Pumpkin Patch

Since it's Halloween, I'll post some pictures of a recent apple farm/pumpkin patch adventure. But stay tuned for pictures of Halloween costumes. Be warned...there's spandex involved.....









HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Speaking of Scrawlins in the Dirt....

I was looking at pictures on my computer today and realized that I forgot to share these beauties from a climbing trip to the Red River Gorge a few weeks ago.

Our poor kids get dragged around on some wacky adventures. Hopefully someday they'll appreciate it....

Once we got to the crag, it quickly went downhill. The base was super fine dirt. Kinda like moon dust where it would make a mushroom cloud with every step. It was just gross and so dirty.

You think they look dirty? Sadly, this isn't even dirty yet.

Why am I making this face? Keith, don't let me do this again. Or at least, please don't take a picture of it, okay? At least it proves that I was acknowledging the dirt fest...not that I did anything about it. Too busy putting on my climbing shoes.

It's getting dirtier.


Then they began swimming in the dirt....

And it evolved into making full on dirt angels.



DIRTY! Notice that red thing in her diaper? Yeah, that's a starburst. She was saving it for later. She really wanted a pocket. WHERE ARE HER PARENTS?!?

Look at that hand! Disgusting.
And the aftertaste is even worse....

But at least the climbing was good. :)

Twelve

Years, that is.

It's a long time.

A really long fun time.

Twelve years ago, I got married.

And it's still a party every day.



Or in Haiku form:



Twelve is a long time
I got married very young
Keith is a rock star

I love Philly

It was so great being back in Philly last week! Having spent 8 years of my life there, it was weird to be back--but at the same time, it was like putting on my favorite pair of comfortable, perfectly worn in jeans. There's just something familiar about that place that I will always love. I felt like I was home.

But I wasn't.

I drove past my old house and it felt so strange that I couldn't just park and walk in. It was also weird that the yard was perfectly manicured with ornamental grasses and all sorts of garden decor. Let's be honest, there were always more weeds than flowers when I lived there.

Keith will be glad to never set foot back in Philly. He said he felt sorry for me going back. :)

But, really there's so much to love about Philly.

The second after I got off the airplane, I had one mission: A proper hoagie. Folks, they just don't happen like this anywhere else. Sometimes you just gotta have a Wawa.


This is what I'm talking about! A hot roast beef hoagie. Forget cheesesteaks. This is where it's at. Oh. My. Goodness. Is your mouth watering? I'm dying right now wishing I had another one of these. I miss Wawa really bad right about now.


Next order of business: Rita's.


Key lime pie water ice.

But I would have given my right arm for a green apple. Or coconut cream. Help me now!

My other love: Trader Joe's.

People, if you live in a town with a TJ's and you don't go pretty much every day, you are MISSING OUT!!! Ok, slight exaggeration. Only slight, though. This is the best grocery store. And cheap, too. Since my suitcase was loaded with gifts on my way to Philly, I decided that I couldn't go home with it empty. So I filled it back up with all my favs: Salsa verde, Jo-Jo's, Maple cookies, peanut butter cups, nuts, etc. I could have brought home actual FOOD you know, but what's the fun in that when you are on vacation???

Next cool thing about Philly: History. I got to be a complete tourist this time and take my sis, Shannon, and her hubby, Dave, around downtown. The liberty bell is cool and all but I really love Independence Hall.


This is especially mind-blowing: to be in the very room where the Declaration of Independance and The Constitution were written. To see the very chair that George Washington sat in during that amazing gathering of minds. History literally was written here.


And how could you not love a town where Ben Franklin roams the streets?


Another favorite: Reading Terminal Market. Gosh, I love this place. There is SO MUCH good food in there. The chocolate dipped cookies? Are you kidding me? And the hot apple dumplings smothered in heavy cream from the Amish stand? Have MERCY!!!

There's just so much goodness at Reading Terminal, it's almost too much to take in. We ate ourselves to the gills. But Shannon and Dave's great souveniers? A quart of amish pickles, beef jerky, and black licorice. Huh???

Elfreth's Alley. Love it. So charming.


Love Park. A classic.


And topping off a day in the city, dinner at the swanky Continental (lobster mac and cheese--are you kidding me??? So good, it's unreal).

And a ridiculous amount of chocolate for dessert at Naked.



So there you have it. My ode to Philly. It was such a good time. To all my Philly friends: please enjoy some of that Philly goodness for me! Love you!

Lucky me

I got to go on vacation! By myself! Keith is AWESOME for being Mr. Mom while I went to Philadelphia for 4 days. Especially since the B-man had a fever the night before I left, almost causing me to cancel the trip.

