a day at the farm

This has been the rainiest September I can remember.  I think at this point, we've had 6 or 7 inches of rain this month when the norm is under 2 inches.  We are all going a little nutso from having to be inside so much. 

The kindergarten fall field trip was scheduled for today, and we've all been watching the forecast wondering if it would be a total rain out.  Alas, Mother Nature gave us a break for a few hours and off we went.  I was able to follow behind with a friend in her car, and we met the buses at Great Country Farm in beautiful Bluemont, VA, about 30 minutes away.   Dylan took this same field trip three years ago when he was in kindergarten.  Grandma Lynn came along, and Logan was just a baby.  Time flies.

It did rain quite a bit once we got to the farms, and with the weeks of rain we've already had, the pumpkin patch was one giant pit of mud.  Some of the kids embraced the mud and had it from head to toe...others lost their shoes in the muck, and some kids just wanted to stay on the hay ride and not venture too far into the fields.

It did clear up towards the end and the kids were able to play before having to ride the bus back to school.  I'm glad it wasn't a total rain out.  Logan has been so excited about this field trip and he would have been crushed if it were cancelled.   We had a good day, and right now my washer is full of muddy shoes and clothes to prove it!

very thankful

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday with my Dad and stepmom Bobbie at their brand new home in Cobbs Creek, VA (about 3.5 hours southeast of us).  We went down two days before Thanksgiving.  Meanwhile, my Dad drove to SE Ohio and picked up my Grandma Williams so we could all spend the holiday together. My brother Chris, and Jessica and cousins Josh and Maya arrived Thanksgiving Day.  It was a fun holiday filled with so many things I'm thankful for:  family, food, laughter, togetherness and making memories.

Now we're home and the holiday season is here.  I know that because I spent a couple of hours today wrapping some gifts I bought early and I can feel it in my back.  I started some shopping a few weeks ago and am trying to stagger out the gift buying/wrapping so it isn't all at once.  I find I can enjoy the holiday season much more if I can get a big chunk of the 'gift' part done earlier, and then focus on the events, the baking, the parties and making memories with my family.

Anyway, before we get into the full swing of moving onto Christmas, here are some of the photos highlighting our lovely Thanksgiving holiday.  A special thanks again to my Dad and Bobbie for pulling out all the stops to make it a wonderful time.

The day before Thanksgiving, we took a (very cold) boat ride (per the boys request).

It was freezing and Logan forgot his socks.  So my gloves came in handy.  Monkey toes!

Great Grandma Williams, age 78

Grandpa Joe showed the boys how to play Captain's Mistress (and managed to avoid answering Dylan's question, "What is a mistress?")

and took them for a little ride on his new tractor..

We had no shortage of summer sausage.

Wednesday we baked a trifecta of pies:  cherry, pumpkin and bourbon chocolate pecan.

Great Grandma gave the boys their first ever Zhu Zhu pets.  They were a huge hit!  Yes, Logan has his taekwondo belt on... he wears it everywhere.

Great Grandma with Josh, Logan, Maya and Dylan

the feast

The day after Thanksgiving, the girls (and Andrew) drove around the area touring local art studios.   I wish I could have bought these!

Dylan shows Great Grandma how to play Mario Kart

Grandpa Joe and Maya dance to some bluegrass tunes

happy hour

Chris got friendly with the sausage.

The kids were all getting a little rowdy, so Grandpa Joe told them they needed to meditate.

And Aunt Jessica read them all a story..

And no Thanksgiving is complete without a marshmallow roast.

NovemberFEST

'Twas a little belated for Oktoberfest but nonetheless, invited a couple of friends over last night for a sampling of fine fall flavors.  Wish I had gotten more photos, but the menu included...

Bier! Hot Pretzels and Beer Cheese! Apples and Caramel! Sausage and Peppers! 
Pumpkin Ice Cream! Cider! Beer Bread! 

Oktoberfest Beer Cheese Dip

(16 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese (4 cups)
(8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups of a good, dark beer
2 teaspoons garlic powder

1. Melt the cream cheese in a large saucepan over medium heat. (If you take it straight out of refrigerator, you can soften a bit in microwave first).

