As much as I loved the 10 years we spent traveling the country I will say I really missed having a place that my kids and grandkids could come and see me. So it’s not surprising that as we were picking out a house and land the grandkids were a huge thought in our mind. We were then of course super excited when Kyrston flew in with Oliver for a few days on a school break and we got to share everything with them. It was also Oliver’s first plane flight and he got to meet the pilot and even got a cool pair of wings. Nice they still do that.
I couldn’t wait to get back home with them and the tour went so great. I loved sharing all the little things we had done with my friend and daughter and Oliver really loved the land and the animals. The cat in particular took right to him and the two of them hung out non stop over the next few days. He did a really good job with all of the animals, even finally getting one of the chickens to let him pet her.
I knew coming in that Oliver has a ton of 6 year old energy so I had planned some activities around the farm on purpose to keep him entertained and hopefully teach him some stuff. We picked the last of the corn, peas, and carrots from the garden, and he and Kyrston shucked the peas for me. Kyrston and I also made corn sheaves and added them to my front yard decoration…super fun.
We also fed the goats and chickens every day and gathered eggs along with taking the goats for walks around the property. I tried to take the animal chores in small doses and of course he had plenty of time to just run around the property. At first Kyrston was a little nervous not having him in eyesight, but soon she felt comfortable and he and the dog were wandering everywhere. Dede and Denny also came over one day to see him and another time we carved a pumpkin that we gave to the chickens to eat. Oliver loved that. Lastly we had so many wooly caterpillars all around the door to the house and his job was to pick them up and move them out near a tree. He loved that job !!
It wasn’t all about the farm though. We went to a local corn maze at Lohstroh Family Farms (highly recommend) and he had a blast running around their play area and corn maze. I really enjoyed the farm shop!
The big activity though was the Ohio Renaissance Festival. This freestanding village has been a renaissance festival for over 30 years, and Lee and I were there the very first year. I have been more times than I can count and my kids have fond memories of going there. So it was at the top of Kyrston and Lee’s list of places to go. I’ll be honest it’s not my favorite place, and I really don’t like dressing up for any occasion, but when Kyrston asked me to dress up with her and Oliver the love of my grandson won me over. Turned out the costume was actually OK and I loved how Oliver and I matched.
Oliver is definitely a screen kid so I didn’t know how he would do with low tech activities, but after some initial resistance on his part he did get sort of into it. He liked all the rides (which are human powered) and in particular liked our family favorite Shakespeare in the Mud. This trio has been doing their act since 1990 and it was really cool to see him enjoy it so much. Basically there’s lots of silliness and mud involved and what little kid doesn’t like that?
As the day wore on though it got more crowded and hot I was ready to go. My main complaint with the Ren Fest is that it is an alcohol heavy venue and I enjoy it less and less as it gets later in the day. Still glad he got to experience it and really we jammed a ton in to a pretty short visit. Personally my favorite parts were just hanging around the farm and showing him farm things, and I hope to get to do more of that in the future.
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Camper Chronicles 