Maple Syrup Festival

 

We went to the Maple Syrup Festival @Cunningham Falls State Park today. The weather was *gorgeous* and the crowds not horrifying. 

We started off on the "Storybook Trail" that talks about the process of making maple syrup. It goes around a loop and back towards the demonstration area. I think Jim and I were the only ones to read the whole story. I had the boys read a few pages, but mostly they were mostly like cats and wandered wherever. As we headed back towards the syrup demonstration area (with all the people), Rae asked to cross the stream down off the bridge. The water was cold, but if you didn't stay in it too long, you were not going to be hypothermic. Sure, I said. 

Off we go. 

We started to look for a place to cross the stream. Joe was very eager to participate and didn't want to be excluded. 

We all still had dry shoes at this point. It didn't last. Cay slipped on some algae and became the first inductee of the Wet Shoes Club. Joe and I soon followed, rounded out by Rae, who then decided that he didn't want to wear his shoes and continued on with only his socks. 

Joe got halfway across the stream and decided that he would rather throw rocks from his tiny little island. 

Lord Josephius Graffius carefully selecting stones for his island palace. 

Cay had wandered farther upstream than the rest of us and had officiated his own baptism into the Wet Bum Club. We cheered. He liked the full body, immersive experience, which he repeated frequently. 

(Cay up in the culvert; Rae with his arms in victory; Joe creeping along the side of the creek.)

We all made it up to the culvert and despite my concerns about fast moving water, only Joe slipped and only slightly, getting one hip wet. Another child of the creek went through the culvert at the same time as us and he got a thorough dunking, but we were on hand and helped fish him out. 

By this time, Jim had finished watching the maple syrup demonstration and wandered back to find us. 

He helped Joe cross the stream while I acted as paparazzi. "Could you do that just a bit more photogenically?" The only time I tripped and fell was while taking this series of pictures (yes, every picture I post here is part of a series; I have to take a half dozen of each shot) because a tree root had the audacity to be present while I was photograffing the wildlife. I am probably going to have a colorful bruise. 

So, Maple Syrup festival is probably pretty cool, but the stream and water were even cooler. 

And someone fell asleep on the way home: 

I got a sunburn; all of our shoes are drying in the garage; and we got to play in water. 

It was a good day. 

Just not really about maple syrup. 

Gingerbread Houses

Our Little Middle developed a fascination with gingerbread houses this year. We went to Five Below to shop for sibling Christmas presents and as we were about to leave, Little Middle planted his feet and refused to leave without a gingerbread house kit. 

Well. What was I to do? 

I put the kit back and pulled Little Middle bodily from the store. He was not happy. I was not happy. 

I related all of this to Jim, who then went out and bought a gingerbread house kit with Little Middle a few days later. 

Little Middle was thrilled with the gingerbread houses. He picked the smallest and plainest one for himself, assembled it, and dumped sprinkles all over it. 

I got home after construction was underway, so I missed out on all the candy and frosting in the kit. So I put on berries, Andes Mints, and sprinkles and constructed my house with peanut butter. Incidentally, peanut butter makes good construction glue.

Jim assembled his house and promptly left the construction zone... giving his house a very minimalist appearance. 

Raeford neatly constructed his house and fastidiously placed his candies in rainbow order. 

Caleb went at his house with all the enthusiasm of a pig in mud. He loves textures and got as least as much on him (and in him) as he did his house. 

Awhile later, Jim found another, witch-ier, gingerbread house---which we knew would be a big hit with the boys, again. [Rae helped photograph this one, so I am in a few of the pictures. La!] 

Also, because I *might* have bought a ridiculous amount of holiday sprinkles this year, we have had to find creative uses for them, like gingerbread houses. And sugar cookies. And fairy toast. 

This German gingerbread house (which tasted a whole lot better, fwiw) had a witch, a bat, Hansel, and Gretel all posing in front of the witch's house with a Christmas tree. However, unlike the fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel didn't escape the witch, absconding with her food and treasures. 

This year we ate them. 

And they were delicious.