In October, one of James' professors invited all the students in his class and their families to spend Columbus Day weekend at his family farm in New Hampshire. It was so generous of their family, who hosted us in a beautiful house, fed us delicious meals, and in general were just the best of hosts. It was a great little vacation for us, and a great chance to see New England in fall. Our children were not huge fans of the drive, but it was worth it!
The first morning we were there, they gave us a grand tour of some of the highlights of the property. We were lucky to have lovely weather all weekend too!
I couldn't quite get a good picture of it, but that is a little waterfall there, where apparently showers used to be taken.
Between the family that hosted us and the families of the students, there were lots of kids there, and it was so much fun for our kids to have such a gang around all the time! I didn't get a picture of it, but the house we were staying in had the coolest little crawl space that they had transformed into a life size doll house. That night, they made a huge fire in the fireplace, and everyone sat around and sang songs.
On Sunday, we walked through the woods to a little chapel that they built on their property. One of the students in the class is a priest, so he said mass. After a nice brunch, we drove to a nearby mountain for a hike. It was steep, but not too long.
Someone brought cookies so everyone had a nice little treat while we enjoyed the view.
On Monday morning, the students had class in the dining room. So those of us with kids headed outside to keep the volume level conducive to thinking.
When Lucy was about 2 or 3, she memorized Robert Louis Stevenson's poem "The Swing" and used to chirp it out in her cute little voice every time we went to the park. In Lucy's homeschooling co-op, they are working on memorizing it, so she has quickly relearned it.
My favorite part: "How I like to go up in a swing, Up in the air so blue, Oh I do think it the pleasantest thing, ever a child can do."
This is their horse Sunny. All three kids were so excited as we walked towards him. When we got closer, Peter and Lucy started to get shy as they realized how big he was. Charlie kept running toward with him open arms, ready to give him a big kiss. Charlie has no fear of animals. He fed this horse grass and flowers over and over, completely ticked at the huge horse licking it out of his hand.
I was having a hard time taking pictures, making sure he was staying safe!
Lucy decided it was safe after a little while and fed him as well.
It was truly a beautiful weekend, and we managed to make a quick trip back. Peter had the sniffles, but we didn't think too much of it. The next morning Charlie had a dentist appointment at the Children's Hospital. While we were there, Peter started screaming and just wouldn't stop. It seemed like it might be related to his cold, so I called our pediatrician from the hospital. She told us to just go to the ER since we were right there. The ER was so packed that we had to be seen in the hallway-- there were no rooms and it was 11am! It quickly became clear that Peter just wasn't doing very well and they transferred him up to ICU later that afternoon. He kept working harder and harder to breath and late that night they decided he was just getting too tired and working too hard. They put him on a breathing tube and ventilator. He had to be sedated asleep the whole time he was on that. Sunday night, they decided he was doing well enough to take it out, and it was a slow, back and forth road to recovery from there. He started perking up Thursday morning and we were finally released that night. The doctors said the hospital is just full of kids with these nasty viruses, that seem to really affect kids who are otherwise healthy. Whew. They were eight very stressful days, but we were so thankful for all of the prayers and help we had. James was able to make it to work and class, and we had dinners every night thanks to all of our generous friends.
To celebrate Peter's release and the family's reunion, we went apple and pumpkin picking after we had recovered.
Charlie was just as excited as last time.
"Kup-pick" is how Charlie says pumpkin.
Lucy wanted a turn.
Lucy designed both of the pumpkins and James and I carved them.
Later that week during our art time, Lucy worked very hard on this.
And then it was Halloween. I had a little lion, a tiger, and a pretty princess.
James often plays tiger with the kids and it is a big hit. Charlie saw this costume in the resale shop and got so excited-- "Kiger! Rawwr!!"
Little lion was too excited and busy for me to get a good picture.
We went with a group of the neighborhood kids, and had lots of fun. Charlie was even saying "kick or keet!" by the end.
Back at home, little lion was content to accept an apple and a graham cracker as his treats. He didn't want to take the costume off though!
Grandma sent us a little box of goodies, including some vampire teeth that the kids think are hilarious.
The reason there are always a few little pictures of our homeschooling adventures is that at the end of every semester I have to make a portfolio to bring to an official in our county to prove that Lucy is doing age-appropriate work in all subject areas. This is the place where all of my photos go, so you get to see them too. Here is a chalk pastel piece that Lucy did this week. The fall trees are being reflected in the water, in case you can't tell. She really loves doing chalk pastels.
And here she is donning her mask of King Tut that she made at her homeschooling co-op in history class. She LOVES co-op, and for good reason. The teacher is so kind and creative, and it's a great group of kids. I had to laugh when a whole group of kids emerged from her house wearing King Tut masks for pick up. They were all so proud. Peter, on the other hand, is terrified of the mask, and starts screaming and running as soon as she puts it on!
