There. Those were our pumpkins. Taken with a cell phone because our camera didn’t work. And, now our pumpkins are all shrivelly…

This past weekend, we decided to declare it a “quality time” weekend - chock full of fun activities and LOTS of time with L, doing things she likes.  In the past month, the kid has had it kind of rough; mommy went from being a teacher and playmate and MOM to really sick and daddy had to stay behind when we moved in with MY parents.  It pretty much left her really confused and you could tell she was having a bit of a hard time processing it all.  When we first got back home, she would wake up in the middle of the night - only wanting daddy.  She needed to know he was still there, and this went on for a week.

So, this past weekend was about her, about our family.  We did a lot, and had a lot of fun….  We visited:

THE HOMEPLACE:  This is a local interpretive learning interactive farm based from the mid-19th century.  It’s an entire farm area with buildings constructed as they were in the 19th century, as well as costumed “inhabitants” that you can find spinning, knitting, feeding the animals, etc.  The farm animals that you’ll find are all actual breeds that were around and common back then on farms.  It was awesome, and L had fun running around on the farm and watching the many animals.  Above, you can see a photo of her in a period dress and bonnet that was part of a display where children can try on the different clothes.

GRAND RIVERS:  We also hit up a favorite lake spot.  It’s this little community with tons of quaint shops by the lake.  We found a new bakery that had just opened and got a cookie to go as we walked and explored some more.  L got to see ducks, geese, and more kitties here too!

THE PARK:  First, we visited the local farm store to see what sorts of farm animals they had for this time of the year.  Their were some kittens up for adoption and when we picked L up to see them in the cage, she grasped it with all of her might.  Despite our attempts to remove her from the cage, she held on for a good while.  She wasn’t crying, she was just determined to not leave them yet.  After we finally pried her fingers free, I got one of the laziest kittens out of the cage and Lorelei held her hands out - she’s never held a kitten but she knew exactly what to do.  She held it’s front half, and I held the bottom half up so she wasn’t just dragging it around.  Every kid in the store was instantly magnetized to the spot at that moment and they all wanted to pet the kitty while L held it.  We were finally able to pass it off to another kid, and Lorelei didn’t even shed a tear!  I was so proud.  Then, off to the park where she played in tunnels and went down slides and ran around like a little crazy.

By Sunday evening, we were ALL tuckered out and ready to just go to bed (even at 6 pm).  Heck, I’m still tired.  But, it was an awesome weekend…

Welcome back!