Wild West Birthday

Samantha is our next door neighbor girl and she turned FIVE!!

It's so fun, the neighbor girls are nearly the exact same age as our boys as her sister Katilyn turned three this past summer.

Samantha' 's invite said to put on your hats and boots and head out to the Wild West Ranch.  Surely, there was a horsin' good time to be had.

We may not have cowboy hats, but we do have a sock monkey in the house.

In the party area they had a bunny for the party goers to pet.  The bunny was a trooper and the kids were in love. 

As an activity, the kids got to decorate cowboy (or girl) hats of their own and then we headed off on a hay ride.

The first stop on the hay ride was in the horse pasture to feed the horses.

This stop was a HUGE hit!!

I'm not sure who loved it more, the horses or the kids.  Maybe a bit of both.

After snow just two days prior, it was a gorgeous fall day.

The next stop was the pumpkin patch where the kids all got to pick a pumpkin.  This too was a big hit.

It was amazing how each pumpkin was vein free and sitting pretty.  Samantha's mommy said it was "Mommy Magic".  Love it!

Next up was a stop at some other farm animals to feed them.  It's possible that the party was also a way to get free labor on the farm but regardless, everyone was happy.  Oliver was chosen as the farmers helper and he went without hesitation.  Daddy and Mommy were VERY proud of him.  He was courageous, strong and confident.  Not the usual cautious boy that we know.  We were fired up!

We opted to stay out of the pen in an effort to give Oliver his space in this new found confident zone.  He was a true champ.  He led the kids across the pen and stood strong in the #1 position amongst the sheep, goats, llamas, geese, ducks, chickens and probably a few other farm animals that I may not be familiar with.

Oliver was a champ.  He even helped the little girls next to him and showed them the ropes of animal feeding.  All of those trips to the petting zoos have paid off.

He was so good that the little girls voted for him to be the official feeder of their trio and gave him their food.

He was a pro when that sheep approached him for some nuggets of goodness.

The little girls were amazed and giggled with glee.

Oliver showed no fear with all of those animals herding around him.  Throw a dog into the mix and he'll melt down (he's allergic, ya know) but a herd of farm animals must be harmless.

Mommy, Daddy and Kellan watched from afar as Oliver stretched his confidence at the Wild West farm.

He gave the sheep a friendly pat on the back and then headed out of the pen.

Next up was the much anticipated pony rides.  Without hesitation, Oliver's competitive spirit chose the tallest of the bunch.  

Within one trip around the coral Keith had him riding free-style (no parent guidance).

He was a natural.

Get-along little pony.

The kids all took turns on the ponies and during one of their breaks Oliver and Samantha (pink) gave this lone pony some love.  His foot was bothering him so he took a break from this round of pony rides.

Kellan was mesmerized with all of the animals but didn't want to get anywhere near them until Daddy offered to let him lead the pony.  First up, the pony tried taking Kellan for a ride.

In no time, Kellan had the hang of leading a pony.

"Clippity Cloppity, Clippity, Cloppity" went Kellan and the pony.

Oliver was just as happy leading solo, by Daddy or by Kellan.  He was riding a pony, does it get much better?

At the end of the day Oliver took a ride on his first see-saw.  Or is it a teeter totter?  That's what we called the one in our back yard growing up.  It may have been Oliver's first ride, but not his Mommy's.  Too bad it's been about twenty years since his Mama rode one and her knees gave a shout out to remind her that they aren't spring chickens anymore.  Knees or not... Oliver thought it was great fun.

Hold on Cowboy, it's a long way down!

Happy Birthday Samantha and Thanks for inviting us to your Wild West birthday party.  The Ham Fam had a kickin' good time.