October Madness

October was a very busy month for us.  It was a blur....but we did manage to capture a few memories!

A trip to the pumpkin patch was required.  The kids couldn't wait to find their own pumpkins.   We love the farm we go to in Frederick, Bloomfield Farm.  The day included a hay ride, tractors, animals, and loads of pumpkins and squash.

 We spent two weeks out in Washington State visiting Josh's family.  It had been four years since we had been able to venture west.  So this trip was so special.  Nathan and Kate loved the time with their cousins.  I just loved being with family.  I think we ended up with just shy of 300 pictures from this trip.    Here are some favorites:

Nathan and Alex horsing around  

Kate loved the time with her girl cousins (as she is usually surrounded by boy cousins out East.  She wasn't feeling well in this photo (hence the odd expression on her face) but Bri and Hannah were such a big part of her experience that I wanted to share this photo.  We miss them all so much!

And of course, we spent a lot of time with Papa Dan and Grandma Ann.  My kids ask daily if we can go on an airplane to see Papa Dan and Grandma - as if it were as easy as that.  We loved the time we had with the family.

 On our last day, we ventured out to Snowqualamie Falls.  It was a crisp fall day, and the views were amazing.

 

A special addition to our trip was a visit with good friends Paul and Peggy Wilkinson.  They happened to be in Oregon at the same time we were in Washington.  So considering they usually live in L.A. and we live 5000 miles east of them, we couldn't pass up a chance to drive 2.5 hours to spend a precious 24 hours with friends that really are more like family!   It was great to catch up, but it was even more precious to watch the kids jump right back into each others worlds.

Sunshine, Happiness, and Ice-cream!

What an amazing find last Sunday!   We were out for an afternoon drive, and decided to head to Rocky Point Creamery off Tuscarora Road.   When we arrived, we were greeted by this incredible field of sunflowers.   It took my breadth away.    There was an instant happiness that came across me.

 

The creamery is selling the flowers to benefit St. Jude's Children's Hospital.  We decided to do a spontaneous photo shoot with the kids.  Kate was more cooperative than Nathan.

 And since the kids were good sports about the pictures, we treated them to ice-cream.  And well they both enjoyed it, Nathan a little more than the rest of us!

Fourth of July - Postponed??

Can you really postpone a national holiday?  Well it seemed that way in Montgomery County, Maryland, this year.  Due to the Derecho (similar to a category 1 hurricane) that passed through Maryland the final week of June, all fireworks and Fourth of July festivities were postponed in order to prioritize electricity restoration to thousands of people. 

As irony would have it, we have not been to see fireworks once in the seven years Josh and I have been married.  However, Kate got her first experience with fireworks this spring in Disney, and she has been begging us to go again so Daddy can see them too.   And this was the year we were going to load up and face the heat and masses to make those treasured family memories for Kate.  That was until the fireworks got cancelled.

Luckily for Kate, today was Damascus Day, a few towns north of us.  The festivities began last night with a parade and guess what?? FIREWORKS!!  Since we are the flexible people we are known to be,  we just celebrated the 4th on the 13th instead!  It was a lot of fun...and a much cooler evening that it would have been on the actual 4th had the fireworks happened then.    I think we might just make it a habit of seeing fireworks a week later...in Damascus.

Kate inching her way closer and closer to the curb so she doesn't miss a thing!

Nana Linda and Papa Gallagher making sure we don't loose any kids.

Waiting with open bags hoping for candy to land in front of them!

Nathan had the best seats in the house...on Daddy's shoulders or in Papa's arms!

Nathan LOVED the tractors!

30 Days

Thirty days has September, April, June and November.  All the rest have 31, except for February alone who has 28 days and 29 in a leap year. ~ Mother Goose

Well, the last 30 days were jammed packed for us.  Here is a quick run down of the month of June in our family.

We've been doing a lot of bike riding this summer.  Kate's been getting really good at her peddling and now she's handling some downhill rides with confidence.  But with Kate riding her bike, Nathan needed something to ride too.  He LOVES getting out on the tricycle with his big sister.  He also loves being a part of the neighborhood boys!

Papa Dan has been visting us since late March.  We all love our time with him.  We were sad to see him head back to the West Coast  mid-June.  We hope he'll be back to visit again soon (and maybe with Grandma Ann this time!)  

June saw a lot of playground time.  And anytime my kids are outside (or inside for that matter) we have boo-boos.  Nathan is a walking injury these days.   And the kids want to make sure no one out does the other, so they strive for matching boo-boos.

 

The pool at my parent's house has brought much needed refreshment during our June heat wave.  104 degrees feels much better when submerged in cool water.  It also was a blessing when we lost power due to the horrible storm that passed through Maryland in late June.  We were lucky and only lost power for a partial day.  Others were waiting 6 days during a heat wave to get their power back!

Kate was able to try her hand (or foot as it might be) at soccer this month.  She took part in a two week soccer camp for 3 and 4 year olds.   She dreaded the idea and cried the night before it began.  But as you can see here, she ended up loving it.  I think her coach, Mick, made it so much fun for the kids.  They affectionately called him Coach Mickey Mouse.  :)

 

Kate and Coach Mickey Mouse

 Dress up time is a daily occurrence at our house.  After two years of being subjected to tu-tus, princess dresses, high heels, and lots of jewelry, Nathan finally scored a costume of his own.  Here is our little police officer himself, LOVING his new digs. 

 

The kids and I loaded up into the mini-van and drove north to Long Island to visit our friends the Bonzagnis while Josh stayed home to catch up on some work.   Holly and I have been friends since high school, and it's great to see our kids becoming friends as well.  We had five kids ages five and under in one house plus a 13 year old to keep things hopping.  It was very  noisy.  Very noisy.   Kate, Nathan, and I shared a room.  I think the two loved sharing bedtime- but Mommy didn't get much sleep.  

Bedtime Stories; Kate loves "reading" Nathan nursery rhymes 

Kate and Mia - future BFFs

It was a busy month.  And the summer has just begun...

Pure Magic

Well today was the day...the day long awaited....the day that couldn't come faster for Kate...the day that did not let anyone down.   I have a zillion pictures to sort through, but I thought I'd post a few that top my favorite list!  Let's begin with the mere excitement of the kids as we waited to board the monorail into the park.  We just caught a glimpse of the castle from across the lake, and they were very excited!!

   As expected...the princesses were magnificent.  I was so impressed with how each one really took time with each child.  Kate had full conversations with each of them -- but anyone who knows Kate is not surprised by that!  (And Brenden...he managed to sneak a kiss in with Cinderella.  Sly fella that one!)

 Kate took Princess Tiana by surprise with this hug, and almost knocked her over!  As I mentioned yesterday, the Frog Princess is among Kate's favorite right now.  But Belle has a sweet spot too in Kate's heart.

Another highlight was the 3:00 parade down main street.  It was HOT!  We were TIRED.   We almost decided to skip out on the parade all together in place of some shade and A/C.   Boy I am glad we didn't.  Kate had a prime spot on the sidewalk, and almost every character stopped by to greet her.  I missed her handshake with Captain Hook - boy was she thrilled with that one!  But I captured a few exciting moments.

 I believe Kate is shooting, "Mom!!  Look who is coming!!"

In this picture, Cinderella is actually waving to Kate. 
And Kate is thrilled!   

Well done, Disney.  Well done!