Williamsburg in Summer

Williamsburg in Summer

Monday, October 31, 2011

Trick -or-Treat

 Sometimes I can't get enough of these kids!   What a fun time dressing up can be for little kids.  Kate was a beautiful, sparkly  Peacock, with feathers and all.   Nathan was a cowboy or maybe a bandit for the few seconds he would keep his outfit on.  The little stinker...





 Kate and I went to Papa and Gigi Gallagher's neighborhood for a little trick or treating.  She was so bold, marching right up to the door and introducing herself.  It makes me so proud to see her becoming this strong, independent little girl.  (Sometimes I do wish was not quite as independent.) Nathan stayed home and handed out candy with Daddy.  Maybe next year he'll be up for going out with us.   It was a good night.
(Okay, Miss Melissa...did I take enough pictures?   Thanks for your card this week.  Kate was very happy!)

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Is it really still October?

 

Well the calendar says it October, but outside it looks more like December.   Here in Maryland, we have never seen snow in October, at least not that I can remember.  Kate was so excited to wake up with big fat snow flakes falling.  However, she didn't quite understand that we couldn't put up the Christmas Tree just because it was snowing outside.  She also wasn't happy that the snow didn't stick and snow angels were not to be had either.  However, we did make a big cup of hot chocolate and ran outside to catch a few snowflakes on our tongue.  I guess that will have to do until the next snowfall.  It was pretty though! 


Friday, October 28, 2011

October Fun

Well, since snow is looming in tomorrow's forecast, I thought it best to post a few of our October outings while it still seemed like autumn.  Grandma Ann and Papa Dan came back to Maryland with us after our visit to the Outer Banks.  And even though apple season was well underway, Kate wanted to wait until Grandma was here to go apple picking.  I think we got the remnant of this season's pickin's, but it was a fun experience for Kate. Grandma and I peeled all the apples, dipped them in honey and lemon and froze them for winter pies and crisps.  (Thanks Grandma for the help peeling the apples!!)













Right next to the orchard was a pumpkin patch.  Of course Kate wouldn't accept any of the pumpkins Grandma or I suggested; she had to search out the biggest one for herself!  Now she's begging me to make pumpkin pie.  Maybe we'll tackle that next week!

Each autumn our local fire station hosts an open house.  Kate went last year and couldn't wait to go again this year.  Specifically, she wanted to ride on the firetruck - something she wasn't able to do last year.  We eventually got chosen in the firetruck ride raffle (thanks to a generous volunteer that noticed we had been waiting for more than 1.5 hours for our tickets to be called).  In the meantime, Kate managed to explore and have a lot of fun!

 Daddy was the patient on the ambulance as Kate checked him over.  He was a little sad, so the stuffed bunny made him feel better.  Kate said he was A okay and didn't need to go the hospital after all!


Daddy agreed; the firetruck ride was worth the wait.
It was a memorable day!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Henry Hand-me-downs - so to speak

 Ann Henry is a saver! She's also the Henry/Rosenlof family historian.  It's so interesting to see the things she has kept and how the family history flows from the stories the items bestow.  Over the years, she has saved a few outfits of Josh's that she wanted to have the kids wear.   But this outfit predates even Josh. 

Ann's dad owned a Texaco station in Nampa, Idaho.  These overalls were made by Ann's mom and worn by Ann when she was around 2 years old.  Nathan (18 months) was almost too big to fit in them, but we managed to squeeze him in for a few historic photos.

Here is Kate wearing the same pair at 14 months.

Friday, October 7, 2011

The Final Days of Vacation

Manteo is a little town just south of Nags Head on Roanoke Island.  It's one of our favorite places to go in the Outer Banks.  So we decided to spend our last morning in this quaint waterfront town and enjoy the final day of summer.   We started our morning with a stop at our favorite coffee house.  Josh took his cup of coffee black, but the kids preferred sharing a lemonade smoothly and some ginger snap cookies.   I love the picture of the two kids drinking together, it gives me hope that they might stop fighting long enough to grow up and like one another.

After our morning snack we spent some time exploring the Marshes Island Light house. The light house is on pylons out in the water.  It was unique and offered a spectacular view of the sound.  The kids weren't too impressed and argued that we should return to the playground pronto.   











Kate spotted a number of sea gulls chilling out on piers. A few of them were talented and standing on one leg. Below is Kate's interpretation of a sea gull.


Another common sight on our vacation were these little frogs.  Kate finally had the guts to touch one, and Nathan thought it was hilarious to watch them hop around.  A few of them kept trying to sneak into our van and catch a ride home.  But I thought having three adult turtles, six baby turtles, and a dog waiting for us at home was enough for right now.  

 
So it is with much saddness that we say good bye to the Outer Banks.  We are happy to head home, but we are already thinking about what fun adventures await us next summer.

 

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

A BIG Adventure for some Little Folk

Today was a lot of fun!  After a stop at Currituck Lighthouse (which Kate climbed up each step all by herself), we transferred the kids' car seats into our friend's Jeep and hit the open beach in search for wild horses.   Unfortunately, we only saw one horse off in the distance, but the ride itself was a lot of fun.  Of course Kate loved every minute - she never turns down an adventure.  But Nathan, who can be a little cautious at times, let loose and squealed and laughed for most of the ride.  He loved the bumps and the wind.




Next year we'll do it again and hope for better luck with the horses.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Beach or Bust!

 Kate has been asking to dip her toes in the ocean the moment she spotted water on the way down to OBX.  All she wanted was to go to the beach.  Unfortunately, she was fighting a cold yesterday, and although the water was very warm, the air was chilly.  So we though it best not to plan a beach day just yet.  However, she wore us down late afternoon, and we agreed to let he go walk on the beach and dip her toes in the ocean.  No swimming today though...




 Well the no swimming rule lasted only long enough for a wave to knock Kate over, and once wet, why not swim, right?  At least that's what she and Josh thought.


 And once wet, what better to do than throw yourself in the sand to make a sand angel. 

Papa Dan spent his time flying a kite, and Grandma Ann was excited to see the Atlantic Ocean.  She got her toes in the warm water too!

Sailing at Sunset

One of the first of our Outer Banks adventures was a sunset sail on the Downeast Rover, a 55ft topsail schooner.   This sail was very special on numerous levels:  it was Josh's birthday, Kate really wanted to go on a boat ride, Dan was in the Navy years ago and was thrilled at the idea of a sail, and Ann had really never done anything like this before. I love being out on the water, myself, so I was game.  The only one in question was our little man, Nathan.  He flipped out on a paddle boat, so we weren't sure how he'd handle the big sea.  He did great though, until we hit a bit of rain mid-trip and the I had to hold him a little tighter, well the poor fellow didn't appreciate his mobility limited. All in all - it was a very special evening
 
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Captain Eric let Kate take a spin at the wheel - boy oh boy was she happy!
 
 

We even were blessed with a rainbow after our bout of wet weather

  

Not a bad way to see a sunset!