A Crazy End to October!

The last week of October started off normal enough . . . As always, I pointed out the changing fall leaves and forced my little ones to pose with them in the background . . .

Then, I got a surprise party at work by my co-workers and 76 enthusiastic fifth graders . . .

Then, Saturday rolled around and . . . IT SNOWED!!!!!!!

On Sunday, we bundled up, bought the girls boots, gloves, and a sled before heading out to Cox Farms . . .

Where Sophie posed with this snowman . . .

and some pumpkins.
We went on two hayrides, rode down several slides, and picked out our own pumpkins,

and we came home and carved em!!!!!

Jump Rope Club Videos

Happy Birthday, Scrappy!

Our little Scrappy turned 5 on October 6, and we were able to celebrate her big day this weekend! She wanted a Halloween themed party, and we were so lucky to have a beautiful fall day in honor of the season! As you can see, Sophie was Bat Girl!! Madeline is going to be a ghostbuster, but she didn't want to wear her costume to the party. The kids enjoyed pumpkin decorating, pinata breaking, and pizza, candy, and cupcake eating.

The spread, it's kind of a dark picture.

Posing in her new costume:

I love fall colors!

Our wicked witch of the west transported to the east coast.

We hardly know what to do with ourselves. The sun is actually shining!!!

Decorating pumpkins with cousins:

Pinata time!!

Camping! Columbus Day Weekend!

Kent and I have come up short when we count the number of times we've been camping this season. We had high hopes of camping this spring, summer, and fall, but our grand total of camping trips only equals two. So sad! Since Kent doesn't usually get long weekends and because most weekends around here have at least a chance of rain, our tent hasn't been used as much as we would have liked.

Strangely enough, Columbus Day weekend was sunny with no chance of rain!! It was so strange after the last month of rain, rain, and more rain! I had been eyeing a campground called Watermelon Park on the Shenandoah River since July, and so Saturday morning we were off.

As usual, we got there later than we had planned. After loading up the car, stopping at the grocery, and sitting in traffic, we arrived. It was a gorgeous campground!! We set up camp right on the river where we could see tubers and kayakers go by, and the girls and dog could wade out into the water.

It was a cold night, maybe forty or so. Kent says he was warm, but the girls and I were cold. Even though it didn't rain, everything was wet, wet, wet when we woke up due to the condensation. After the sun came up, things dried pretty quickly, and we headed back to the burbs for some football after making a plan to return next summer so we can tube down the river to our campsite.

So, I am led to consider a popup camper. I have always loved tenting, but I realize now that we live in a rainier climate with thunderstorm forecasts through the summer months, and if our family really wants to camp more, we are going to have to invest in something other than our tent. Basically when you take out all the rainy weekends, thunderstorm weekends, and weekends with plans, there are very few weekends left for camping. Kent says we need a house first and somewhere to park our camper. Of course, I agree. Time to start house hunting again. Sweet!

October!!

The first weekend in October was a cold one! We put out our Halloween decorations and actually lit two fires, one on Saturday and one on Sunday!!!! It was fun to use the fireplace, I just hadn't planned to use it so soon!

We had planned a camping trip for the weekend, but the forecast changed at the last minute, and it was cold and rainy. Not ideal camping weather. We let the girls roast hotdogs and marshmallows in the living room, and Madeline commented that it was just as fun as a campfire.

On Sunday, we had a few hours without rain, and I decided to take the girls to Cox Farm. I had heard a lot of good things about this place, but with a fifteen dollar each entrance fee, I was skeptical to go on a cloudy/maybe rainy day. We went anyway, and despite the cold, we had a great time. There were no lines or crowds, and after about an hour and a half, it started pouring!!! Luckily, we got rainchecks!! Yay!!! We get to go again, for FREE! The fifteen dollar entrance fee doesn't seem so bad when you get to go twice!

The End of September

Sometime near the end of September, we took a family walk/bike ride on the trail by our neighborhood.

We ended up at one of our neighborhood parks. It was a simple but very nice evening.