Cute Pumpkins and Weird Gourds

October begins tomorrow, and that means it's time for me to start hiding pumpkins around the house each night!

The last time I was at Trader Joe's, I picked up a bunch of cute little pumpkins for the kids to choose from.  Anna and Todd happily selected cute pumpkins . . . 

. . . but Joy and Daniel requested that I get them some warty, green gourds instead.  Note to self when I buy little pumpkins next year: Todd likes stripy ones, Anna likes white ones, Joy and Daniel like the weirdest green gourds I can find.

After the kids went to bed this evening, I hid a pumpkin here . . .

. . . and a gourd there . . .

. . . until all of them were hiding in plain sight somewhere on the main floor.

And just in case I forget to hide them one evening, I dusted off Joy's note from a couple years ago, and hung it up to remind me when I turn the lights off at bedtime.  Thanks, Joy. :)

Very Local Produce

As I drove home today, I noticed two girls standing under a neighbor's apple tree.

Then I realized they were my girls, picking apples for some recipes they want to make!  (Don't worry--the neighbor has said we can take as many apples as we want, since the squirrels end up eating most of them anyway.)

Joy and Anna weighed out the apples they needed . . .

. . . then enlisted me to help peel them . . .

. . . so they could make homemade applesauce.  Joy plans to put some in her school lunch, and give some to her seminary teachers. :)

A Birthday Kayaking Trip

Anna asked for some kayaks for her birthday this year.  That didn't work out for a variety of reasons, so I arranged the next best thing.

We rented kayaks in a neighboring town . . .

. . . and went paddling on the Nashoba River.

Anna and I had a great time.

Time to put my camera away and catch up with her! 

Don't Eat the Little Tables

We've gotten a ton of rain lately . . . 

. . . and I've noticed some big mushrooms popping up under our pine tree . . .

. . . then turning into big, funny-looking, white tables.  I wondered if they might be edible, so I looked them up and learned that they belong to a mushroom family called . . .

. . . destroying angels! The most toxic kinds of mushrooms on earth!  It sounds almost apocalyptic to say that there are a bunch of destroying angels out in our yard.  I considered removing them, but then I remembered that hydrangeas and rhododendrons are poisonous too, and nobody digs them up.

And speaking things that are more dangerous than they look, check out this sign I saw when I went for a pleasant walk in the woods . . . near a military base.

Signs of Fall

I love September in Massachusetts.  I love the cool air, and the hints that fall is coming.

Like the monarch butterflies flying southwest for the winter (because flying south would put them over the ocean, and there are no flowers to sip there).

The Canadian geese are headed southwest too, and we often see flocks of them pausing to rest in this farmer's harvested cornfield.

But the clearest signs that today is the first day of fall are the autumn wreath I hung on our pantry door . . .

. . . and the smells of pumpkin cookies baking in our kitchen!

Cards and Cupcakes

The kids had a day off of school today, so we invited some friends over.

While the older kids played cards . . .

. . . Anna and Brielle decided to make cupcakes.

They opted to decorate the cupcakes with an ocean theme.  I think they look pretty cute.

Daniel thinks they look pretty yummy.

Up to the Challenge

One of Anna's classmates invited her over to play today . . .

. . . so Anna and I biked over to her house after school.  I wanted to meet the friend and her family, to see what they are like.

I loved the positive-mindset quotes they have taped up in their house.  They remind me of something one of my own friends once said: "Don't say something is hard.  Say it's challenging, and I'm up to the challenge!"

It's Todd's Turn!

Todd has been wanting to take piano lessons like his older siblings for a long time, but I kept telling him to wait until our teacher was able to offer in-person lessons again.  I figured it would be a lot easier for him to learn the basics with a teacher sitting next to him to show him correct techniques.

Over the summer, our teacher announced that she would start teaching in person again this fall, so we eagerly signed Todd up for piano lessons!  Then the plan changed, and I asked our teacher if Todd should wait a little longer.  She suggested that we give virtual lessons a try . . .

. . . since Todd's mom and siblings can help him get the hang of things.

Todd enjoyed his first lesson today, and he's excited to finally start learning how to play the piano!

Lesson Day

We began Suzuki piano lessons with Ms. Bates just a few weeks before the COVID shutdown last year, so nearly all of our lessons with her have been virtual ones from our living room.  She hoped to resume in-person lessons this fall, but then COVID case numbers started surging again, and she felt it would be safer for most students to stay remote.  She gave vaccinated students the option of coming to the studio though . . .

. . . and Daniel decided he wanted to meet with his teacher in person.  We got Anna started with her remote lesson at home this afternoon, then Daniel and I drove to Ms. Bates' studio for the first time since last March, and arrived right around the time Anna finished.  It's kind of efficient, in a "new normal" sort of way.

 After Daniel's piano lesson, I took him straight home to a very different sort of lesson.  His church youth group was coming over to our house to practice the archery skills they learned a few weeks ago.  When I saw that they were using balloons as targets, I was tempted to go out and join them.  There's something uniquely satisfying about popping a balloon with an arrow.

It's Nice to Have Parties Again

For the first time since last March, we were able to attend a church activity today.  There are still a fair number of COVID cases in our area, but we're learning to live with uncertainty.  I'm not sure what we'll do at Christmastime when we can't meet outdoors anymore, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

For now, the weather is pleasant, the kids had a fun time riding in a trailer behind Brother Valentine's tractor . . .

. . . while the adults and big kids played ultimate frisbee . . .

. . . and Joy drew doodles in her notebook.

The First Day Back

 This morning, Todd and I looked down the street . . .

. . . at a sight we haven't seen since last March.

Todd doesn't look very happy to be starting school, but that's just because it was chilly outside.  He actually had a really great first day.

So did Anna!

Joy (who I somehow didn't manage to photograph today) and Daniel had a rougher time.  It's tough going from last year's low-key homeschooling-ish routine to a long school day that starts early in the morning and requires them to hustle to a bunch of different classrooms they've never been to before.  They were pretty tired when they got home.  

Daniel wants to quit public school for good and go back to homeschooling (mainly so he can sleep in and have more free time), but I think public school will do a much better job of preparing him for college and life than I could if I tried to educate him at home.  Hopefully he and Joy will adjust to school in the next week or two.

Back to School Eve 2021

It's the last day of "coronacation!"  After a year and a half of barely leaving home, all four kids are heading back to public school tomorrow.  They spent their last day of vacation . . .

. . . playing with squishmallows (and, uh, Joy's new tennis shoe???) . . .

. . . and having end-of-summer video chats with Pink Grandma.

Todd and I also drove to his school to tour his second grade classroom.

We got his school supplies all organized in his desk, then met his friendly teacher.  I was pleasantly surprised that a couple of his classmates remembered him by name from their brief stint in kindergarten together.

On our way out, we stopped by the measuring wall to see how tall Todd is.  At 5'-1", he is just a little shorter than an emperor penguin.  I never realized those things were so big, or that flamingos were so small (they're a foot shorter than I am).  I guess you're never too old to learn something new at an elementary school.