Ellm's Family Farm

Upstate New York is the only place I have lived that has multiple farms that put on a slew of activities for families each fall. We have been visiting Ellm's Family Farm since MiniM.E. was little, but as our family grew and the season pass wasn't such a good option with all the other activities we have on fall weekends, we have been visiting less and less. Last year we didn't even make it.

Thanks to our awesome realtor, Christine Marchisiello having a client appreciation day, we were able to visit for FREE today!

Ellm's has really been working hard to improve their farm, layout and number of activities since we visited last. It was AMAZING. 

The kids definitely could have stayed all day. We went from activity to activity and they just kept asking for more. We had a break mid-day and thanks to the appreciation event had BBQ lunch while the kids painted pumpkins and ate cider donuts. 

Thankful we had an opportunity to play at Ellm's this fall. 

Natural Stone Bridge and Caves

A couple years ago we took a field trip, just a couple moms, me and the kids, to Natural Stone Bridge and Caves.  I've been wanting to take the kids back for a while, but with a baby and a two year old who makes it his mission to find dangerous things to do at places without cliff drop offs, moderately fenced wooden bridges, and sinkholes, I needed another pair of hands. 

We teamed up with one of the other families we went with and brought the husbands along for reinforcement. The big kids had a much more exciting time exploring this year, so even though the stamp scavenger hunt was no longer active, there was plenty to look for to keep this crew busy: mushrooms, sticks, bugs, and a tiny frog! My stuntman lasted only a few minutes on foot with his little legs and it being so close to naptime. It was a huge relief when Daddy wore him in the backpack so I didn't have to worry about him. It couldn't have been a more beautiful day for the short hike and we had such a great time we ended up staying most of the day! 

The boys must have felt left out since they were both backpack-bound most of the day, so they had their own excitement when we got home.

Our Second Week of School

School happened this week. No one was very excited, but we are getting in the groove and getting a lot done. 

MiniM.E. had her first dance class Wednesday. 

Poor LittleL.G. had a sick day Thursday/

But things started shaping up for the end of the week, and even though we weren't all 100%, we enjoyed spending some time outside with some walks, a "ball pit" a trip to the Dairy Haus and ending the week Sunday with an afternoon at Moreau Lake.

First Day of Dance

This week will be our second week of school but our first week of school with after school activities.

First up for Monday: LittleL.G.'s first day of dance at the Dance Lab.

She was nervous, but knowing one of her friends was dancing too made it much better!

Last year she was at the community center, perfect for her because it was low stress, low expectations, super cuddly and friendly, and lots of fun. Perfect for us because the other kids could play in the gym.

After seeing MiniM.E.'s recital last year, she was hooked on costumes and decided she wanted to dance at the dance lab too!

Day one was a huge success! No tears, no hesitation, and she said she loved it!

Nature Fest

It was a cool rainy morning, very Autumn-esqe. A perfect morning to visit NatureFest at Moreau Lake. We saw some owls, watched a fish fillet demonstration, made rope, and MiniM.E. was the most patient to get her face painted by a lovely yet inexperienced high schooler who worked so hard and took a very long time.

The best part was the horse drawn wagon ride. Three families got on before us and didn't realize ours was a family of six, seeing Daddy and the girls and not me with the boys, and offered us to hop on too so we wouldn't have to wait. That was one crowded wagon!

Also in today's news: back to school haircuts:

At Least the Weather is Nice

I was just revisiting older posts about the other five years of back to school and this start to the year definitely sits at the bottom. We are definitely at a disadvantage starting the day after coming back from a vacation- it usually takes us all a week to recover from a week away anyway! MiniM.E. is in third grade now and between seeing the curriculum come in that I've chosen for her and hearing tales from a neighbor, I think she knows this year is the real deal. LittleL.G. is excited sometimes to start kindergarten, but unlike MiniM.E. who came in blind, she's seen how school goes at our house- she is excited for the one on one Mommy time, but not for doing the work. SlimJim doesn't know what's going on, but even though we didn't start back in full force, he knows something's up and he is NOT happy that there is a period of time during the day where I am not paying him attention and giving someone else attention. Like most kids, he's only wants it when he can't have it. I'm sure it will just take some tweaking. And still, our total school hours of formal learning and direct teaching from me are about two, with MiniM.E. having another hour or so of work to do on her own. So even if it's a challenge, at least it's a small fraction of our day.

BUT... 

At least the weather is nice. We have lots of time in the day to play outside. The girls are thrilled because their best friends down the street will be homeschooling this year as well, so that's a ton of extra playtime for them; every day so far!

Things are already improving over day one. With four kids to figure out this year, it might take us a bit longer to get in the groove, but I'll take "not as terrible"! To celebrate and get the kids outside while the weather lasts, I threw them in the car for a couple hours at the beach. 

Happy First Day of School

What A Great Place

While being away from home with the kids isn't exactly a break for me, it was hard to feel stressed waking up to this view every morning:

The kids were all in love with the house, from just hanging around there and watching TV or playing in the "secret living room", to climbing the stairs down and back to the water (LittleL.G. even did it solo a few times when she needed something from the house), to enjoying being on the lake- fishing, kayaking, hunting for crayfish, and occasionally swimming (possibly the result of slipping or falling in). Even the one thing MiniM.E. feared the most after a dusky walk up the first night, spiders, became one of our favorite things to check out.

While spending all day every day at the lake house might have been enough, we also took a hike to nearby Carpenter's Falls. The hike to see the falls was treacherous enough that only MiniM.E., Daddy and Grandpa ventured to the bottom. 

While we waited for them, we found a great playground downtown. 

A trip to the area wouldn't have been complete without a meal at Hunter's diner and another nearby playground... 

And we couldn't leave without seeing some of Bob's friends and spending time at their house and pool. 

Everyone was sad to leave today as we packed up our stuff and headed out. We took a quick detour in downtown Skaneateles to stop at a delicious bakery and take a walk and then it was back home to unpack, wind down and get ready for the school year!