I spy...

With a traveling husband and three out of four kids involved in numerous church activities, it's been difficult lately to keep all of my family members all in one place. So when one of our local homeschool groups offered us the opportunity to participate in a Family Scavenger Hunt, I realized it would be best to complete it in shifts so everyone in the family had a chance to be involved.

Last weekend, Mark was away in Europe, and a scavenger hunt adventure afforded us the perfect way to make the time without him pass more quickly. Our adventures took us to Hubbard Park and Castle Craig.

So, yeah, we've been here before (and, coincidentally, on another weekend during which Mark was absent), but the beauty of fall gave us a different experience this time.

It was a beautiful view and a lovely drive up and down the hill upon which Castle Craig sits.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a bit of time on the playground at Hubbard Park.

Oh, and there was a potty stop too.

If you know me, you know I have portopottiphobia and will hold it 'til I burst rather than stepping foot in one of these; however, my son doesn't seem to have a problem with it. I caught the horrid things in black and white; it seems to give them a more sophisticated air, don't you think?

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This week was a busy one of running one kid here and picking another kid up there. But Mark was home. So, though we were down one kid by the time Saturday afternoon rolled around, we decided to continue the Family Scavenger Hunt.

First, we drove through a small town called Collinsville. A couple of weeks after we moved to the Arctic, I called Mark and told him that I had just driven through the prettiest, most charming little town. You can see why:

Next, we stopped by one of my favorite farms, Tulmeadow Farms. They offer veggies, grass-fed meats, and Amish popcorn. They also have delicious ice cream. But in light of our recent sugar-free lifestyle change, we skipped the ice cream today, and I picked up some popcorn. We're going through the
popcorn quickly!

Today Tulmeadow not only had popcorn, but also quite an assortment of pumpkins.

The next stop on our adventure was Stratton Brook Park.

Stratton Brook is one our favorite places. During the summer, we visit weekly with homeschool friends to enjoy the beach and the lake (which is more of a pond) and to play frisbee.

I've mentioned this before...I love all of the farms in Connecticut! Our last stop was another farm. Flamig Farm is a popular place with its petting zoo and farm store.

We did not enjoy the petting zoo today; however, we did meet some adorable, fuzzy little chicks.

And we appreciated some of the other charm as well:

And then it was back to home sweet home where we've added some charm of our own:

We went a little overboard on Halloween decorations this year...since we're going light on the sweets, we over-compensated by letting the kids go crazy on our front porch. Happy Halloween!

P6 Hits the Trail

Clue: Search fruitlessly through each of the Nature Bags for the missing "6". Should the "6" finally be supposed to have been left along the last trail taken, make a stop at Hobby Lobby for a new "6" because, "P6" without the "6" is just...well, P.

Turn right and into the parking lot. Quietly utter half-curse words under your breath upon the sight of 3 big school buses parked by the curb.

Stand at a crossroads while trying to get your bearings. Look right and then left and then stare at the sky because that just might help in some way. Understand what it might be like to be a mama snake trying to herd her baby snakes when none of them will listen because they each think they know where to go. Allow your oldest daughter to overhear you share this feeling with your better half on the phone, whereupon she states, "But snakes are reptiles, and reptiles don't care for their offspring." Vow not to teach her anything else.

Finally find the first trail and skip happily along, down a hill, across a bridge. (Note: This trail would be easy to find for a lone adventurer, one without little people who have opinions. Strong opinions.) Find Peter Parker behind a tree. Smile in delight when the oldest daughter says, "It sure feels satisfying when you find one of these."

Now walk across to the other side of the park to find a second trail. Run smack dab into the huge group of children who came on the 3 big school buses parked by the curb which caused you to half-curse under your breath when you entered the parking lot. Choose the trail which weaves away from all of the children because a nature walk is more fun when bird calls are not mingled with the screams of children.

Take a few steps and have your littlest companion whine, "I'm tired", and another, bigger companion whine, "I'm starving." Tell them to suck it up and start walking. After another whines, "I'm hungry", find a bench, share a bag of Cheez-Its, pass around a bottle of water, and pray that no one needs to pee. Keep walking. Delight in two boys who name the steep path a "rollercoaster".

