Gingerbread Houses

Who knew that making a gingerbread house could be so easy?   Kate's class made miniature gingerbread houses today, and Mommy was required to go as Kate's sous chef (a role Kate usually plays for me).   Kate did a great job putting together her house.  She was so creative and so attentive to the details that she wanted to place on her masterpiece.  It was a fun way to start off the morning.  Now if only the candy would last on the house until Christmas...

Turtle Time!

 Kate's preschool class is called Turtles Class.  And anyone that knows us, knows how excited that made Kate and Josh!   And if you've been following the blog or Josh's facebook page, you probably know about all the baby turtles that hatched in our backyard this summer.  Well, Josh thought it would be fun to take the baby turtles into school for Kate's class to play with.  Mrs. Russo said it was the highlight of her week, and I think it was the highlight of Josh's week too.   I have to admit the tiny little guys have even captured my heart.  I look forward to checking in on them each day.

Another fun activity this month in pre-school was Donuts for Dad Day.  Unfortunately, Josh was away at a business conference, so his missed the sugar high.  However, Papa Gallagher stepped in and escorted Kate to her special day.  I don't know what the teachers were thinking giving all these four year olds huge sugar glazed donuts.  I can only imagine the after effects.  Glad I wasn't a room mom that day!  It did make for a special memory with Papa. 

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!)

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! 

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!

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.

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.