But soooo glad I didn't miss this!



My cute friend Molly married her cute hubby Bryan. Sadly, my pics are super lame. Half of them because someone at my table hijacked my camera and I ended up with a bunch of pictures like this....



LUCKILY, Molly hired my awesome sister to be the wedding photographer! So. Much. Fun.

Congrats Molly and Bryan!

Brother and Sister

Cutest friends.

My Girl

I love this girl so much, it hurts.



Everything about her just leaves me in a puddle. Curly pigtails. Shoes on the wrong feet. "Cheese" smile. Marker all over her arms (am I going to be talking her out of getting a tattoo in 15 years? She draws on herself all the time!).

And those cheeks! Have mercy!

Cutest little thing I've ever seen. Excuse me while I go kiss those little arms and sweet cheeks some more....

Eye of the Tiger

Dude. I won.



Trust me, no one is more surprised than I am. I've NEVER won anything that involved speed. Or anything involving athleticism for that matter. But I actually won! Well, kinda. I didn't break the tape or anything. But I beat the other thirty-something geezers!

And Keith took second--pushing the kids in a stroller!!

Finally, it pays off to live in a small town with loads of fat, out of shape diabetics and one cool little running club. Where running a mile in 7:45 is actually fast. Admitting my race time would normally be embarrassing--especially because of the track stars in my family. But this time, I've got a sweet bobble head trophy to make me feel like a reeeal champion.

The haircut

We gave Bennett a summer haircut. A buzz. I've never dared give him a buzz before since he was born with a full head of LONG hair. But since we've found more than 1 tick in his head this year, it was time to shave off his mop.





Obviously, it didn't go over well.

The Power of Rob

So my baby brother took a long road trip from New Jersey to visit us this past weekend.


Rob holds a hallowed spot in our house, right next to the cans of tuna. He lived with us in Philly for about a year during which time he consumed vomitous quantities of Ramen noodles. When Bennett was learning to eat solid food Andrea started calling them Uncle Robbie Noodles and the name stuck. Several times a week right at lunch time uncle Robbie gets mentioned in our house. I don't know if it is the frequent mention of his name coupled with intense "oriental flavor (what is that anyway?)" or the fact that Rob lived just across the bridge in Jersey for Bennett's first three years and is the only uncle Bennett has really known. It could be the cool flying bird birthday present, the camping trips, the only relative at Thanksgiving for several years running, the fact that he can fly real airplanes, or any number of things that only Bennett knows. Anyway you cut it, he is magical with Bennett. Rob holds power to unlock something in Bennett that neither parent can.


Bennett is a touch on the timid side when it comes to physical activity. I have no problem with this as we live in a place where a little too much bravado would cost us at least a few evenings in the ED or worse. A good sense of fear will keep him alive. Bennett likes to swim in the lake, but that took a while and he only does it with a life jacket. He took swimming lessons in a pool and there was able to jump in from the edge without any flotation aids. He has never considered jumping in the lake without a life jacket despite my prodding. Jumping off the rock has never been an option even though a couple of his brave friends have done it. I never considered asking him to jump off the rock as his typical statement before getting into the lake is,"Dad, will you please lower me into the water GENTLY so I don't get my hair wet?"


Rob changed all that. The first day Rob was visiting Bennett asked if he could show uncle Robbie how he can swim without a life jacket. He dove right in for the first time from a low rock ledge and swam like a fish.... Where did that come from? The next day we were all hanging out at the lake swimming and barbecuing when suddenly Bennett announced that he was going to jump off the rock...The Diving Rock...12' of air to the cool waters below.





Stunned silence from both parents.





He walked over to the edge and stood there for several minutes before deciding that he wanted to jump WITH uncle Robbie. They held hands and he did not even hesitate. 1 - 2- 3 over they went.

WOW

The power of uncle Rob.

Love this girl

This little one owns my heart. She is growing up so fast, it's scary. Why hasn't someone invented a way to bottle kids up yet???


She loves putting on shoes. How girly is that???

She's still a great eater! She just passed the 30 pound mark when I took her for her 18-month checkup. At the same visit, Bennett jumped on the scale. With a 2.5 year spread between them, there's only a 10-pound weight difference. Bennett doesn't realize that he's going to get BEAT UP by his little sister in a few years. The doc said that if Leah stays on the same growth pattern, she's likely to be 6 feet tall as an adult. Yikes!

She does these "cheese" smiles every time the camera points at her. Silly girl...

I wanna eat those cheeks!


LOVE. HER.