Bravely and solely take on the The Happy Stamper while the little people watch from the trail. Allow them to look on in awe as you wade through poison ivy and scale a large, rotting, prostrate tree trunk. Don't give in to the little peoples' requests to bring The Happy Stamper back to the trail because that would mean wading through poison ivy and scaling a large, rotting, prostrate tree trunk 4 times.

Keep walking and walking and walking.

Hear more from the Princess about being tired. Tell her to stop the whining and then give her a lecture about what good exercise this is for everyone. Have the oldest inform you that swimming really is much better exercise because a swimmer must use his or her strength to go against the force of the water.

After thinking that there are way too many pairs of trees which stand across the trail from each other, finally spot the two that make you go, "Duh! How did I miss that?", knowing that your 4 little companions probably had something to do with your poor observation skills. After discovering the pair of gigantic trees, once again brave the poison ivy to hike out to the noted tree. Once there, look into the hole at the base of the tree. Poke the cannister. Look back at the expectant faces of the 4 little ones. Would it be terrible to tell the 4 adventurers it's not there just because you're not quite as much of a nature freak as you feign to be and you're afraid to stick your hand into the hole?

Take a deep breath, overcome your fear of spiders and snakes and yank The Growl out of its hiding place. Enjoy leaving your mark.

Continue on the trail, hoping the end is near because the fatigue of the littlest one is growing. And after 4 hours of volleyball almost killed you Sunday night, you're afraid that, should you be forced to carry that littlest one, you might discover you are actually physically unable to.

Wish you could find The Ultrasound, but it appears to be one better left for winter when there is not so much poison ivy through which to wade.

Regrettably leave Peter's Nemesis and X-Men, it's X-Men for another time when tiny feet aren't so tired and rumbly bellies aren't rumbling so loudly.

End: One fun day of Letterboxing.

Have Barf Bucket, Will Travel

We've all had enough waiting around the house to see if the Princess is going to barf again. So we decided to head out to the lake to look for a letterbox and spend some Nature time. I'm a "sort-of" Classical homeschooler, so Nature Study is "sort of" important to me. By "sort of", I mean that I am a wanna-be Classical homeschooler who often gets sidetracked by my institutional/traditional background and training.

The ramifications this attitude has on Nature Study are that the joys that can be found in venturing into God's beautiful creation are often squelched by worksheets, writing assignments, and assessments. I'm working on it, I really am. In fact, some time ago I purchased the homeschooling Nature Study bible: Anna Botsford Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study. I have a love/hate relationship with this volume. The book moves around our house a lot; it may spend a month perched on top of the "Things to Sell on Ebay" pile until I decide to give it another shot whereby it moves over to the "Homeschool Materials Bookshelf." I hate to admit that my problem with it is color. I love black and white photos a la Ansel Adams, but the photos in this book are a la photocopier quality, and they are neither inspiring nor helpful. I suspect the publishers wish to preserve the integrity of the Ms. Comstock's book, but a color revision could be offered as a choice at least.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine gets it. Yesterday I downloaded Creative Nature Study. Full color and chock full of great Nature Study ideas and testimonies from moms who have done it. After perusing the articles, I determined that today we would do some Nature Study, puking baby or not.

And we had a great time. No clipboards. No writing assignments. No tests. The kids had just binoculars and their little legs with which to explore the lake shore. Of course I had my camera, and after telling the kids I would photograph whatever they wanted me to, they quickly set me to work taking pictures of every little rock and plant that crossed our path.

We were unsuccessful in uncovering the letterbox, but after leaving our footprints all over the drought-sticken lakeside, we decided to head back to the car--dirty shoes, treasures, and all.

Next stop was Carvel. I made a promise yesterday, prompted by the incredible guilt I felt about canceling all of this week's activities. I told the kids that if Audrey kept everything down today we would go out for ice cream. They kept careful watch on their little sister and her barf bucket, and since she didn't have to use it, they cashed in on my promise. We did, however, eat outside not only to enjoy the beautiful weather, but also just in case...and the little Princess kept down her ice cream.