We took the kids to a local corn maze the other evening, and we all had a great time. Aside from the corn maze, they also had a string maze, a straw pyramid, and a bonfire.
The kids loved the straw pyramid. It was made of over 200 bales of straw and had tunnels all through it. I got scared a few times going through those dark, narrow tunnels because I am a bit of a claustrophobe, but I had to put on my game face to keep the kids from being scared. It really was a lot of fun.
Me and my boys sitting on the pyramid.
The kids loved the straw pyramid. It was made of over 200 bales of straw and had tunnels all through it. I got scared a few times going through those dark, narrow tunnels because I am a bit of a claustrophobe, but I had to put on my game face to keep the kids from being scared. It really was a lot of fun.
Me and my boys sitting on the pyramid.
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A close-up.
My three-year-old running out of one of the tunnels.
After playing in and on the straw pyramid, we braved the corn maze. After going in circles for about ten minutes, my three-year-old started begging to go back to the pyramid. My one-year-old was enjoying wandering through the corn, so we split up; I took our oldest back to the pyramid (via the entrance to the maze), while my husband and the little one continued to search for the exit.
We met up later and decided to try our luck in the string maze. It was harder than it looked. I was totally lost, but my conscience kept me from jumping the strings and just getting out. Not that it would be morally wrong; I just like to stick to the rules (which drives my husband crazy when we're playing games*). He made it out first, and then coached me to help me get out.
After that we sat around the fire for a while, played on the pyramid a bit more, and then headed home. We all had straw all over! In our hair, our pockets, our shoes, and in our clothes. I was itching like crazy. I wanted to put the kids straight to bed because it was late, but the sensible part of me (okay, my husband [did I honestly just call him the sensible one? wow, that rarely happens]) said we should give them a bath first. So they took a bath and after not too much protesting (they were really tired) went to bed.
It was a fun family night. We've been to corn mazes before, but this was by far the most family oriented . I think we'll make a tradition of it!
*Take Monopoly, for example. He (like so many others) seems to think that when you pay money to the bank, you should put it in a pile in the middle and then when someone lands on Free Parking, they get to keep it all. You can't do that! It's not in the rules!!
After playing in and on the straw pyramid, we braved the corn maze. After going in circles for about ten minutes, my three-year-old started begging to go back to the pyramid. My one-year-old was enjoying wandering through the corn, so we split up; I took our oldest back to the pyramid (via the entrance to the maze), while my husband and the little one continued to search for the exit.
We met up later and decided to try our luck in the string maze. It was harder than it looked. I was totally lost, but my conscience kept me from jumping the strings and just getting out. Not that it would be morally wrong; I just like to stick to the rules (which drives my husband crazy when we're playing games*). He made it out first, and then coached me to help me get out. After that we sat around the fire for a while, played on the pyramid a bit more, and then headed home. We all had straw all over! In our hair, our pockets, our shoes, and in our clothes. I was itching like crazy. I wanted to put the kids straight to bed because it was late, but the sensible part of me (okay, my husband [did I honestly just call him the sensible one? wow, that rarely happens]) said we should give them a bath first. So they took a bath and after not too much protesting (they were really tired) went to bed.It was a fun family night. We've been to corn mazes before, but this was by far the most family oriented . I think we'll make a tradition of it!
*Take Monopoly, for example. He (like so many others) seems to think that when you pay money to the bank, you should put it in a pile in the middle and then when someone lands on Free Parking, they get to keep it all. You can't do that! It's not in the rules!!
6 comments:
Gamers call it playing house rules. It's actually a really common practice to change the rules like that. Most of the time we change rules to make it so the kids do better than they would otherwise, or to put a fun twist in the game that wasn't there before, or to compensate for a flaw in the rules of the game. Tell Andy I'll play house rules with him anytime he wants.
You are my husbands sister.
Looks like a fun maze.
Wow! Looks like so much fun! You'll have to let me know where that one is!
Actually that particular house rule (pooling money in the center ad paying it out to players landing on Free Parking) is extremely common. Here is the problem with it: it "breaks" the game, which is to say it makes the game cease to function as it's supposed to. How it's supposed to function is that there is a limited amount of money being fed to the players, money is shuffled around amongst the players and money is lost from the players to the bank. You play until all but one player goes bankrupt. The house rule makes it so no money is being lost to the bank. So waiting for someone to win becomes kind of like waiting for the ocean to dry up. If you play by the rules the game eventually ends. If you use the house rules...well, maybe it will end, or maybe not.
So, the house rule sounds a lot like a $700 billion bailout.
Yes Jamie, that particular rule does ruin the game, but then I've never really liked monopoly, there are much better games out there that I would rather play. But, Candyland for instance, if you play the rules by the book with the age group it is designed for the kids are trying to climb the walls and color on the board before you get done. It isn't fast enough to keep their attention. So, we play the doubles house rule, where you move two times what ever the card is, if you get one red, you move the distance required to pass two reds, and we don't go back on the picture cards, only forward. It makes the game much more tolerable, I mean enjoyable.
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