Maple Syrup Festival

There is a small maple syrup festival held every year about an hour away on the site of a maple syrup farm. Bohdin was excited to see how maple syrup is made. I couldn't talk him out of it despite temperatures in the upper 30s. We bundled up and drove out there. We have had a lot of rain recently so it was also quite muddy. The staff promised to push anybody out who became stuck. There was a tractor pulling a trailer with hale bales from the parking field which we had to wait for. It was worth the short wait because Bohdin loved it. The first thing we did was catch the tour. Bohdin liked it but Nyla was impatient to get some of the popcorn so many people were carrying. We spent several hours and the kids really liked it. They are already asking when we can go again. This morning I asked Bohdin and Nyla what the liked.

Bohdin:
Doing the scavenger hunt (After completing the scavener hunt they were given small bags of maple cotton candy. Bohdin said it tasted much better than regular cotten candy.)
Watching water being evaporated from the sap
Playing with M- (We ran into some friends there near the end)
Eating maple syrup (It was fantastic maple syrup. Definitely the best I've had. We brought some home.)

Nyla:
The tree house. .... All the people scared me. I didn't want to be scared. When there are not so much people in the tree house I will go there.
Making a candle (Each of the kids made a hand dipped candle. Bohdin was able to do his by himself. I helped Nyla because her hand would get tired after dipping a few times.)

I was hoping to get more out of them but they ran away to go play. Nyla yelled out "Time to play! No time to stop! Play! Play! Play!".




I was dipping Nyla's candle a few last times when the lady running the area noticed Cora's eyes watching my every dip. She thought Cora looked cute and wanted to take a picture. Cora stayed awake almost the entire time we were there. She refused to eat despite many attempts on my part. She fell asleep as we were walking to the car over five hours since her last nap and meal. I was able to get her to eat while she slept. She remained asleep as I buckled her up but was awake when I started the car most likely because Nyla couldn't resist holding her hand and shaking it. Despite the lack of sleep she didn't cry at all on the way there or back. I expect her to sleep a lot today.



We're allowing Bohdin to trade in his unused tv time for money. He told me this morning he is saving for the Playmobil train which has been on his wishlist for years. That train is no longer available anywhere in the United States and they just stopped manufacturing it. I'm sure there are still many to be had in Europe but they are in Europe. In addition the engine which is the part he wants is ridiculously expensive. It's been on his want list for a long time and will remain there. I couldn't bear to tell him this morning that even if he tries hard they may all be gone by the time he gets enough money. Who knos what will happen. Maybe the Euro will crash and he can get a good exchange rate.