Young's Dairy Pumpkin Patch

A couple of weekends ago Andrew had to do one of his really long training runs (20 miles) so he mapped it out and it was a little over 20 if he ran from our house to Young's Dairy, so that is what he did and the kids and I met him there.  We go here often, but I think fall at the farm is the most fun.  They have lots going on and they have a HUGE pumpkin patch.  We fed the goats, checked out the other farm animals, ate lunch, and then headed on the tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch.  It was actually unseasonably warm that day (in the 80's) so it was perfect.  The girls had so much fun picking out just the right pumpkin and William enjoyed trying to taste the dirt that the pumpkins grow in!  After putting our pumpkins in the car we went over to the play area for a little energy burning.  It was a fantastic fall day!!

Abby feeding the goats. 

She always wants to feed the baby ones, but the big ones always push their way to the front and steal most of the food.

William checking out the goats up close!

Look at the corn!

Our sweet girls.

On the tractor on the way to the pumpkin patch

...so many to chose from!

Hmm, I wonder what this will taste like?!?

Playing on the tractors

My sweet boy!

Apple Cider Festival

My Dad and Jane came to visit a few weeks ago.  It was kind of a bummer because William was sick the whole time with a high fever and generally not feeling well so we didn't do much.  We did get out one day and went to the Apple Cider Festival.  It was a little festival and the activities were a bit on the expensive side, but it was nice to get out and enjoy the chilly sunshine!  Andrew bought an apple pie from the little store they had and I must say it was probably the best apple pie I've ever had and the cider was yummy!

Grammy Jane and the girls eating caramel apples.

William hanging out.  

I feel like I have a million of these pictures!

These were a sticky, icky mess....

...but oh so yummy!

Cheers!

Hot apple cider on a chilly fall afternoon.

The kiddos on the train ride.

William is only posing, he had to get off before the ride started moving!

Date Night

So, the preschool that Olivia goes to this year offers a babysitting night one Friday every month.  Andrew and I finally decided we were ready to take advantage of it and we hit the town last month without the kids!  It just so happened that Kevin Nealon from SNL and Weeds was going to be at the comedy club that night.  So instead of your usual dinner and a movie, we did dinner and a comedy show with some friends whose kids also go to the same preschool.  We had an amazing time, it was so much fun and some much needed adult time!

We saw Kevin Nealon walking into the comedy club right before the show started, so I asked to have my picture taken with him.  He is super tall!

The show was funny!

Curtis and Heather

We met them when we lived in Florida and Abby and her son, Collin went to preschool together there too!  It really is a "small Air Force".

Me and my honey

My jewelry lady, Heather!

All 4 of us.

Air Force 1/2 Marathon

About a month ago we ran the Air Force 1/2 marathon.  Andrew did the full last year and was going to sit this one out since he is training for the Marine Corp full and he was going to be on kid duty while Becca and I ran together.  But, unfortunately Becca got hurt and was unable to run.  She did still come out to visit and very graciously watched our kids and let Andrew run with her race #.  I was bummed she couldn't run with me, I was very much looking forward to it, but I was very grateful she let Andrew run in her place because for some reason this race got the best of me and I don't know if I would have finished if Andrew hadn't been with me.  I was good up until about 10.5 miles and then I just hit a wall.  I think I was dehydrated as my body started cramping up and I became very emotional and cold.  It was bizarre and I felt horrible.  But, Andrew was there to push me through and though I didn't do as well as I would have liked, I finished and that is enough for me at this point!  

Before the race

Nick also came out to run.

Andrew is showing off his race bib that says Becca.

A few people cheered for Becca as he ran by!

A celebratory drink later that night with our medals on.  

The boys at the post-race celebration at The Greene

Abby's Birthday

Abby's birthday present from me and Andrew this year was getting her ears pierced.  She has been asking for months now and we finally decided to let her get it done on her birthday.  It worked out well because she picked Noodles for dinner.  The Noodles is at The Greene which is an outdoor shopping center with lots of shops and restaurants, and it just so happens that there is a Claire's there.  So, in between dinner and dessert at Yogurt Mountain, we stopped into Claire's and Abby was very confused and couldn't figure out why we were there since the answer to getting her ears pierced every time leading up to this had been no.  She was so excited when she realized what was happening, although it very quickly turned into a nervous excitement.  Since it was a weeknight, there was only one employee there so she had to do each ear separately, but she did really well, only crying for a minute.  

Not only did Abby get her ears pierced this year, she was also allowed to have a sleepover birthday party!  She was so excited and we had a house full girls for the entire night.  There were a few boys that came over for pizza, cake, and presents too!  I was very nervous about having all those girls staying the night, but things went very smoothly for the most part.  Only one girl ended up going home early (midnight), but it worked out because she just so happens to live right behind us and I just walked her home.  The girls had a blast and Olivia loved being part of the action too.

Olivia and Joey eating cupcakes

Opening presents

This is what Olivia ended up doing when she realized ALL the presents were for her sister!

The kiddos before the treasure hunt.

Roasting marshmallows