spent the entire day up there playing with buttons if we had let him.

Clark in between the duals. He spent a lot of time playing with the big tires and with a new baler attached behind (including finding the grease). We probably spent more than 30 minutes playing here and he had many, many requests to have his picture taken -- including one of the dealers working the show.

Clark seemed to have a lot of fun and was a very good and patient boy. The highlight for Alan was seeing Clark's picture with the National FFA Officer team during the last session in the National FFA Officer highlight video.

During the week Clark and I went out and about and explored the area -- more on that in another blog.