A couple of months ago, Carmen and David were sitting on my bed while I hung up some laundry.  "When is the party at the penguin park?" they asked. 

They’ve only been to one party at the park.  "The Halloween party?"

"Yes!"

"Hrmm," I answered back, "in about sixty days."  Two months.   Hrmm.  That was enough to be creative, I thought.  They like to paint their faces like clowns, I bet they’d like to dress like one.  We could cobble something together by then.  "So," I continued, "it was fun to see all the children wearing costumes, wasn’t it?  Would you like to wear a costume, too?"

  "I would like to be a dragonfly," Carmen answered back, quickly.  A dragonfly, of all things?  Maybe she had already thought this through? 

"Okaaaaay," I answered.  Okay, so not a clown a costume.  But wire wings aren’t that bad, either.  "And what about you, David?"

"I want to be a butterfly!"

One butterfly and one dragonfly, coming up.  I finished them in time for the Arbooretum this morning.

They were just made out of pieces of wire, panty hose, polyester fleece and an unmeasured piece of tulle, but Carmen and David thought their wings were just right. 

We were among the first to go through the gate.

We didn’t know what to expect of the event.  We were delighted–everything was just right.  The trick-or-treat trail was a hike through the woods, with various activity stations.  Here, Carmen and David were given a piece of candy . . . after they walked like animals.

Later they flew like bats on a zip line, and walked on a rope bridge between two trees.

I hadn’t expected the wings to take such a beating.  By the end of the trail, Carmen’s dragonfly wings looked like she had just had a run-in with a windshield.  Carmen didn’t mind, and we just bent the wings back into shape. 

After the trail, we visited with some snakes in one of the Arboretum’s classrooms.

Later C&D took a ride on the ponies while parents in line asked "HOW did make those wings?"

We ate our provided lunch, tried out the cake walk, and took a hay ride around the property.  Then we hitched a ride back to the parking lot, where we found a train parked on the nearby tracks.  The engineers waved and blew the horn, and we considered the day perfect.

~

Notes for anybody else who wants to go next year:  The gate opened one hour early for members.  Admission was free for family-level memberships and higher (and $15 per person for non-members).  We were first through the trail, but even later the grounds didn’t seem at all crowded.  The activities are definitely geared toward the younger set; there’s happily nothing spooky about the Arbooretum.  Members were given food coupons for water and a light lunch, so feel free to pack light.  Follow the signs for parking at lots outside the Arboretum.

Note on the wings:  Maybe we’ll try these again next year, in a new and improved evolution.  Maybe stronger wire or soldered reinforcements.  Or maybe a different type of wire altogether, like the kind in pop-up windshield sun shades.  Matt says the soldering is a little extreme, but the project, and then watching C&D walk with the wings swaying behind them, was a real parenting highlight.