Fall Fun Day

This is Fall Break for the kids.

Today was supposed to be Fun Day with them, and I guess it was depending on who you ask.

It started with taking Kara out on a Mommy date time. We chose a doughnut with milk and coffee to enjoy. I thought we may just walk around, but she wanted a drive by the river.

So, a drive by the river it was--after seeing quite a few people we know in town. One of our neighbor's teenage daughters works at the doughnut shop. She saw someone else from church, and yet more people that we know walking into the doughnut shop. Everyone likes the doughnut shop.

She's starting to see why we like small-town living. If you like people generally, you'll enjoy seeing people you know every time you step out your front door.

Old bridge over the Wabash

The drive at the river was peaceful. I just took a miles-long loop using a couple bridges, finally landing back at our housing edition.

Then we packed a sack lunch to take to the apple orchard. My version of lunch varies from my children's. Apparently, even with a full refrigerator and pantry, we have no fun food. Part of being a mom is learning to turn a deaf ear to the whining and complaining, but giving the whiner/complainer more work to help remind that person not to whine and complain.

We met two other families there at the apple orchard. The only time moms get to relax a little is when all the kids are entertaining each other.

There's a large playground with picnic tables at the main parking lot. My kids are getting to the top end of the playground age, but they still clamber all over the place when they find one. They buried themselves and their friends in the pea gravel on the ground.

Ducks. Part of the orchard fun

We saw 10 different varieties of farm animals, most in the barn and the pastures, some wandering around like the turkeys and ducks.

Rolling down the hill

There's a small hill by the apple barn, so the kids always take a few minutes to roll down the hill.

The corn maze and u-pick portions weren't open today, but we want to go back this weekend for the maze. I think u-pick is closed for the season. Sometimes I wonder if it becomes u-steal. Hopefully not.

As an afterthought to all the fun, I did remember to buy apples, a nice Cortland variety. Crisp, tart, and perfect for eating fresh, which we did all day after that.

We brought two extra kids home with us to fill out Fun Day with the rest of the afternoon playing at our house.

Part of my fun today was when Kris grilled burgers for dinner, so I didn't have to cook.

Fall leaves

Once the other kids had gone home, I took Kal and Kara each on a walk around the neighborhood. We hunted for the prettiest leaves we could find and couldn't resist also picking up a perfect acorn.

So while the kids had the idea that a fun day involves spending a boatload on some out-of-town trip and sugaring them up something fierce, I thought the hometown, nearly free, Fun Day was great.

They did, too, when it was all said and done.