Saturday Snapshot- Pumpkin Patch

This is from last month.  I took my kids for the yearly pumpkin patch trip.  We walked through the corn maze and played in the pumpkin patch.

We started coming to this patch when we moved her seven years ago.

The first year my daughter was younger than my youngest is now.  I remember her in the maze in her winter coat, hat and gloves.  We were lucky to have a warmer day this year.

I always wonder what they do with the left over pumpkins after Halloween.  Are they used for pies?  Sold for animals?  Used for pumpkin chucking events?  Canned?  Or do they just use the seeds for next year?

Saturday Snapshot! Goats!

Last weekend we picked up six goats so that the total number of goats we are co-owners of is up to 12.

This set has five females and one male.

They are pure blooded Boer goats.

They kids named them all, but the only one I can tell for sure is this one.  This is Cookie with the brown spot on her back.

This one didn't come home with us because she is still growing and wasn't as big as the other females yet.

 

This meme is hosted by Alyce at At Home with Books.

Saturday Snapshot- First Day of School!

This year our school district started one week earlier than usual.  It was odd having the first day in August, but as usual the first day of school is always exciting no matter when it happens.  My youngest doesn't start preschool for another couple of weeks, but the rest are settling in to their new grade levels.

This is hosted by Alyce at At Home with Books.

Saturday Snapshot- Dinosaurs!

Our local amusement park added a new attraction this year full of life size dinosaurs some of which will move and roar.  Scattered throughout the park are samples to entice you to come and spend some extra money to see them all.

We told our kids that this was going to be a once a summer thing and picked an evening to go over to only do the dinosaurs exhibit.  This is our second summer with season passes so we go at least once a week to either ride the rides or go to the water park.

Some people were rushing from one dino to the next, but we tried to get them to take their time and read the signs and try out the buttons since this was the whole reason we were there.

Each dinosaur had a label and some cool facts listed out about it.

At the end of the loop they had a sand pit with pretend fossils for kids to play in.  Our kids spent quite a while there but again, as this was all that was on our agenda for the day we didn't rush them.

It was hard to get some of the huge dinosaurs in one picture, but the smaller ones were no problem.

It was a fun hour or two.  I just wish you didn't have to pay an extra fee to see it.

Saturday Snapshot- Fish Hatchery

While my older two were at camp last week I took my younger two to a local fish hatchery to feed the fish.

When you throw in handfuls of fish food the fish all rush at once and splash around with their tails.

The fish are trout that will be released into local streams and lakes for fishing.  They range in size from small babies to very large older fish.

All the fish are now covered by nets are there have been problems with Blue Heron coming and eating the fish right from the hatchery.  Sometimes you can see them in the trees or along the edges, but we didn't see any today.

Because they are easier to see, my kids like to look for the yellow fish rather than the darker colored one and try to throw the food to just those fish.  Not that it works as once the food is in the water any fish might eat it.

One of our last stops is always the wishing well to make a wish or two until the next time we come to visit.

Saturday Snapshot-Kutztown Folk Festival

Every year since we relocated to Pennsylvania we have gone to the Kutztown Folk Festival.  It is held at the end of June and beginning of July for a week and it is always hot!  We enjoy going to see the puppet show.

During the show animals "sneeze" on you and water gets sprayed out and bubbles come out of the ceiling of the tent.  Here they are trying to catch some of the bubbles.

There are things to try like this machine that you crank to remove corn from a cob.

Each child got a chance to turn the crank and try their hand at it.

The people who work at the festival are all friendly and helpful.

Instead of rides and games there are things like hay mazes, make your own beeswax candles (which we did the past two years but skipped this year.  The children dip their candle in a pot and then walk around a rectangle repeatedly until it is thick enough to be done), bands and dancing, sheep shearing and quilt displays and demonstrations.

This was the first time we got to see the reenactment of the last hanging of a woman for killing her child in PA.

There is also an old time laundry station where the children can turn cranks,

swirl with a plunger,

and squeeze out an item in a press before hanging them on a clothes line.

All in all we had a good, though very hot, day and tried some new foods.  This is hosted by Alyce at At Home with Books.

Saturday Snapshot- Old Fashioned 4th of July

We've lived here for seven years and every year I heard people talking about going to the Duck Race, but I wasn't sure what that meant.  Last year at the weekly Farmer's Market I bought a ticket.  The ticket has the number of your duck on it and also gets you a hot dog and soda or drink after the race over at the pool at the park.  Quite a few ducks are winners.  The first three get the big prizes, but in all I think 40 of the 600 ducks get some sort of prize, many just the $5 back that you paid for the ticket.

This year we had two ducks, number 236 and 275.  We were excited because the first duck to go by had a bow tie like 275 and had a three digit number ending in 75.  It ended up being duck 175, but it built a good deal of anticipation that we might be the big winner!

Everyone gathers by the creek to watch the ducks float by.  Many get stuck in the rocks or by the banks, but no one is supposed to touch them or the water to keep things fair.

The sun made it hard to get a good picture, but the little yellow dots are the ducks as they went by us.

It takes longer than you might think for 600 ducks to make their way down the creek!

Also part of the day is a small walking parade, old fashioned games like sack races and free water ice.

There were no winners for the games, it was just fun.  We did not win the duck race this year.  Last year we got our $5 back which we turned around and used to buy more hot dogs and drinks at the pool.  It is nice to see how much fun kids and adults can have without employing any special technology!

This is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books.

Saturday Snapshot- Summer Reading Program

One of the things we love to do at the beginning of summer is to attend the Kickoff Event at the local library.  This year children were supposed to dress up as what they wanted to be when they grew up.  I remembered the morning of the event that they were supposed to dress up, but not as what.  So my two youngest decided to the Thing 1 and Thing 2 which seemed right.  We added a wig and then just changed the job to clown since he was already dressed up.  By the time we took the picture he had taken off the wig.

My daughter wanted to be an explorer, but couldn't find a hat that she felt worked with her costume, so at the last minute she put on a cheerleader costume instead.

My oldest was a scientist.  He brought test tubes and a small microscope.

We couldn't find another wig, I'm pretty sure in one of my cleaning fits I threw it away, so he put on a beret and was a painter.

This meme is hosted by Alyce at At Home with Books.

Saturday Snapshot- Races for Kids

Our local running organization puts on six kids races over the course of the spring and summer.  These are free events for children from age 3 to 14.  They compete based on their age with a different distance for each group.  Our three year old runs 1/8 of a mile.  This is him after his race.  He is the least excited about running.

Our five year old loves it but looks so serious the whole time.  This is him coming into the chute after running 1/4 mile.

Our eight year old has to run a 1/2 mile and gets really excited before hand.  This is her (the second one from the right) coming into the chute.

She ran it in a little less than this as I took her picture, then turned to take a picture of the clock.

And this is my oldest finsihing his mile run.

He managed to cut 45 seconds off his time from the first race to the second one.

Upon completion they each get a finshers ribbon.  He is holding it backwards, but it is a nice touch for the kids to all get something whether they were first, last or somewhere in teh middle.

This meme is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books.