MI Tiny Adventures

Do you have a bunch of broken crayons around? This little crayon refresh was an instant hit!

All you need is a silicone mold and some crayons to create a new fun shape. My little one is really into dinosaurs right now and this silicone mold happens to be at Joann Fabrics for less than $5.

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 275
• Soak the crayons in water for about 10 minutes to remove the paper/glue
• Break the crayons into smaller pieces
• Arrange the pieces into the mold. You can make them solid colors or mix colors to make them swirl
• Put the mold on a cookie sheet & place it in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the crayons have melted
• Carefully remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let them cool for a bit. You can also place the mold in the freezer for about 30 minutes
• Remove the crayons by gently pushing on the mold

The would also make fun and creative gifts!

I’m always looking for new ways to entertain my little one. On a rainy day, I found a blog describing this homemade play dough and I thought to myself, why not! Let’s try it!

My daughter loves to help out in the kitchen, she really enjoys putting ingredients in a bowl and mixing them together. This play dough recipe is so simple and is made from items we typically already have on hand.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of flour
• 1/3 cup of salt
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• Gel food coloring (gives it the vibrant color)

Instructions

1. Mix together all the ingredients in a saucepan.
2. Cook over low/medium heat, stirring until the mixture is thickened and begins to gather around the spoon.
3. Remove the dough onto wax paper or a plate to cool.
4. Store in a container or ziploc bag

I read that if the play dough starts to dry out over time, simply put about a teaspoon of vegetable oil on your hands and work it into the play dough until it is soft again. Our green one turned out a little dry after it cooled, but the vegetable oil helped. It seems to last a really long time.

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So happy I found this recipe. It doesn’t take long at all to make the play dough but she spent hours playing with it. She really enjoyed using my rolling pin instead of her little one. We also found some cute holiday cookie cutters and she pretended to make me cookies in her play kitchen. It was really cute.

There’s so much kids can do with play dough, it’s fun to see what ideas they come up with.

Fall is my favorite! Cider and donuts, apple picking, pumpkin patches, fall leaves. I love it all!

Erwin’s Orchard & Cider Mill is a great spot to experience it all! They are a third generation family farm located in South Lyon, Michigan.

They offer “Pick Your Own” apples, sweet cherries, raspberries, pumpkins, asparagus, and Saskatoon berries. It’s our favorite place for picking apples!

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Erwin Orchards & Cider Mill is open Tuesday – Sunday during the fall season. Please note we are closed every Monday. They are a seasonal business, methods of payment accepted are cash or check. For your convenience an ATM is located in the Cider Mill. No debit or credit cards accepted.

Every day (when available):

• U-pick – apples, raspberries, and pumpkins (pumpkins available beginning late September) weather permitting / while supplies last.
• Cider and donuts – cider is pressed by our award winning Master Cider maker.  Donuts are made fresh in-house.
• Wagon rides – see the beautiful grounds surrounding the orchard and farm.
• Hay and straw bales – the kids love running and jumping on these!
• Corn Maze – try to find the objects hidden within this a-maze-ing and fun adventure (opens Labor Day weekend).
• Goat Walk – pet and feed the cute, friendly Nigerian dwarf goats.
• Sunflower garden – take pictures in front of our beautiful flower garden (blooms expected mid-September).

Saturdays and/or Sundays only:

• Mr. Bee’s Big 3-D Adventure – walk through and view this bright, colorful, whimsical, 3-D attraction ($2 each / children 2 and under complimentary with a paid adult admission).
• Farmer Bill’s Target Paintball – moving and stationary target practice ($3 for 15 shots).
• Carousel Acres Petting Farm – become acquainted with the animals: a pony, lamb, mini alpaca. You never know what you might see (animals may differ weekly). Dates, times, & pricing set by independent business owner and is subject to availability.
• Mystic Kettle – kettle korn popped fresh on site. Kettle korn is provided by an independent business own and is subject to availability (Sundays only).
• Got You Covered Photo Booth (dates, times, & pricing set by independent business owner and is subject to availability).

