My favorite part of Fall Break ...

Fall break is now two weeks long.  I love it!  It is fantastic if you have a vacation planned for a week or so because then you have time to actually relax at home too, but when you are short on funds and have two weeks together and the weather turns from 70's to 50's, you start to look for things to do after few days  ... things close by and free!  There is so much to do in Indianapolis and close by that it is good to just be home and explore what you are surrounded by.  You never know what kind of gems you'll find right in your own backyard.

We found some things to do and we had a great time.  We used coupons from the summer reading program for a free round of bowling at the local Brownsburg Bowl.  We found a 'U Pick' pumpkin patch at a farm really close to our house.  It is great because they have an ice cream bucket, literally, on a card table in their front yard with a note that says 'leave an amount ($) that you think your pumpkins are worth'.  Which makes picking your own pumpkins so much more affordable than the commercialized pumpkin patches around here.  Love it.

 We went to Connor Prairie, which we already had a pass for and enjoyed the science area, made some fall crafts and got to visit the Apple Store, which they have every fall but we never have time to go check it out - the kids got caramel apples, which I thought would be so messy ... but they ate every bite of them, all the way down to the core and then licked their fingers clean!  I was so surprised! 

But, my most favorite thing we did was take a bike ride - on a trail - a long trail.  I figured out how to get the bike rack on the car, loaded all four bikes onto or into the car and we found a trail in Zionsville that was perfect for the kids!  Beautiful fall weather, changing trees, about 6 miles of trail and the kids did awesome.  We totally need to do this more often.  Even Big D was able to do about 5 1/2 miles - which for his kindergarten legs was amazing.
 



 I love it when we find something healthy, something free, something new and a little adventurous and something that everyone enjoys!  Apparently Indiana is a great place for biking.  After talking to some 'bikers' at work, there are a lot of trails, both paved and mountain trails in Indiana and it is a destination for a lot of bikers. 

I would love to check out some of the trails in downtown Indianapolis with the kids.  I went with some ladies from work for a bike ride there a few weeks ago and loved it.  We went just under 20 miles, had lunch in Broad Ripple halfway and spent a few hours seeing the city.  I really like spin at the gym, so I thought I'd enjoy biking ... just wish I had more time to fit it into my schedule.  I think seeing the city on a bike would be a great experience for my kids.  So, there it is - a goal for next year, 'Get the kids downtown for a few bike rides' and maybe 'Join the Indiana Biking Association and go on a few long rides myself, see what I can do!'

 Big D was pretty excited that we was able to pedal so far all by himself.  He was a trooper!  Isn't it gorgeous here in the fall?!  The kids are pretty cute too.

 This is the car all loaded up with the bikes ... I was just a little proud of myself for figuring that out all by myself and then not having any of them fall off as I drove!

We also worked a lot on our Halloween costumes.  I've been so frugal this year (yea!) - I think I spent a total of $5 on costumes this year.  We have made everything from stuff I had on hand, cardboard, or a few things that I picked up from goodwill.  And their costumes have all turned out great. 

 

 This picture is a hint for Miss Lilly's costume ... the big reveal for my siblings will come on Halloween :)