Pumpkins, fish and lizards

Halloween has been and gone.  Lots of fun was had going trick-or-treating, and opening the door to other trick-or-treaters.  Betsy was very sad when it was all over.  I'm feeling a bit at sea.  Betsy's birthday, and Halloween, have provided me with a focus and now I'm wondering what we can do.
I'm finding everyone's needs and desires difficult to meet.  Betsy builds something, Meg knocks it down.  Freddie feels bored.  Betsy is happy to do lots of craft, Freddie isn't.  Suggestions of places to go are frequently turned down.  I feel like we're on the edge of working out what will work better, but I'm missing opportunities to actually do it.  Freddie has outgrown many of his toys - or rather he still likes them but wants new things to liven them up - and I haven't kept up.  We spent a lot on the Skylanders game in October, and there wasn't enough left to buy other things.  It's difficult.  
Anyway.  Today.  Freddie and Jarvis were invited to a friend's birthday party.  Luckily, Jarvis's mum was busy so I took them both, which meant Freddie had a friend to walk in with.  It was an animal handling party.  The kids held or stroked giant land snails, a tortoise, two corn snakes, a degu, a skunk, a bearded dragon.  And there was a tarantula to look at too!
It was great.  I chatted to the woman who was running it, and I'm going to see if our home ed group would like to book an hour with her.
Later, the kids decided to smash the pumpkins.

Meg watched and ate ice cream (even though it was freezing!).

Freddie and Betsy asked to go fishing with their home made fishing rods (sticks, string, paperclips for hooks).  We took bread for bait.  The sun came out and it turned in to the most glorious cold autumn afternoon.