we were like that once

Today my house was invaded by a multitude of smallish people.

It was the first event of the new school year for the group of young homeschoolers my siblings are involved with.
They usually meet every Friday at the children's museum, but this week my mom decided to open our house up for whoever could make it, and we ended up with a fair sized group.
My mom almost cancelled today because it was pouring rain again, and our house isn't really big enough to accommodate a large group of rambunctious kids. But we stuck it out and as soon as the people started coming, so did the sun..

It reminded me of the good old days when I would have my big group homeschooled friends over to play.
Today the entire group just kind of traveled from down stairs, to outside, to the kids bed rooms, to the picnic table for a snack, back downstairs, and then where suited them next.
It was fabulous. Everyone got here around 12:30 and stayed until 4:00. The time went by so quickly.
There were 11 kids and 6 adults. Somehow things didn't seem too loud or crazy, and everyone was pretty agreeable.

At one point all the girls were in the play house out back, making meals of leaves and berries.
That was my childhood in a nutshell.
Playing out in the yard for hours on end, creating concoctions of whatever we found growing in the gardens.

We have a fabulous back yard that is perfect for all occasions. If it's not summer parties, it's water slides. If it's not that it's sledding and fort building. Its the perfect kid location. It's like having a park in just out side our back door.

Today our child visitors ranged from 1-7 years old. Yes. All 11 of those children mentioned earlier, were under the age of 7. I honestly don't know how we did it. But it worked out well, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
We got off with only a few minor tragedies, but nothing life altering.
One little boy got his toe stepped on.
And my brother kind of hit someone with a rather large stick(it was an accident, I assure you).

At the end of the day, right before everyone left, the kids decided they would put on a show of sorts in our basement for their parents to enjoy.
It was quite the procedure.
I'm not sure there was a storyline. But the produciton included several masks, dresses, a caterpillar costume, fairy wings, and plenty of assorted hats. They used our extra twin sized mattress that we have down stairs, as a stage.
This particular mattress serves the purpose of becoming whatever is most need at the current moment.
With in the past 24 hours alone it's become everything from a day bed, to a trampoline, to a tumbling mat, to a water raft, and most recently, a stage.

Seeing these new friends playing with my siblings just brought back so many wonderful memories.
I can't wait to see what sort of adventures are awaiting my family as we start this exciting endeavour of homeschooling, all over again.