Chol HaMoed Outings

Last night:  Putting Edge, indoor mini-golf.  Boy, is it hard to take pictures of glow-in-the-dark mini-golf!  This is the first time we’ve taken everybody – well, not YM; he had a friend’s birthday to be at.  But Naomi and Gavriel Zev came along, with their own sticks and balls and everything.  I guess they’re called clubs; I don’t know much about golf and “mini” is the only kind I’ve ever played.

 

Elisheva said, “After Abba, I won.”  It’s true.  And after her, I won.  And after Abba, Elisheva and me, Naomi won.  Gavriel Zev lost, with a score somewhere in the thousands.  Ted takes his game very seriously, and beat all of us by at least 30 points.  He was the only one who attained anything near par on most of the holes.  It was a late night, but everybody had a GREAT time.

(p.s. The secret to happy “whole-family” mini-golfing?  Glad you asked!  Let two people play at once; you’re finished the holes quicker, the pace stays fun, and the people playing the hole behind you don’t get quite so mad…)

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This morning:  Apple Picking!!! 

Despite my tedious insistence that Sukkos “falls” on the exact same date every single year (15 Tishrei), we can definitely feel how much later it is this year on the solar calendar.  Last year, we went apple picking the first week of October; those two weeks really do make a difference. 

Though we had a promising start to the day, and a forecast of (relatively) gentle weather, it was raining and chilly by the time we arrived at the orchard, with patches of sun coming through but not really warming me up – since I’d left my jacket at home.  Doh!  The one other family on the wagon ride was dressed in full arctic paraphernalia. 

Nice!

We started the day by mocking my mother, who turned out in full lumberjack gear.  Which actually worked out very well for her.  I wasn’t really mocking her, either… just gently pretending to dab at her pom-pom.

Ted was dressed sensibly, too.  He likes to pretend he’s one of the grown-ups, watching me shiver in my fleecy pink vest.

Sara managed to come along this year.  Naomi is refusing to wear her raincoat at all these days.  Like me, she’s in total denial about the change of seasons.

     

I’ve always said they were “out standing” in their field… a pun which doesn’t work AT ALL in writing!!!

  

The fields were pretty picked over.  They only had a few varieties left, including Golden and Red Delicious, which none of us enjoy.  Too sweet, too firm, too icky to bake with.  We usually get Spy, but they were all out of those in the orchard, too (turned out they had some at the cashiers), but Ted discovered a whole flock o’ yummy Empire apples, and really, you only need one good kind.  Ted, as usual, was secretly hoping for Jonagold or something really special, but I’m pleased enough with the flavour, texture, etc., of the Empire.

Awww… and here’s an absolutely adorable 4-year-old Gavriel Zev, looking like he just (innocently) stepped out of the Garden of Eden!!!

(not-so-subtle bid for attention)

In case you’re thinking, “Hey, aren’t they homeschoolers?  How could all that fun be educational???” we read the following to keep ourselves on our toes:

• The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree
• Reading Rainbow DVD – How to Bake an Apple Pie and See the World (didn’t actually watch it in the car – but we saw it last week to PREPARE for apple picking)
• The Apple Pie Tree
• Life of Fred Elementary Math:  Apples (okay, not exactly apple related)

Also, despite vocal protests from my mother and feeble peacemaking defenses by Sara (along the lines of “Well, it’s probably slightly better than any Ancient Egypt song I might write in my sleep with my hands tied behind my back.”), we listened to several educational things in the car on the way to and from apple picking: 

•  Sandra Boynton’s Blue Moo album – amazing, classic album; get it for the kids, but secretly still listen when they’re not around
• Two “Songs for Teaching” mp3 albums I picked up relatively cheaply:
• In Canada:  Canadian History & Culture
• Ancient Egypt “Facts & Fun”
• The first “Nature Songs” MP3 album FREE from Singing Science – not available as a direct download, but I was able to download the songs individually here:  http://web.archive.org/web/20070120123327/http://www.acme.com/jef/singing_science/

So the day wasn’t a total write-off, educationally-speaking. But even if it HAD been, that’s okay, too.  Oh – also, Naomi Rivka had her first ballet class of the season.  Wow!  I am very, very impressed.  Genuine Russian teacher… guess it doesn’t take much to wow me.  :-)

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Here’s what’s up next: 

• Tomorrow, Science Centre and Omnimax Theatre (Rocky Mountains?)
• Tuesday, Reptilia, plus a sing-a-long in a nearby sukkah
• Wednesday, “surprise” outing with Abba so Mommy (aka ME) can cook!!!

So what are you up to this Chol HaMoed???