For Father’s Day, we decided to get out and go for a hike. My son used to love being in the child carrier when we’d go hiking at the Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens so we decided to give my daughter a go at it. We went to Raven Rock State Park, which s about 45 minutes from us. She loved it and we all had a great time.
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Our family is growing! We welcomed our daughter into the world this week. She was born on March 5 and weighed 6 lbs, 12 oz. We’re so glad that she is happy and healthy.
Things are about to get downright crazy around here!
Our son is ecstatic and very excited to be a big brother. I expect that to last at least 15 or 20 minutes, until he figures out that he’s not the center of attention all the time.
Last night was our first Halloween here in Holly Springs. My wife loves holidays, and this one ranks near the top. She loves to decorate and she lives for handing out candy to all the little kids in cute costumes.
When we moved into our new house in Jacksonville back in 2008, she bought the best candy, dragged a couple camping chairs out to the end of the driveway to await the kiddos. We had six people stop by for candy. Six. Seriously.
Aside from the fact that we were a dead end road in our neighborhood (albeit one with a full block or more of houses past ours), there was a local church that did a Trunk-and-Treat event near us on the same night, and we’re pretty certain a lot of the kids end up going to that. Regardless, it was a huge let down and she was devastated.
The following years were similar, I think we probably had 20-25 kids last year.
HOLLY SPRINGS IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT!!
We probably saw between 250 and 300 kids last night. Little ones that were just learning to walk and older ones that are probably in high school. They just kept coming! Even after we ran out of candy (oops!) and turned the lights off, we occasionally got hopeful visitors testing the doorbell. It was a steady flow from 6pm to 8:30 or 8:45.
Brian had a blast — he dressed up as a skeleton — and got tons of candy that he really doesn’t need. We hung out with the grown-ups in adjoining houses and, as always, had a great time with them.
We’re already excited about next year!
The Holly Springs Fire Department holds an annual Fire Station Open House each October. They invite residents to tour the firehouse and learn about the fire department.
There’s a bunch of activities for kids as well, ranging from using a fire hose, sitting in the fire trucks, putting out a small fire with an extinguisher and, of course, meeting Cinder, the fire dog.
We spent an hour or so up there and had a really nice time — Brian especially had a blast sitting in the fire trucks.
He also learned what it was like to use the fire hose to put out a fire. I wish I had video of how abruptly he turned on the hose. It was pretty spectacular.
The community outreach of our local fire department seems more pronounced than in Jacksonville, though in all fairness, this is a small town and their presence is much more detectable. I’ve had a number of interactions with members of the Holly Springs Fire Department and they’ve all been super positive. They’re very engaging with our son and I can’t count how many times they’ve encouraged me to just drop by the station for a visit with him. Oddly, given my background in law enforcement, I’ve had virtually no contact with our local police department, though I think they have similar community interactions.
Fall is arriving and we decided to head out to explore the area again. My wife loves decorating for holidays and Halloween is right up near the top of her list.
Here are some of the things available at the Corn Maze:
They’re open September 22 to November 11 and have a haunted corn maze from October 20th, 21st, 27th, 28th and 30th and 31st.
They’re located at 3175 Benson Road, (Hwy. 50 South) in Garner, NC and you can find more information as well as directions on their web site: http://www.kenskornycornmaze.com/directions/