Another Whirlwind Week

Whew! I hope you don’t mind if I duplicate my blog post style from last week, and do another summary of “What we’ve been up to!” followed by a quick round of “What I’m looking forward to.” It was another busy week, with no signs of slowing down.

1. Members Night at the Tulsa Zoo

Many thanks to the Tulsa Zoo for inviting us to their annual Members Night! This was an evening just for Zoo Members, complete with free train and carousel rides, extra activities for kids, ongoing Keeper Chats, giveaways, discounts on food and merchandise, and a concert by Hot Toast Music Co.!

Someone LOVED getting to ride the train!

The evening started at 5 p.m., and this was such a wonderful time to visit the Zoo. The weather was cooler, the lighting was gorgeous, and, of course, there weren’t as many people as there would have been during regular open hours. We don’t have a membership yet, but the chance to go back to Members Night is a pretty good incentive! 🙂 Learn more about Zoo membership here.

2. Tiny Porch Festival at Owen Park

After missing Tiny Porch Festival last year, I was pretty determined to go this year! Even though, minutes before it was time to leave, Joss declared that he’d rather clean the house than go out to a concert. What?!

I overruled him, so we headed to Owen Park for an evening of free outdoor music, complete with barbecue and drink options. We only stayed for the first concert, as the evening was warm and Joss was dragging his feet, but as the first concert was by Hot Toast Music Co. (yes, that was two Hot Toast concerts in 1 week!), of course he loved that part.

If you haven’t been to a Hot Toast concert, follow them on Facebook to get information about upcoming shows. They do such a great job of enhancing the performance with fun activities for kids–usually using recycled materials like plastic bottles and beans (to make shakers), or cardboard. Song topics include everything from click beetles to primary colors to beards to being kind and courageous. And the kids always enjoy dancing!

For a song about colors, the kids were given pieces of cardboard with colorful animals on them. They had to find the right color to fill in the missing square. So this was a green octopus, and Joss placed him over some green grass!

Hot Toast kicked off Tiny Porch Festival at 3 p.m., but starting at 4 p.m., a variety of bands began playing at several different porches throughout the neighborhood. You could just meander around, letting your ears guide you. Such a great time in one of Tulsa’s historic neighborhoods! Follow Tiny Porch Festival on social media so you don’t miss next year’s event!

3. Whimsy Cookie Co. 

I’d never heard of Whimsy Cookie Co. until last week, when they sent out a media invitation to preview their new Tulsa location.

Whimsy Cookie Co. was started in Memphis, Tennessee in 2007, and since then has become a bit of a phenomenon, with new locations across the U.S.–including one on Brookside! The company specializes in iced sugar cookies and “gooey butter cookies.” I tried a lemon butter cookie, and it was delicious.

We weren’t able to make it to the preview event, but Joss needed some water after Tiny Porch Festival, so I figured we’d stop by for some water–and a cookie, of course! The shop is adorable–very pink and sparkly, with a pink throne and a comfy pink sofa, both perfect for photo opps. It is located next to Zoe’s Kitchen.

Sadly, Joss had devoured his sugar cookie before I had a chance to sample it, so I can’t tell you how it compares to my very favorite sugar cookies in town, Ok Cookie Momster‘s. Theirs are absolutely incredible!

4. A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

Last weekend marked the start of Pumpkin Patch Season, so we headed on down to Pumpkin Town to celebrate! Plus, it allowed me to mark off an item from my Fall Bucket List early, so there’s less pressure throughout October.

There are soooo many opportunities here for taking adorable pictures! I had good intentions of trying out a new patch, as we have been to Pumpkin Town the last couple of years, but this one is the closest to our house, so…here we are again. Find TulsaKids’ list of Tulsa Area pumpkin patches here. A lot of them have similar attractions, like cow trains, corn mazes, photo opps, petting zoos, etc.

Look! Pumpkin Patches are a patch of fun for kids AND adults!

So what are we looking forward to in the next few weeks (since I already checked off half the items from my mini-Fall Bucket List from last week!)?

1. Trip to Bentonville

We are hoping to go to Bentonville at the end of October. I really hope it works out because I’ve heard the fall foliage in northwest Arkansas is gorgeous! And because I’ve been wanting to visit Crystal Bridges Museum for awhile. Daniel has a cycling event in Bentonville, so Joss and I are hoping to catch a ride 🙂

2. Carving our Pumpkin!

I’m always surprised by how expensive pumpkins are! Although, at least now I know I’m going to be surprised. We already got a cheap, little one at Reasor’s. And of course, we walked away from the pumpkin patch with a larger one that only cost somewhere around $16. What?! Anyway, I’m looking forward to carving it, even though I am the world’s worst at pumpkin carving. Any tips?

3. Reading “Scary” Books

For the past two years, I’ve enjoyed reading and blogging about some scary children’s lit. I’ve already read a couple of ghost stories for this year’s post, and am looking forward to reading more!

Check out my previous posts here and here, if you’re looking for some spine-tingling book recommendations this month!

4. Going to Tulsa Botanic Garden‘s Autumn in the Garden

Last year, TulsaKids made a set of Wizard of Oz-themed scarecrows for Tulsa Botanic Garden’s “Scarecrows in the Garden” exhibit. Let’s just say that they were a little more work than we anticipated…or maybe our scarecrow-making skills just weren’t as sharp as we imagined they might be…so we didn’t participate again this year. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to go and see the ones that other people made!

My mom and step-dad may visit the first weekend of October; they love Tulsa Botanic Garden, so we will probably be adding that to our itinerary. Plus, it looks like Tulsa Botanic Garden is having special activities, including pumpkin decorating, each weekend in October. Perfect!

What items have you already checked off from your Fall Bucket List? What activities are you especially looking forward to this month?