It seemed like such a good idea at the time.
(Hint: not everything that seems like a good idea, actually is.)
It was a sunny, fall day. The best kind of fall day, it started out just right for sweatshirts and jeans and by the middle of the day, our sweatshirts were tied around our waists.
It was a family fun day. Better yet, a free family fun day, sponsored by our local autism group along with several corporate sponsors!
Our first stop was the corn crib...a great sensory experience! Basically a sandbox filled with corn! The kids could have spent all day there easily, but we knew there was so much to see and do.
Second stop...pedal karts! Go-karts with pedals in lieu of motors. Great fun! The kids pedaled a few times around the track before handing the karts off to the next in line.
We were having such a good time that I didn't think twice about trying out the corn maze. There were even signs inside and quiz sheets to help us figure out which way to go. No problem. Our family is full of intelligent people who love adventure. Sounds like just the thing for such a family, doesn't it? Again...it seemed like such a good idea at the time. Ha.
By the time we reached the first sign, I realized this was going to be a long process. And a longer walk. No way could Brian do this. So, I sent him back and told him to relax while we finished the maze. Four kids and one mom alone in the corn maze? No problem. We can do this.
Except Brian decided it would be a great idea to lurk there for a little while, knowing that our trail would loop around and we'd be near him again (I never was one for reading a map, though there was one to be read). And so...he lay in wait for his victim.
His victim? Oh yeah, the kid with high anxiety and at times a low tolerance for Dad's baloney. The kid who I'm sure jumped high enough to see the entire maze from above. The kid who showed every ounce of his Asperger's in the next few minutes. Dad received a one-way ticket and strong encouragement to the "door".
The kids and I continued on. We would conquer this beast! Or not. With every step, the mud on the bottom of our sneakers was building up until we felt we were walking on stilts. Still, we reached sign #2 pretty quickly. That, apparently, was the last of our luck.
On the way to sign #3, we lost a kid. This, I should have expected. Noah and Hannah had been racing ahead and though I had been telling them to stay within sight, they did not. Before long, I could not find Noah, but we did find sign #3. I figured...he's 12 and would be able to find his way out. The younger kids had had just about enough of the super-fun mud walking, and having 8 more signs to reach, we decided it best to turn around and find the entrance.
Except...we couldn't find it. None of the twists and turns twisted or turned in the way we remembered. Great.
Hannah had the bright idea (I'd love to say it was my own bright idea, but I do not wish to be struck by lightning) to simply listen for the music and then walk toward it, even if it meant following no path at all. We did find the very last part of the path and walked back out the entrance. Much to Brian's amusement. Oh, and missing kid was also there, laughing at the rest of us.
Never again. Or should I say...never again under those circumstances.
Never again when it has rained the night before.
Never again with most of my children. (There is one I would go with...alone. And possibly with a tent and provisions for a week.)
Actually, the list of people I would enter a corn maze with has shrunk to nearly zero.
See, I learn new things every day. ;)
Monday, September 24, 2012
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Kids Bowl Free review
Jessica asked about the kids bowl free program, so I thought I would break down our actual cost (because not much in life is truly free) and give my thoughts on the program.
Website: http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/
Breakdown of costs:
The bowling alley we went to was an hour away from our house, so there were significant driving costs, but I tried to do something else in the area on each trip...shop at BJ's, stop at a park on the way home, etc. One week, we even planned the bowling trip right before we had to drop my sister and her family off at the airport. We didn't go every week, but there were some weeks we went twice, so I will say we went bowling about 10 times.
Per visit cost.....................................$10.35
Not bad for 4 kids and I, not bad at all!!! If we had lived closer, I think we would have gone at least 2-3 times every week. If I had not also bowled and we had no occasional treat (slushies or pizza), the cost would have been only $5.00 for 2 games each for 4 kids.
