The Case of The Missing Campers A.K.A. Halloween Campout 2013

It was a cold and rainy Friday afternoon when we arrived at the campsite.  We helped set up the canopy not a thing went wrong, it definitely didn't take us two tries and a lot of confusion, nope it didn't.  Then we set up our tent and tried to stay dry the rest of the night. We failed.

Fast forward to the next day, that's when I saw it.  An empty ring of chairs, seemingly abandoned mid use.  Where had the campers gone?

I went on a mission to find them, those missing people that surely had a good reason for leaving the warmth of the fire.  Eventually I found them, feeling reassured that I was not alone to fend for myself.

I found them being Superheroes.

 

Helping find firewood to keep us warm.

 

 

Spending time as a tree.

 

 

 

Snuggling with the youngest camper.

 

 

 

And talking with sisters.

 

 

I found the campers playing guitar in the fire light.

 

And being with the ones they love. 

 

 

The case of the missing campers was solved.  None of us froze, we all ate too much, and spent time with people we don't often get to see.  I was glad to spend time there, and am glad to be home to sleep in my warm bed, and to spend time with our puppy dogs.

 

 

 

A pumpkin patch, but no pumpkins.

I have wanted to go to a corn maze since the first time I heard of them.  I finally got my chance.  We went to the cider mill where they have a children's play area, a pumpkin patch, and a corn maze.  I was  very happy to have a family fun day because we seemed to have spent the last month home sick.  It was a spur of the moment decision.  Kevin had been talking about wanting to go to the cider mill and as we sat around Saturday morning trying to decide what to do that sounded like the most enjoyable option, so 30 minutes later we were in the car headed out.

Now here is the truth about taking your child to this sort of thing.  It takes  much longer to pack and head out the door than it would if you weren't taking them along.  You risk meltdowns over having to stand in line or being too small for something they really want to do.  And inevitably the one thing you really REALLY want to do, oh lets just say the corn maze, is the one thing that will not hold their interest longer than 30 seconds and you will have to go find something more entertaining for them.  However, it is 180% worth it to see how excited your kid gets when they get to go inside a Teepee, feed a goat, walk across a bridge to nowhere, or get to experience their first hayride.  I wouldn't miss that for anything, even getting to go through the whole maze.

 

 

 

 

I smell a yearly tradition in the making.  Oh and by the way, she looked at the pumpkin patch, but couldn't be convinced to pick one hence the title of this post.  But have no fear always using our resources wisely, we spent the pumpkin money on a second dozen cider donuts.

Fall Leaves Project Day!

I have been wanting to make some fall leave décor for awhile now.  This morning I decided today is the day and off we went on our walk with our basket to collect the perfect leaves.

 

We got distracted in the back yard by a caterpillar and ended our trip with a basket full of leaves, a dandelion, an acorn, and three fallen rose petals.

 

 

So a few easy steps later, we had laminated the leaves, cut them out leaving enough room for a hole punch, punched said holes, and hung the leaves on a piece of string we had around the house.

 

 

 

Dravyn helped pick leaves, dry a couple of the wet ones we had found on the ground, and helped pick what order to put them in with just a little help from me.  I spaced them using my palm width as a measuring stick and we were done.

 

She seems pretty excited about her project and has shown it to her daddy and grandma already as soon as they walked in the house for lunch.

 

 

 

I can't wait to find more projects to do with her this fall.