This weekend is Harvest Market weekend in our little town, by far the biggest to-do of the year. Imagine a yard sale times 30 and you'll start to get the idea. Add in fried dough, cider donuts, a fife and drum corps and campaigning local politicians and you're there. The town's population easily triples in one day. It is the place to see and be seen for the whole family.
Once fall hits, it's pretty much always hunting season for one critter or another in Vermont. If we're to continue hiking, as we hope to do, we all need bright orange stuff to stand out in the woods (we'll probably stay home once deer season, aka Amateur Hour, begins). As such, I was thrilled to find a bright orange cap on sale for a quarter. Rather than bother with a bag, I just put it right on my head.
My Wife kept making comments that I should always wear it no matter where we go so she can always find me. Nonetheless, I did not realize just how brightly orange the cap was until we walked back to the car and I saw my reflection in car windows. When we got home, she joked that we could get rid of Our Girl's night light. I asked if she'd been embarrassed to be seen with me wearing it around the market. She diplomatically changed the subject.
Follow Up: Mini Golf Variations
I should clarify my earlier post, in which I suggested a sort of speed golf for our next mini golf outing. Mock expressed concern that whomever putted last would be playing alone. That wasn't what I meant at all. Instead, the 3 or 4 who finished first would form their own splinter group and move onto the next hole rather than waiting. I'm just looking for a way to speed things up by a means more creative than just splitting into smaller groups right off.
Naturally, there are many suggestions for mini golf variations on the Internet. Check out Mini Golf, Variations on a Theme.
Showing posts with label mini golf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mini golf. Show all posts
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Family Adventures: Last Weekend Before Equinox
It's definitely starting to feel like fall. We went apple picking this weekend, at least the lazy person's version. We bought a couple of bags of apples, then sat in Adirondack chairs sipping hot cider and eating donuts. We're all in cold recovery mode so actually picking them off the trees seemed a bit too ambitious.
Our Girl and I watched a little college football over lunch on Saturday and she asked if there was any soccer on. I was tickled pink that she asked but a little disappointed to tell her that there wasn't any on at that moment. Maybe we'll try to catch some English and Spanish league games on the weekends. But I did point out that we could go watch games at the local high school sometime. She seemed game for the idea.
Our Girl's soccer team had a 1-1 draw today. At one point, one of her teammates fell and accidentally touched the ball with his hand. The refs didn't see it. My Wife looked at me and said, "Hand ball."
I replied, "He burned the rock." It was a reference to Men with Brooms from last night. She laughed. At least the movie supplied us with a joke.
Our Girl and I practiced some in the backyard, too. I tried to offer some pointers in terms of stealing the ball and, conversely, protecting it. She improved a lot just in a couple of days. It's nice that she's doing something where I have a little bit to offer in terms of helping her. I'm not much use to her in the dance studio.
Follow Up: Mini Golf
I agree with Mock's daughter. The speed golf on the back nine was the most fun during our round. Our group was a little on the large side at seven. It wasn't really a problem at first as we were the first ones on the course but there was definitely more pressure to move things along as other groups arrived.
So, I have had some ideas for next time. For example, we could all play the first hole together but people would move on to the next as soon as they finished, not waiting for the rest of the group. It would be nice to maintain groups so no one's golfing alone but it would help to speed things along.
Our Girl and I watched a little college football over lunch on Saturday and she asked if there was any soccer on. I was tickled pink that she asked but a little disappointed to tell her that there wasn't any on at that moment. Maybe we'll try to catch some English and Spanish league games on the weekends. But I did point out that we could go watch games at the local high school sometime. She seemed game for the idea.
Our Girl's soccer team had a 1-1 draw today. At one point, one of her teammates fell and accidentally touched the ball with his hand. The refs didn't see it. My Wife looked at me and said, "Hand ball."
I replied, "He burned the rock." It was a reference to Men with Brooms from last night. She laughed. At least the movie supplied us with a joke.
Our Girl and I practiced some in the backyard, too. I tried to offer some pointers in terms of stealing the ball and, conversely, protecting it. She improved a lot just in a couple of days. It's nice that she's doing something where I have a little bit to offer in terms of helping her. I'm not much use to her in the dance studio.
Follow Up: Mini Golf
I agree with Mock's daughter. The speed golf on the back nine was the most fun during our round. Our group was a little on the large side at seven. It wasn't really a problem at first as we were the first ones on the course but there was definitely more pressure to move things along as other groups arrived.
