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.

 

 

She took me for a walk.

This morning Dravyn and I went for a walk.  Her in mismatched clothing and me lugging around a camera because today she was in charge.  We stopped on our walk to look at anything that grabbed her attention.  It was painfully slow, and extremely fun watching the little wheels turn in her head.

Starting our walk.

Look at all the tiny holes.

Hey mom these are pretty leaves. ( I carried them home in my camera bag for her)

"Mommy Fall." She was very concerned about that grate.



She stopped to get the rock out of her shoe.

 

 

"Mommy Bug!"

And then she squished it.

At one point she decided to sneak down the sidewalk which quickly turned to crawling.  After a little begging she walked on her knees and eventually decided to actually stand and finish the walk home.

 

 Now she is down for a nap while I relax and listening to the rain outside of the open windows.  I hope that she enjoyed our walk.  I know I did.

I'm pretty sure I've said this before but....

I LOVE FALL.  Fall and winter are my favorite seasons of the year.  Technically the 22nd is the real start of fall, I can't stand coffee products even if they are pumpkin spice and from a nice coffee shop, and the temperature seems determined to stay in the 90's.  Even though all of those things are true, I still can feel fall coming.

It feels like fall because this is the view I have through the window above the sink as I wash dishes.

And I made a double batch of homemade no bake cookies last night.



Do cookies somehow become healthy if you use fruits and veggies to hold down the edge of your wax paper?

The random cool mornings over the last week and a half assure me that summer will soon be gone and I will start preparations for family camp outs, Christmas shopping, and switching our outside play time from early mornings to mid-day.  Soon the walks we take will be punctuated with the sound of crunching leaves under our feet, and the trees will turn from green to yellow, orange, red and brown.

This fall is going to be amazing indeed.

Yikes!

It has been too long.  Since the last time I have published a blog post I have started three posts.  One of them was about how Dravyn was sick off and on for three weeks, one about how it had been two weeks since I posted anything, and a third about the top 5 things I think about when I look at my family.  I think I will finish that one eventually.  I also started one but didn't actually write anything, so it is just listed there blank, and I finished one.  I am debating with myself about hitting the publish button on that one.

Right now life is stressful.  It isn't sunny everyday, every cloud has a silver lining, and things will get better, at least that is what people always say.  I think they lie.

In reality I know things aren't that bad, I know that they could be worse, and that at least things will change.  Better or worse who knows, but I like change, it at least means there is a possibility of better times.  I also know that I sound like a baby, I promise that I will snap out of it, but sometimes you just have to get it out you know?

Anyway tonight I was thinking about cleaning.  On that subject lets just say the skills and habits necessary for keeping a clean and organized household is not something that was instilled in me as a child, or something I come about naturally.  I think cleaning is a big cosmic practical joke.  You clean and then dust falls, dirt and grass gets tracked in, the dogs roll in something before coming in, or you have a kid.  And don't even get me started on laundry, talk about a chore that can never be done.  You are always wearing clothes that are going to need to be washed, so even if everything works out perfectly and every other item of clothing, all the towels, and bedding are clean, you still aren't done.  It's enough to bring someone to tears.

Last weekend we went to stay with my aunt for a few nights, see some family we don't often get to see, go to a Thirty-One meeting, and just get some away time.   It was a nice time, but I can't wait until this weekend when we finally have nothing planned, and hopefully none of us will be sick.  I need a nice relaxing weekend.

 

Maybe my next post will come in less than a month.

My very beautiful 2 year old.

The 9th was Dravyn's birthday but we celebrated the 6th.  She had some people come to celebrate with her, including my cousin who's birthday really is the 6th.  It was a great day with pizza cake and a big surprise for the birthday girl.

 

She got a little people barn and has been carrying it around the house playing with it everywhere and after the initial scare over it making noise, now she is loving the sounds it makes and the animals.

 

Her big gift was from her grandparents, my grandparents, and her father and me.  She loves it and has been wanting to go play at her "park" all week.

 

 

Her actual birthday was really laid back, we played outside in the morning, and went about our usual schedule.  She did con her grandparents into taking her to McDonalds to get fries and a cookie, and to go to Wal-Mart where she got a new outfit and some hair clips.  The night finished with a jello fish bowl just for her and some two year pictures.

 

 

She has gotten so big over the last couple of years and I can't wait to see how much more she will be able to do next year.