Field Trip ~ The Pumpkin Patch

One of our favorite fall traditions is visiting a nearby pumpkin patch.

Between vacation and uncooperative weather, I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to make it to the patch before it closed for the season this year. 

But we found a way to squeeze a trip in.  Dh couldn’t make it {we went during the day}, but some of our favorite friends did .  

The weather in our area this summer and fall made for slim pickings at the patch…

However, we were able to find three pumpkins worthy of carving to bring home with us.

Homeschool Mother’s Journal ~ October 28, 2011

In my life this week…Vacation was over, the kiddos were on the mend…it was time to get back into our regularly scheduled routine.  We are not back to a regular routine yet, but we are much closer than we were on Monday .

But I have to admit…it was hard to go from warm, sunny and {mostly} relaxing days at the beach to chilly, rainy and {mostly} busy days back at home. .

In our homeschool this week…reading, writing, math, William Penn, viruses, t-cells, b-cells, k-cells and antibodies…

I am inspired by… the crisp air and brilliant blue skies of fall…this kind of weather inspires me to bake and clean and prepare for winter .

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…lots of errands: consignment drop off, apple orchard for more cooking apples, bank, post office, the final baseball games of the season and hopefully a trip to the pumpkin patch before it closes up .

My favorite thing this week was…being home…we had a lovely vacation, but there’s truly no place like home .

I’m cooking…more applesauce and apple crisp, chicken in the crockpot {which was yummy and made the house smell wonderful!}, homemade rolls in the bread machine to go with the chicken, and chicken broth using the chicken carcass...yep, it’s fall.

I’m grateful for…cozy slippers and our space heater, they’re calling for SNOW in our area tomorrow!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

This pic is in the running for our Christmas card  .

At the Beach ~ Day 7

It was our last full day of vacation before the long drive back home.  The weather wasn’t quite as warm as it was at the beginning of the week…but it was warm enough for just a little more beach time…

And now that everyone was feeling better and our vacation was about to end I wanted to at least attempt to get some family pictures . 

I do believe at least one of these will be appearing on our annual Christmas card .

At the Beach ~ Day 6

Thankfully, ds5 woke up on day six feeling much better so we made plans to have some fun.

A cool front had come in overnight, the wind made for a brisk day…but the sun was shining.  Not so much a beach/pool day, but a great day to head out to explore some local sights with the kiddos.

Ever wonder how much fun three kiddos and a dad can have with three quarters? 

A ton of fun if you spend your three quarters on fish food…

Ds9 was drawn to this store by the humungous boxes of Nerds in the window display.

Inside we found the biggest candy we have ever seen…Reese’s Cup anyone?

How about a giant Tootsie Pop?

 

A Sick Day at the Beach ~ Day 5

Ds4 was anticipating day five at the beach…it was his 5th birthday.  Unfortunately it was also a sick day for the poor little guy .

 

Soon after these pictures were taken the poor little guy took a long nap and woke up with a fever {this will be known as the never-ending cold of 2011}.

While he was sleeping his older brother and sister were working hard to protect their sand castle from the incoming tide.

The water made it to the castle and ended up creating a water-filled moat .

Even though he was tired…ds{now}5 felt well enough that night to open a couple of presents.

It’s no fun to spend your birthday in bed…especially when you’re on vacation.

It was so nice to see a smile on the little guy’s face .

At the Beach ~ Day 4

On our fourth day at the beach I made it out before the sunrise…I was drawn by the dolphins playing in the water {if you look closely you can see two fins in the picture above}.

While I was out I got to see the sun rise…beautiful!

Ds9 soon joined me for an early morning shell walk.

Later in the morning every one headed out for more playtime in the ocean.

 

 

At the Beach ~ Day 3

Another beautiful day at the beach…

The kiddos’ sand castle survived the night.

Ds9 is on his daily {or almost hourly} round of shell hunting.

In the afternoon we headed over to a cove area to look for more treasures from the ocean.

The kiddos tried out every pool they found.

 

We found two sea stars

and a bunch of hermit crabs.