2. Add the beer, stirring together and letting it blend.

3. Stir in the Cheddar cheese, and garlic powder; heat, stirring continually, until all the cheese is melted.

4. Serve as a dip with cubes of crusty bread (Tastefully Simple beer bread is particularly good), veggies (I like it with cauliflower and red bell peppers).  Or, you can buy those frozen soft pretzels you bake in the oven and serve with this.  Delicious!

5. You can transfer from saucepan into glass casserole dish for presentation, and microwave to re-heat as needed throughout your party.  You can also serve in a scooped out bread bowl.

Its so simple, and comes together really quickly.  You don't want to make it too far in advance before your guests arrive.  Use a good quality dark beer, too.  The flavor really comes thru in the dip.  I'd recommend something like Guinness, or some kind of a stout or porter.

Delicious!

flying feather

I think Chief Flying Feather is ready for Thankgiving, don't you?

Native American Way

For weeks now, the second graders at Dylan's school have been studying Native American history. We've been hearing all about the Pueblo, Lakota and Powhatan tribes and what they ate, where they lived, what they planted, which animal they hunted, how they traveled, etc.  He's had quizzes and learned songs and dances.  And last week he turned in his first ever diorama. 

This week has been American Education Week, and today all the second grade families were invited to school so the kids could show off their stuff.  Walking through the second grade hallway was very impressive today, I wish I had gotten a picture of all the amazing projects the kids have done.  I can't remember ever having to turn in such a complex project at such a young age AND the kids all had to give individual oral presentations on their dioramas! Things have changed since I was in second grade.

This morning to kick things off, we got to watch the second grade program, the Native American Way.  Dylan's class dressed in all brown, and represented the Lakota tribe, singing songs and performing a rain dance.  And! There was no puking this time!

When I'm in the school there is such a sense of pride and accomplishment in the kids, and the teachers are always smiling.  I'm in the school quite a bit... I volunteer for a couple of hours every Thursday in Dylan's Language Arts class, and periodically for other events too.  The teachers truly love what they do, and they're very, very good at it.  The level of noise and chaos teachers put up with on a daily basis would probably make my hair stand on end.  

The lunch room today alone was completely insane.... I don't know if there's a decibel that probably would describe it. But somehow Dylan and I found a little corner area all to ourselves and settled in for some cheese and crackers and hummus, celebrating his performance and all his hard work.

outing to Old Town

Today was such a beautiful, perfect fall day.  We found out Friday my Dad and Bobbie were going to be in town this weekend for a wine event with their company.   They were staying in Old Town Alexandria, and invited us to come meet them for lunch today.  

Old Town is a cool place to go, but its even more special for us because its where Andrew and I first met, and went on our first dates (back in 1998!).  We drove right by this place, and told the boys we were passing by the site of where it all began.... our first date ever (how very Singles of us!). We drove by Andrew's bachelor pad, on S. Columbus Street.

We met Grandpa Joe and Grandma Bobbie at South Austin Grill, home of the best steak tacos around...

We took a nice walk down to the waterfront so we could enjoy more time together and the perfect weather.  Again, more history of me and Andrew.  We walked right by here, which is where the artist who made Andrew's wedding ring has her studio.

The boys loved looking at all the boats and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.  We saw lots of handsome dogs being walked, and watched lots of airplanes flying overhead in and out of the airport.  Just a great day to be outside.  We came upon this huge anchor, and the boys checked it out...

It was really, really heavy.

Then we finished the day buying some silly, warm winter hats for the boys at 

The Gap (hard to think of snow on a day like this, but it will be here all too soon....)

They either look like they're in Fargo, or like lambs, I can't decide which.  Maybe lambs from Fargo.

What's even better is we get to see Grandma and Grandpa again in just over a week when we go visit them at their new house in southern Virginia!  They're living there full time now, and we'll be spending that week with Uncle Chris, Aunt Jessica, cousins Josh and Maya, Dad and Bobbie and Great Grandma Williams who my Dad is picking up in Ohio and driving in.  Hopefully the weather will be as gorgeous as it was today!



yellow belt!

As of this morning, Logan is the proud wearer of the Yellow Tiger Belt! 

He loves Instructor John. We're thinking about adopting Instructor John so the good focus and self discipline that happen at taekwondo might better carry over to home. 

In all seriousness, Logan has not taken his new belt off all day, and this happened 7 hours ago.  He's just wearing it over his regular clothes.... my guess is he'll sleep with it on tonight!

Very, very proud of you.  You earned it!