The Bostick Family Light Show is a fun show for the whole family! The show runs nightly from 7:30-9:30.

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The family started putting together light shows in 2020 and decided to raise money for a nonprofit. They chose to raise money for The Stork Foundation for Infertility. After running their light show for Halloween they raised $2,724 dollars and donated all 100% of it. The Christmas show began in late November 2020 and quickly became even more popular than the Halloween show. They decided to raise money for DAWG for this light show and raised $4,571.16 for them, again they donated all 100% of it! During the Christmas shows they made the local new, radios and papers.

This Halloween, the Bostick Family chose to raise money for Detroit Dog Rescue. They exceeded their goal and raised $1,152.31.

Check out their website to see what other shows they will have throughout the year!

https://bostickfamilylightshow.com

It’s so fun to see everyone dressed up in costume during Zoo Boo at Detroit Zoo. Unlike past years, this was not a trick or treating event. They passed out a goody bag at the entrance after you checked in. The trick or treating is fun, but it’s also nice not to wait in line for treats.

The Halloween decorations and pumpkins were really cute throughout the zoo. I was really impressed with the decorations in the reptile house! They were kind of creepy.

There was a juggler, a movie playing in a picnic area, pumpkin carving and other events. We missed the live music to walk around to see the animals.

I do miss the Smashing Pumpkins event, it’s so cute to see the animals with their pumpkin treats. Especially the bears! I thought it was going to be incorporated with Zoo Boo this year but we might have just missed it during our visit.

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My little one is at such a fun age and we are squeezing in as many fun fall activities we possibly can. We went to Little Boo for the first time on Thursday and had such a great time!

We had the perfect warm, sunny, fall day. They had several booths set up throughout the zoo for trick-or-treating. I was a little worried the lines would be long but once you got over the bridge everyone spread out quite a bit. The lines weren’t bad and we were able to see all of the animals in between.

A lot of the animals were really active. My little one loved watching the gorillas play. When I asked her what she wanted to see most, she said the sheep 😆 of all the animals. She wanted to see sheep.

There was a tent set up for meet and greets with different characters. My girl is a bit shy with strangers so we skipped this part.

They did have pumpkin carving demonstrations and other activities. We spent close to 3.5 hours at the zoo that day! I’m not sure we saw everything there is to see yet.

We will definitely add this to our list of annual events! They also have Pumpkin Path which is a similar event.

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Halloween Hysteria at Mill Race Village in Northville, MI is a spooky fun event for the whole family!

We listened to the story of the Headless Horseman, watched a magic show, went through a maze (my little one took a few shortcuts 😆), & got some fun treats! They also had Halloween crafts and games throughout the village.

It was really neat to see the village decorated for Halloween and everyone dressed in costume. We love visiting Mill Race all year long, it’s a beautiful place for a walk.

Check their website for more events throughout the year!

https://www.millracenorthville.org

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The Great Fall Festival at Maybury Farm is such a fun family activity. This two day event gives you and your family the opportunity to enjoy the farm animals, live music and fall activities!

🍂 Live music, tractor drawn wagon ride, face painting, s’mores/bonfire, pumpkin patch, pumpkin decorating, crafts, bees wax candle making, story time and sing alongs, and more!
🍂 Pizza food truck, cider/donuts, and hotdogs
🍂 Festival & Farm is $9, Festival, Farm, & Wagon Ride is $12. Under 2 are free.
🍂 Some activities (including face painting, corn husk doll making, pumpkin decorating, beeswax candle making, and s’mores roasting) require additional ticket purchase: .50 each; 12 for $5; 25 for $10

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The 2021 Great Fall Festival was held on October 9th and 10th. Check the website for other fun events throughout the year!

The Skeletons are ALIVE in Downtown Northville! There are more than 120 themed, life-sized skeletons lining the streets throughout the month of October.

Main Street and North Center Street continues to be closed for outdoor dining, which makes it easier to wander around looking at the skeletons.

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The scarecrows are back in Downtown Plymouth! Take a stroll through Kellogg Park to see all the different scarecrows. They will be up throughout the month of October!

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