Christmas in July!

I've been on the hunt for something different to do, and Nathan's special education teacher suggested the North Pole, out in Lake Placid, New York. I looked it up online, to be sure it was open (it's not really Christmas-time, so I wasn't sure), and what type of activities they would have available for Nathan.

It was a 2-hour drive from camp, so we ventured out this morning ~ Nathan had a date with Santa!

I wasn't sure what to expect, and didn't really care if it was worth the long drive. I knew Nathan would love it; Santa was there, the reindeer, and lots of musical performances. That was all I needed to know.

It was a cloudy day but the rain held off the entire time we were there. I knew there was a chance of bad weather at home, but I had checked the radar for that region, and it looked like we would be fine, and it turned out that way.

When we entered the reindeer barn, we met Rudolf the not-so-red-nosed Reindeer. The staff person informed us, that it would be ok for Nathan to feed the reindeer, and that we didn't have to worry about him being bitten because reindeer don't have any front teeth. What? No front teeth? I asked her, "did you take them out?" I mean, they were all gums! I thought maybe for the protection of the kids, they removed their teeth. When I told Danny this, he said, "they de-teethed them" (like declawing a cat)! haha She said, "no, just like a cow they only have molars." I said, "ok." Seriously, I didn't know cows didn't have any front teeth! I guess, you really do learn something new everyday!

After we fed the reindeer, we decided to give some baby cows their milk. I really liked that their were hand-on experiences for Nathan. As you'll see from the big smile on his face, he thought this was the best! I thought it was hysterical when the cow sucked the bottle so hard, he sucked the nipple right off! lol! I told the attendant, "he's got the nipple! He's sucking it like a pacifier!" He was too! It was funny to watch!

One other thing I'd like to point out in the below slide show, is that the pole we're standing next to, that says, "The North Pole," is actually all ice. How they do that is beyond me, but it's really cool. I thought it was plastic, until we touched it. Surprise! lol

Thanks for stopping by! We had another great day!

Horsing Around!

Nathan took his very first ride on a horse last weekend at camp!

He was apprehensive when the handler tried to put him on, so I decided to give it a try, and he saddled up no problem. When they tried to put the riding cap on, he wanted no part of it, which was fine because there were two women walking with him the entire time.


He took two spins around the sports field, which gave me amble time to get a few good pictures and to let him really enjoy this experience. As you'll see by the pictures he was laughing, not holding on, and waving to his mommy and cousin's Alphonze, Anthony and Michael.



I've been attempting to enroll Nathan in hippotherapy sessions (therapy on horseback), and was a bit concerned about how he'd handle riding a horse. Not anymore! I'm also secretly excited because I love horseback riding and hope it becomes another fun part of our summer adventures as Nathan grows up.