So, I have had some ideas for next time. For example, we could all play the first hole together but people would move on to the next as soon as they finished, not waiting for the rest of the group. It would be nice to maintain groups so no one's golfing alone but it would help to speed things along.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Family Adventures: Mid-September
Autumn is coming. The leaves on the maples are beginning to go slightly pale, a sign that they're getting ready to turn. School has begun for both Our Girl and me, too. It's also a time of year when weekends tend to book up quickly without much effort. I think it's a matter of everyone wanting to get out and do things before the weather gets cold.
Our Girl has also just turned seven, the age of reason. Life has gotten busier. Last year, we had her in dance class and one session of skating lessons. She's still in ballet and we plan on doing skating again but we've also added soccer now. She's in an after-school art program one day a week as well. I swear, it's not our intention to over-schedule her. It just kind of happens.
As I have written before, dance was her first love. As we were first looking to get her involved in activities, I really wanted her to have at least one athletic activity and one artistic one. The great thing about dance is that it satisfies both. Over the long-term, I do worry about the body issues. I knew a lot of dancers growing up and was not impressed by the toll on their self image once they hit puberty. Our Girl is a wisp of a thing now but that can change. We're in our third year with a wonderful teacher now and I don't worry about it so much with her. But I've said all along that if anyone ever tells her she needs to watch her weight, we're finished. We had her in two classes last year: ballet and tap. It was a bit much, especially with both on Saturday, but her teacher used the magic word to encourage her to join the second one: scholarship. Who can say no to someone who wants to teach their kid something for free?
The art program, fortunately, isn't really adding much to the overall schedule. We need after-school care four days a week anyway so the art curriculum is a bonus. I'm glad that she'll be spending time around people who know what they're doing. To be sure, she'll exceed our own abilities in the visual arts pretty quickly. Her handwriting's already nicer than mine.
Her soccer team had its first game today. It's a riot watching 6-7 year-olds play. The swarm follows the ball around the field, some trying to make things happen, some clearly not sure what to do at all. They lost 2-0. Our Girl said she had a good time. I'll reserve judgement as to her lasting interest until the end of the season.
We also went mini golfing with Mock and his family this weekend. It had been years since I'd gone and it was Our Girl's first time ever. There were seven of us in all: four adults, three kids. It was good fun and Our Girl did quite well, especially on the back nine. She had some frustrating moments but when it was over, she said she'd like to try it again sometime.
Our Girl has also just turned seven, the age of reason. Life has gotten busier. Last year, we had her in dance class and one session of skating lessons. She's still in ballet and we plan on doing skating again but we've also added soccer now. She's in an after-school art program one day a week as well. I swear, it's not our intention to over-schedule her. It just kind of happens.
As I have written before, dance was her first love. As we were first looking to get her involved in activities, I really wanted her to have at least one athletic activity and one artistic one. The great thing about dance is that it satisfies both. Over the long-term, I do worry about the body issues. I knew a lot of dancers growing up and was not impressed by the toll on their self image once they hit puberty. Our Girl is a wisp of a thing now but that can change. We're in our third year with a wonderful teacher now and I don't worry about it so much with her. But I've said all along that if anyone ever tells her she needs to watch her weight, we're finished. We had her in two classes last year: ballet and tap. It was a bit much, especially with both on Saturday, but her teacher used the magic word to encourage her to join the second one: scholarship. Who can say no to someone who wants to teach their kid something for free?
The art program, fortunately, isn't really adding much to the overall schedule. We need after-school care four days a week anyway so the art curriculum is a bonus. I'm glad that she'll be spending time around people who know what they're doing. To be sure, she'll exceed our own abilities in the visual arts pretty quickly. Her handwriting's already nicer than mine.
Her soccer team had its first game today. It's a riot watching 6-7 year-olds play. The swarm follows the ball around the field, some trying to make things happen, some clearly not sure what to do at all. They lost 2-0. Our Girl said she had a good time. I'll reserve judgement as to her lasting interest until the end of the season.
We also went mini golfing with Mock and his family this weekend. It had been years since I'd gone and it was Our Girl's first time ever. There were seven of us in all: four adults, three kids. It was good fun and Our Girl did quite well, especially on the back nine. She had some frustrating moments but when it was over, she said she'd like to try it again sometime.
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