Happy Birthday Sparty!
/This past Sunday Spartacat celebrated his 19th birthday at Saunders Farm. Spartacat and Saunders Farm = double the fun! This was a sign up event for the Sparty's Kids Club, so for $20 we signed V up, got a cool Sens cup, some posters and coupons as well as free admission for her and 2-for-1 admission for hubby and I. Deal! Just after we bought our tickets and signed V up we ran in to the birthday boy himself. V *loves* Sparty in theory and on TV. In real life however a 6' tall, fuzzy lion causes her clam right up and cling to my leg. This unfortuntely makes it difficult for me to take pictures of her with the birthday boy, but here he is greeting his adoring public.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neeroc/6207614207/
The nice thing about this event is Sparty is *everywhere* we saw him at the ticket booth, on the attractions, at the shows and everywhere he's interacting with everyone, adults and children alike. So if you have a little (or big) Sparty fan on your hands, this is a great chance to grab a picture with him.
This is the second year we attended, last year V was just shy of three, and maybe a bit young to fully enjoy the day. Luckily the rocky start didn't mar her fun for the rest of the day, this year she was a partying machine! Saunders has some new attractions, including the Jumping Pillows (huge airbags):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neeroc/6208128512/
as well as the crowd favorite mazes. I mentioned this is the second year we've done this, and we have yet to venture in to the mazes. There are so many other things going on, from a puppet show:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neeroc/6208723066/
a corn launch and apple toss:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neeroc/6208719460/
and tonnes of play structures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neeroc/6208720482/
that I'm sure we have several more years before we cover all of the park.
The Sens also had a great bouncy Sparty and gigantic inflated slide set up. We were lucky to be able to pull V off either of them:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neeroc/6208130540/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neeroc/6208129422/
It was too cold for some items like the splash pad, but the rain and damp didn't stop anyone from enjoying the slides, the pumpkin patch or the petting zoo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neeroc/6208205501/
But the highlight for us this year was down this tree-lined path:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neeroc/6208134542/
Yes, for the first time ever we were able to take V with us on a Haunted Hayride!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neeroc/6208039413/
There were some startling moments, but for the most part she really enjoyed the ride. I'm sure it would be a much different story at night, but that's why they don't recommend the haunted night attractions for children under 10. (Although hubby and I might go back for the hauntings!)
I can't wait for next year's event, the one change I hope they make is that they give a bit more advance notice. We only received our invite on Friday, which was unfortunately not enough time to let others know in advance. If you have a little Sens fan I highly recommend the Sparty's Kids Club, they usually provide a tonne of loot, great events, tickets for members and discounts to other local attractions. Word is the kits will be available in the Sens stores starting October 15th.
Coreen is a geriatric mother living with her husband (hubby) and 3.75 year old daughter (V). She works in IT Security but doesn't yet know what she wants to be when she grows up. She also blogs at One Day this Blog will have a Snazzy Name (and is open to naming suggestions because really.)
