This year we didn’t have running water for Thanksgiving (my whole town didn’t) and I had really planned on going to visit my family for the holiday but Brooklyn didn’t want to leave her cat. My mom even invited the cat to stay with her, too, but Brooklyn just didn’t want to go. So we stayed home and last minute I had to run to Costco to get an entire meal. This wasn’t the first time I’ve done it this way! haha (I really don’t even mind doing it this way)
We had deviled eggs and a simple relish tray (on Christmas plates, heh) earlier in the day.
And then I cooked what I had to cook. We tried gluten-free stuffing so Payson could try it and it was digusting and no one ate it.
And then it was time to eat!
Lyla is a big fan of corn on the cob and ate every last bit of hers and had seconds. She tried a lot of the other food, too.
And then time for pumpkin pie! I got a huge three pack of whipped cream since it was Costco after all, and Everett LOVED that! I let the kids spray their own whipped cream and it turned into a… lot.
Okay sure, she’s not a baby, but she’s my baby. She threw up in the car first, on our way to drop the kids off at school. Then she was just so sick and sleepy. I spent as much time just holding her and cuddling her as I could.
Not too far from us is a really cool farm that has a pumpkin patch, a corn maze, and a whooooole bunch of activities. Barrel role, bouncy houses/slides, hay bale rides, rain barrel rides, and then the other section of the place is this area with dozens and dozens of pop up tent vendors with food and treats and a boatload of other items for sale.
The kids went in the barrel races and inflatable slides when we first got there but I didn’t take photos until we went on the hay bale ride. Here we were waiting in line. The man ahead of us was with his kids and was upset with how they were acting and scolded them in a really big way and man was that awkward. He literally told them they were acting like babies and to grow up. I wasn’t even aware that they were doing anything wrong. They seemed to be Payson and Ember’s ages. It was awkward. And then Brooklyn told Sierra how awful that guy was and the guy overheard so I was like, I hope I don’t get beaten up in the parking lot after all of this.
But the ride was fun! haha
It was a very cold October day so after an hour or so of fun we went and got apple cider. Oh yeah, first we all had to go potty so we went to the porta potties. It was the first time many, most I think, of my kids had used one and that was an adventure all on its own! There was a long line so everyone was right there to watch you go in. The porta potties were gross. In the one I went in there was a used pad on the ground. Then the water station to wash hands was tricky to figure out. Some other woman there helped us. That was nice of her. It was funny. Porta potties. Crucial and also not my favorite.
So… onto the apple cider.
This was homemade apple cider made with apples from the farm we were at and it was honestly the best apple cider I’ve ever had and I’ve never been the same since. haha. Just kidding. But I do consistently wish I could have more of it.
Only two of my kids liked the cider and I can’t remember which two. Sorry. Probably Sierra and Payson. I’ll ask them later and edit this post. Or I’ll never do that and never remember. ha
After getting warmed up inside and having our cold fingers warmed by the hot apple cider cups we went back for more fun! The four little kids mostly wanted to go on all the inflatable bouncy things. There was this huge one that they absolutely loved.
Brooklyn didn’t want to be there and kept asking to go home.
I felt torn between being there for her and for the other kids. It was a rough time in our lives. In my life… balancing her needs and the other 5 kids’ needs. I decided to make her come with us and stay through the whole thing. The other kids needed that family fun.
Right before going home I set up my camera to take a timer picture just to have the whole family in a shot. These are what I got.
And this one of just the kids is cool.
A man there offered to take our photo and took this and I liked it so much it hung on our living room wall for a few months 🙂
Crayon/marker/pen/pencil/lipstick on every wall, table, hard surface.
Chocolate milk dumped in toy boxes.
Needing this giant, awesome WalMart fan on a weekly basis almost! (If you have mess-prone kids, get this! It’s the best fan for quickly drying items/clothes/shoes/carpet!
Having to cut off the corner of your carpet after cleaning up a giant pink hair dye mess. Wondering how much your apartment manager will charge you to fix the pink-tinted hardwood floors when you move out.
Seeing this happy face when she knows she’s in trouble.
Getting the more cuddles and love than you could ever imagine.
We got to the pumpkin patch near closing and most of the fun activities weren’t open because turns out, they are only open on the weekends! Bummer. We made the most of the trip by getting ice cream (kids choice) and hanging out in the pumpkin patch and riding the wagons.
I got Ember and Everett’s curriculum from the school today and then went home and went through all our home school books to make piles to use this year.
Honestly I’m not feeling it a bit. I’ve been dreading school starting back up. I despise the public school curriculum, despise being chained by it and it’s killed every last bit of love for teaching I had. I am going to put Ember in regular public school next year and I’ll still home school Everett but that’s it. I hate this.
LOVE my kiddos and will try my best but it’s just nothing that fits in with my personality or strengths. I really miss homeschooling where it was really homeschooling and not teaching my kids with public school books 🙁
You might ask why we go this route and simply: we live in a state where I’m not allowed to home school freely but there are other benefits to living here. So yes this schooling part of it is very sad but I’ve gained something else. There are costs to every choice we make and homeschooling was the cost I paid for our location. I’m thankful to live where I live and I’m sad to not be able to home school how I want to home school… there are room for mixed emotions in life.
I try to squeeze in time to work on the online course I’m doing whenever I can. Bath time for the little two is always a decent chunk of time where they’re having fun and I can read.
