Fall Fun

I can never decide whether fall or spring is my favorite season, but I am really enjoying fall this year. It may be because Drew is walking now, so it is easier for us to spend time outdoors together. We've also had some fun outings as a family this fall.

We took a tour of a replica of one of Christopher Columbus's ships, the Nina. It is supposed to be "the most historically accurate replica of a Columbus ship ever built." I was amazed by how small the Nina was. I cannot imagine crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a ship that size, with the crew sleeping on deck (the cargo hold would have been full of provisions). I now have a much better appreciation for how much courage it must have taken to set out on a voyage in such a ship, especially into unknown waters.

Our trip to the apple orchard was also fun. We enjoyed exploring a big corn maze (my husband has an amazing sense of direction!) and took a hay-rack ride to pick a pumpkin. Gracie chose two miniature pumpkins, one for herself and one for Drew. My only complaint about the apple orchard was that each activity cost money. They even charged five dollars per child to play on the playground (we went to the park instead of paying to play). The best deal of the day was the hay-rack ride to pick pumpkins. The only charge was for the pumpkins, and the miniature ones were only a quarter each.

I think one of Drew's and Gracie's favorite things this fall has been raking the leaves in our own front yard. We have a huge silver maple tree in our front yard, so we have plenty of leaves! Drew and Gracie each have a small plastic rake and we have spent time outdoors raking leaves almost every day for the last week or two.

Sick

The other day I read the title of a post on Smart Not Cheap that made me laugh: "Rumors of my blog death are greatly exaggerated...." I'm glad Michelle is still blogging over there because I enjoy reading what she has to say.

When I read that title, I realized that I have not posted here for quite some time now. Given my track record with writing, it's pretty much a given that this blog of mine will die sooner or later. But today is not the day.

The last couple of weeks here have seemed long and tiring. First Drew was sick with a cold followed by an ear infection. Then Gracie got sick with the same thing (minus the ear infection). Finally, the day after both children were finally well, my husband got it. I am still trying to catch up with everything that didn't get done around the house while I was taking care of sick children.

When Gracie was at the doctor's office last week, I asked the pediatrician for his opinion on flu shots. He said he thinks they are beneficial. I ask him his opinion every year, and get a similar answer every year, but so far I have never taken my children for a flu shot. Sometimes I wish I wasn't responsible for making decisions like this. I guess I need to get busy and do some research on flu shots.