Halloween Hoopla!

Now that Halloween is over, it's time to post pictures from all of the festivities.

Very last minute, we decided to host a Pumpkin-Carving Party. After a dinner of mummy dogs, we got to work carving. As we kinda' expected, the kids lost interest after about 5 minutes, so they had fun playing while the rest of us did the work. After the masterpieces were completed, we all enjoyed s'mores and a ghost story or two at the fire pit.

All of the goodies I made for Connor's class, Carly's class, and the some other special people...
Preschool Party...Carly dressed up as a witch (because I really didn't think Princess Leia was preschool appropriate). Here she is with her sweet friend, Abby, and then the rest of her preschool girls.

And here they are...Anakin Skywalker and Princess Leia!

Most asked question of the night... Is that her real hair? Yes, that IS her real hair. Took me 45 minutes, a lot of patience, and a lesson from my hair stylist to do those buns!Trick or treat!
Yes...that's my mother!
Got candy? Candy Fairy, please come soon so we can get this candy out of here! Maybe tonight.
May the force be with you. Until next year...

Images of Fall

Apple Picking

Since the kids didn't have school yesterday, a friend and I decided to take a field trip to Carter Mountain to go apple picking. We had never been there before but I had always wanted to go. The view from the farm on the mountaintop was breathtaking and all we could see around us were apple trees. Different apple varieties are ready for picking at different times - we had our choice of Golden Delicious (which were nearing the end of their picking time), Granny Smith, and Fuji. None of those particularly interested me (Honeycrisp are my fave) but I knew that Matt and the kids liked Granny Smith so we were in luck! I really didn't go for the apples anyway, more for the experience so...

We wandered through the rows of Golden Delicious and had a touch time spotting any. There were a few stranglers left behind way up high but we weren't lucky enough to have snatched an apple picker (they were in short supply) so they were out of the question. Slightly disappointed, we decided to stop for a bit and enjoy lunch. Once our bellies were full, we'd tackle the Granny Smith - hopefully with more success!

We had brought lunch with us so we had a nice picnic next to our car in the parking lot - which was one of the only places we could find any shade (since it was a balmy 85-90 degrees).

With full bellies, we gathered the troops, and began the trek through the Granny Smiths. The kids had a great time searching for, and collecting, them. We ended up with way more apples than I planned on but it was fun. Some snapshots of our day...

Pumpkin Patch

Today I went with Carly and her preschool class to the Pumpkin Patch. Although the weather was a bit chilly, it was perfect weather for enjoying such a fun Fall activity. It was also nice that Carly's sweet friends (and mine too!) were part of it. See for yourself...
Our last trip to the Pumpkin with North Run Preschool...so sad!

Carly's First Day of Preschool

She has been waiting for this day since preschool ended last year! Her sweet teacher sent this to each parent...look how adorable they are!

2nd Annual Back 2 School Bash

The weather yesterday was the perfect backdrop for our 2nd annual Back 2 School Bash. A great group of school-agers and their parents were able to join us for some back to school fun. The schedule was similar to last year...

After the School Supply Scavenger Hunt,

the kids participated in the Morning Routine Relay. This event always provides a few laughs!

"Lunch" followed...

Then, in Art, we made Shrinky Dinks backpack tags.

During Recess, the kids bobbed for apples (and got soaked!).

DISMISSAL! Hopefully a good time was had by all. We wish all of the school-agers a great year!

First Day of 1st Grade

Doesn't look too bad after a long day of 1st Grade!

Camping at Claytor Lake

Last weekend was our first experience at camping, or "glamping" as a sweet friend calls it. Our camp-out in the backyard went so well, we decided to give the real thing a try. We decided that we'd transition our way into "roughing-it" by renting a cabin.

The accomodations were rustic but adequate. We had running water, electricity, beds, linens, a refrigerator, microwave, etc... It was situated on a beautiful picturesque piece of property right on the lake surrounded by a large grassy area. The screened-in porch equipped with two rocking chairs was my favorte feature.


We got there fairly late Friday evening so Saturday was our first day. We leisurely woke up, ate breakfast, and decided that we'd go fishing on the nearby dock. Connor was lucky enough to catch two fish (Carly was too impatient) so he was pretty excited. After our 1 mile hike, we decided to hit the beach. It was part of the Park and included a nice sandy beach and a floating dock with a diving board. The kids loved that and spent a great deal of time taking their turn jumping off it into the lake. I insisted that we roast hot dogs over the campfire so we enjoyed those along with some other typical camping fare and then roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. Connor really wanted to sleep in the tent so Matt set that up and I (yep, me!) chose to sleep outside with him. It was delightful and I enjoyed every minute of it!


Sunday we decided quite spontaneously to rent a boat and spend a few hours riding around the lake. Both C&C each took turns driving the boat with Daddy and loved anchoring the boat and jumping in repeatedly.


It was a great first experience for us all and I know we'll go again! Heck! Why go hard-core when you can go "glamping!"


Check out some of our pictures...