Ramseyer Farm

We have been back here at least three years in a row now.  It is a fun family farm – agritourism at its best.  Each year they have added, moved, or done something different.  This year, they moved the peddle cars and build a huge corn “sandbox” in a barn.  Everyone – young and old – can have fun in this thing.  I forgot my good camera, so we just have iPhone pictures.

How tall?

     

Little photo ops:

                  This is the big corn bin.

    

The rocking horse

     

The tire playground, rat race, and cars

              

We have decided we like going on Friday nights when everyone else is gearing up for Friday night football.  The weather was a bit misty toward the end, but overall just overcast. 

At the end, we picked out two pumpkins for carving.  We knocked this out the next day.  (Just do everything fall-like in one weekend was our motto, I guess.)  Madison and I worked on the cat one; Jeremy and Ellie on the scary face one.

        

Other random fall fun to cram in this post – Wendy’s kid’s meal fun and Camp Luz fall fest crafts.

         

We enjoy the cooler days of fall.  The changing leaves, and sunsets that remind us how good life is. 

Wooster Memorial Park

We were invited to go hiking with Grandma, Steph, and LIlli one Sunday afternoon.  The weather was beautiful.  We piled in the van (with their dog, Bella) and headed to Wooster Memorial Park.  I love this place.  I like the ups and downs, the stream that runs through it, the leaves that blanket the ground, the trees that shade the path.  It is just a bit far from the house, and I don’t think of it often. 

But today, we took time and went. 

We needed this fresh air.

            

Soccer Season

We wrapped up our soccer season last Saturday.  It was a pretty big time commitment – 2 weeknights (1-1/2 hours each) plus Saturday games.  But it was only 6 weeks, and you can do almost anything for 6 weeks. 

I didn’t know what to expect.  I have never played soccer before; the girls had never played soccer before.  I really know nothing about it except it looked exhausting to run back and forth and only get a goal or two … and sometimes none. 

But the weeknight practices freed me up to go for runs/walks/bike rides.  It gave me a chance to connect with parents of the girls’ firends.  It gave me a chance to watch the sunset. 

The Saturday games let me watch the girls in competitive play – a bit different than the performance-based dance lessons we had been involved in.  It let Jeremy and I sit together and watch as the girls grew in their ability to play each week.  It taught us to reign in criticism, and let out encouragement.  It taught the girls not to compare, but to cheer one another on. 

I think it was good. 

Madison’s team was winless, but they had heart.  They kept playing every week, even when they couldn’t score many goals.  Madison was better than when she started.  She enjoyed playing, and she might play again in the spring.  I only took my camera to one game, and her team had more subs.  So, I didn’t get as many pictures as I would have liked. 

                

Ellie’s team was undefeated.  They had less players on their team, so they had a chance to be on the field quite a bit. Ellie had a great time.  I think she’ll play again in the spring, but we’ll see.

                      

  Sports – a blessing for the family … and sometimes a major stress.  Each season is a new experience.