Looking Back at October: Part 3

Our village had a "Merchants' Parade" where little children had the opportunity to trick-or-treat in the village during the day at all of the little shoppes in town; our kids loved it! Ella was a black cat, Gray was a Bob-the-builder man, and Gav was a baby GI Joe. I'm definitely not a big fan of Halloween, but this was a lot of fun!

Looking Back At October: Part 2

October was a beautiful month here in the Valley. The landscape everywhere boomed with vibrant colors of crimson, golden ochres, and rusted-orange hues; tie that in with a brilliant blue sky and Voila! A true work of art by the Creator Himself! We took advantage of the beautiful outdoors and visited a local farm/apple orchard/pumpkin patch.

The kids had fun picking out their pumpkins, running around the orchard, playing in the playhouses, feeding the goats & geese (while I watched . . . and prayed for courage, as I pretty much hate goats and geese, for they scare the ba-jeebers out of me, especially with the creepy goat pupils, all weird in their vertical direction). What a blast we had! I just love everything about the Fall!

Slippery Time (Looking Back at October: Part 1)

Yikes! It's been FOREVER since I've last posted! So much has happened, as you can imagine! Only ten days until Christmas and I still haven't posted much about October or November, or even December for that matter!!! Now, where was I? Oh yes, I remember now. In mid-October the Snyders visited us at our new home. Campfires, Kids, Chaos & Togetherness. We are blessed to have family, and to now be only 3-4 hrs away from the Snyders as opposed to 8-9 is an added bonus for us all.

A Disappearing Act

Me: "Let's go outside; where are your socks, Gray?" Grayson (age 3): "They disappeared into a big puff of smoke."

The Bible, According to Gray

My favorite quote of the day was when Gray (soon-to-be 3) gave us his take of this month's Bible verse from Deuteronomy 31:6: "Be strong and crageous (courageous) and don't be afraid . . . but if the monsters come, we SCREAM!"

Columbus Day Weekend

This past weekend we had our very dear friends from NH, the Woodrows, come and stay with us for the holiday weekend. Gray and Carter are just a week apart & Gavin and Dylan are a few months apart so we're all in the same ballpark in terms of "experiencing chaos together" (and I mean that in the most endearing way, of course). It feels like just yesterday when pregnant Bethany and pregnant I were enjoying a night out together at the 99 in Hooksett wondering what our baby boys might be like; wait, that was literally a year ago last Fall! How time flies!

What a gorgeous weekend we all had! The warm sun was shining (the temp. was around 70º) and the leaves were at their peek here with colors in their highest intensity (Ella & I love the red ones and Gray & Daddy love the orange ones, which makes "the girls twins & the boys twins", according to the soon-to-be three year old offspring). We had a blast visiting to Nyack during Homecoming weekend. First we had the opportunity to all eat lunch at Jeff's favorite pizza joint in Nyack (Tarantella's); then we strolled the town a bit, watched the men's soccer game (the boys especially loved this!) and had fun doing kids' stuff like bounce houses & climbing rock walls. Ella LOVED the rock wall. She wanted to climb all the way to the top, but her nervous mom told her to not go that high; either way, she can't wait to do it again! And the 3 older kids had a blast on the bounce slide. Nyack is just gorgeous! And we are so grateful to be here!

After homecoming we headed back to our house for some home-cooked pasta fazool, harvest brews from NH, campfire with marshmellows, glow necklaces, a masterpiece sunset & funtastic conversation. God is good! What a memorable weekend we all had!

Park Time

The other day I took the kids to the park by our house. They LOVE climbing and running around and meeting new kids; Gavin also had a blast exploring his surroundings & laughing at his brother and sister while they acted silly. I, on the other hand, did not have fun digging dirt, crusty leaves and acorns out of Gavin's mouth while making sure Ella & Gray did not jump from the rope web (they wanted to jump from the highest point, of course!) All, in all, it was a blast to listen to their laughter and giggles. We love this place!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

These last couple of weeks have been hysterical listening to the things that Ella & Gray say; read for yourself!
Ella:

• "My true love waits for me over those hills in our backyard; but I'm just pretendin' Mommy!"
• "Now that my leg is healed, I can start doing some crazy things again!"

• Ella just fell down pretty hard; I was expecting tears, but instead she said to her brother, "Hey Gray, want to help a poor old lady up?"

• "Gavin wants to marry my baby dolls! Hahahaha. I'm really just kidding."
  

Grayson:

• "My artwork is handsome!"
• "Dear God, thanks for making love."
• To an elderly woman standing behind the desk at the library Gray said, "You a old woman? You need help from me?" (he LOVES to help and be a gentleman, but I guess there's more charming ways to offer help, big guy!)
• "Mommy, you look handsome without makeup; you look really pretty with makeup on your eyes Mommy!"
• "When I grow up, I'm gonna be a man."
• "Girls go pee out of their butts."
• "I want to marry a girl goat someday. Hahahaha. That's so funny."
  

Caramel Apples and Skyscapes

Well my friends, it's my favorite time of year again. Caramel apples, the sights, sounds & aroma of autumn are beginning to fill the air. And I am totally pumped. The only weird thing is that it's still hot and humid here, and tomorrow is October. So, needless to say, I am also pumped about retiring these stinky sandals and putting on a cozy fleece. However, warm weather is great too, and last night we took advantage of it. After dinner we frolicked in the yard, ate caramel apples and watched the sunset. Love this season.

Ferry Boat Ride on the Hudson

Last Thursday we the opportunity to enjoy a ferry boat ride on the Hudson through West Point (friends who work there rented the boat for everyone in small group). We had such a blast meeting new friends, eating a delicious meal together, and enjoying the scenic views at sunset. Beautiful! The kids LOVED the ride and there were plenty of kids on the boat to play with. It was such an amazing and unforgettable evening!