Ah! What a wonderful cozy rainy lazy day! If I had to be out and about in it, I might not like it as well. But since I am at home today it is wonderful!!   I have some pears that I plan to turn into pear butter today. I'm glad it's nice and cool for that. I turned off the A/C and opened the windows. Oldest son is "having a cow". He says he's hot! It's 70 degrees outside for crying out loud! I think the days of using the A/C this season are probably over. Fall is my favorite season so I am glad! Chilly nights, beautiful leaves (for a little while anyway), that special smell in the air, fire in the fireplace, woodsmoke smell outside, jackets and sweaters, warm socks, leaves falling, pumpkins and scarecrows everywhere. I love it!

Yesterday we had a fun day. I plan Fridays to be short and sweet as far as schooling goes. I wanted to do something fun and inexpensive for the children. I had 2 things planned and it turned into an all day thing. The boys finished up their school today so we wouldn't be behind.

But, back to yesterday, I surprised the children and took them to the our homeschool group's skating day. This is a once-monthly happening but we had never gone. It was really nice because our group had the whole place to ourselves. And the music was "Christian" music that one of the mom's brought to be played. So no junk! Z wasn't sure he could remember how to roller blade, but he did very well! He says he's sore all over today. T and K had never skated. They uesd regular skates and T was out in the middle doing very well by the time the 1 1/2 hour session was over. K stayed by the wall but she loved it! She told me she didn't need my help.They all want to go back. T wants to try roller blades next time. I don't know.....  So this might become a fun monthly routine. It was just nice clean fun.

After this was over, we went to Sonic for drinks/slushes. That in itself is a treat for my kids. Then we went to our county fair. Compared to the state fair, it was teensy-tiny but it was fun. The entire fair consists of 2 buildings. One with animals and one with exhibits. The rides are only open in the evening and I was glad. They looked so old and rickety I don't know that I would have wanted my children to ride them.

We looked at the animals first. K was disappointed there weren't any rabbits. We watched part of a goat show. Several 4-H kids were showing their goats in that. Then we went to the exhibit building. The children really liked seeing what other children had entered. There was some really nice stuff! On the other end of that building, there were all the booths such as fire safety, sheriff's office, security systems, etc. The children loved gathering all the free goodies they could find. Balloons, pens, pencils, erasers, rulers, stickers, coloring books and on and on.

After that, we went to McAlister's deli for lunch. The kids meals are only $2.99 and that includes a drink! We can eat pretty cheap there and it's relatively healthy.  And better than McDonald's! We also hit the music store quickly to get a few things we needed for our band instruments. We went to Wal-Mart and got a few groceries and then home. By then it was 5:30 so I cancelled school for the day, but at the same time I counted the day as a day of school. I considered it very educational even though we weren't doing bookwork. I don't do that very often, but from time to time I think it's appropriate. Public school takes days off for ball games, pep rallies and field trips. So I figure we can sometimes too.