2010 Highlights

BIG Snowstorms

Birthday Week dinner out with my dearest friends

Surprise getaway to Kingsmill Resort and first facial and massage (I'm hooked!)

Training for and completing my first 10k (again, I'm hooked!)

Sweetheart Ball

Yankee Game

Long anticipated storm door

Cape Charles sunbathing with my Third Grade Gals

Campfires and s'mores in the backyard

Backyard Campout

Book Club (read my FIRST novel and loved it!)

Redeeming Love (see above)

9 Years of Marriage

First camping trip (aka "glam"ping)

A wonderful teacher for Connor!

Dear friends' support of my spiritual unrest

Christmas Eve cookie and hot chocolate delivery to Monroe Park

Deepened friendships

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

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!