I tried and tried to come up with some field trip ideas for today. It's not easy finding fun, easy- to-get-to, kid-and-husband-pleasing outings that are also free. Oh and indoors would be good too since the weather is still a little iffy from all the rain/flooding. And something educational couldn't hurt. Well anyway while I was trying to think of something to do today, the kids went out and did something without us. They put on their shoes, grabbed their bait and poles, and went out fishing. Mostly in the grass since that's how high the lake has risen:

In fact, they couldn't even get to the pier unless they had wanted to swim there:

While they were out there they had their first encounter with the LAW! The lake is right behind the house in what I consider our extended backyard so the big kids are allowed to go by themselves. While they were out there fishing, a police man rolled by in his patrol car and stopped when he noticed the kids outside in the middle of the day. "Are you homeschooled?" he asked. My oldest child replied that yes, they are. The policeman said "okay" and drove off. Whew! I'm glad he didn't give them a hard time. I guess there are enough homeschoolers around here that the police are used to seeing a few kids out and about during the day. I felt bad that the kids had to deal with the cops without me, but apparently they handled it just fine.

After that adventure, I took the girls shopping or maybe I should say they took me. I handed them the list, gave up control of the cart, and let them pick out the things we needed. They even scanned everything themselves (we used the self-checkout) and bagged it up too. They had a great time doing the grocery shopping on their own. One of the store clerks noticed and rewarded them with stickers for all of their hard work.

We returned home to where Daddy was getting ready to bake a pumpkin pie. The kids all pitched in and now can't wait for dessert.

So we never had our fieldtrip, but the kids learned plenty of life lessons today. Shopping, baking, law enforcement. Never a dull moment in the life of a homeschooler.