On top of the minimal cost, it was great exercise in an air conditioned building and the kids had a blast. A couple of them also learned how to deal with disappointment (aka...gutter balls!), which is a valuable life skill. Noah improved from bowling about a 40 to an 80 and we are looking for a league for him to join!
Bottom line: It wasn't totally free, but when you have 4 kids, you don't get much closer to free! And it was fun! We would definitely do it again!
Website: http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/
Breakdown of costs:
- Kids bowl..............................FREE (of course)
- Parents bowl too pass............$12.50 (was $25 for up to 4 adults, split it with my sister)
- Family shoe pass...................$50.00
- Slushies (2x for 4 kids).........$16.00
- Pizza (1x)..............................$25.00
The bowling alley we went to was an hour away from our house, so there were significant driving costs, but I tried to do something else in the area on each trip...shop at BJ's, stop at a park on the way home, etc. One week, we even planned the bowling trip right before we had to drop my sister and her family off at the airport. We didn't go every week, but there were some weeks we went twice, so I will say we went bowling about 10 times.
Per visit cost.....................................$10.35
Not bad for 4 kids and I, not bad at all!!! If we had lived closer, I think we would have gone at least 2-3 times every week. If I had not also bowled and we had no occasional treat (slushies or pizza), the cost would have been only $5.00 for 2 games each for 4 kids.
On top of the minimal cost, it was great exercise in an air conditioned building and the kids had a blast. A couple of them also learned how to deal with disappointment (aka...gutter balls!), which is a valuable life skill. Noah improved from bowling about a 40 to an 80 and we are looking for a league for him to join!
Bottom line: It wasn't totally free, but when you have 4 kids, you don't get much closer to free! And it was fun! We would definitely do it again!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Goodbye, summer...hello, fall!
**Warning...this is a pretty boring post, probably. But I know in a year or more, when I look back, I'll be glad I wrote it. :)
I've never understood why the summer doesn't end until near the end of September. As far as I'm concerned, summer is gone.
Summer was a success. Seriously, one of the best ever. We were in a pretty good routine and spent a TON of time outside. I took the kids swimming at least twice a week, every week. Noah went fishing most of those times and actually caught some good sized fish! We took the kids bowling almost every Friday, with the Kids Bowl Free program. It was really neat to see them improve so much, and I'm going to be looking for a league for Noah to play in. We did the summer reading program at the library, as always. We even started up the new year of homeschooling at the beginning of August...and still managed to have lots of fun!!
Here comes fall...soccer will be starting soon for the three younger kids. Noah won't be playing this year, but will hopefully be assisting on a team of younger kids...with no siblings. AWANA starts up in a couple weeks for the three younger kids, and Noah is going to try out our church's youth group. Swim and gym will be starting soon, and everyone except Esther will be doing that! We're going to be doing music and art with homeschooling friends this year, every other Monday. On top of that, I have 4 online classes toward my bachelor's degree!
Busy, busy... :)
I've never understood why the summer doesn't end until near the end of September. As far as I'm concerned, summer is gone.
Summer was a success. Seriously, one of the best ever. We were in a pretty good routine and spent a TON of time outside. I took the kids swimming at least twice a week, every week. Noah went fishing most of those times and actually caught some good sized fish! We took the kids bowling almost every Friday, with the Kids Bowl Free program. It was really neat to see them improve so much, and I'm going to be looking for a league for Noah to play in. We did the summer reading program at the library, as always. We even started up the new year of homeschooling at the beginning of August...and still managed to have lots of fun!!
Here comes fall...soccer will be starting soon for the three younger kids. Noah won't be playing this year, but will hopefully be assisting on a team of younger kids...with no siblings. AWANA starts up in a couple weeks for the three younger kids, and Noah is going to try out our church's youth group. Swim and gym will be starting soon, and everyone except Esther will be doing that! We're going to be doing music and art with homeschooling friends this year, every other Monday. On top of that, I have 4 online classes toward my bachelor's degree!
Busy, busy... :)
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