We have been keeping very busy lately (hence, my lack in blogging!). The days and months just continue to fly by! I know that I should do shorter blog posts more often instead of these really looooong ones, but I just haven't been making it a priority. Maybe this can be a New Year's resolution for me (since with our busy schedules the next few months, I am sure I am not going to do much better in the blogging department!)
Anyways, there are quite a few things that we have done lately that I wanted to share (and document!):
1. One of the Mom's groups that I am a part of took a field trip to
Carter Mountain Orchard on October 22nd and we had a blast. It was a frigid & windy day, but the sun was shining and the apples were ripe for picking. We paid $6.50 per person (under 2 were free) and we got to pick a bagful of apples, go on a hayride and have a little instructional session about apples. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately my camera battery died not long after we got there, but I did get a few shots before it went kaput!
Our little group arriving at our "spot" to pick apples
Jacob got the hang of apple picking pretty quickly.
He kept saying "Apple, Apple, Apple."
I wish I had the video camera with me at the time.
Katie & her family were at the Orchard the same time we were
(although they were not part of our group).
We ran into them right before we took our hayride so Pierce joined us.
He and Jacob really enjoyed the ride!
Shaun took this picture of Jake and me near the pumpkins
Our plan was to return to the orchard the next day with Keith so that we could do some fun stuff together as a family. Since we were returning, I didn't bother getting any of their yummy apple donuts or the raspberry jam that we really like. I was also hoping to get more pictures of Jake with the pumpkins. Unfortunately, we didn't end up returning because...
2. I got an awful allergic reaction rash later that night and suffered all throughout the weekend. I will spare you all the gory details, but suffice to say my whole entire body was itchy (even places you don't want to think about having to itch). I did end up getting two prescriptions (prednisone on Saturday and an anti-itching medicine on Monday), but I was pretty miserable for three straight days.
This is how my face looked - blotchy with swollen eyes & lips
The rash on my chest and neck
and on my leg
Thankfully, I felt much better by Wednesday, although I was still taking the anti-itch medicine just in case.
3. I had previously planned to get together in C'ville with my sisters and their kiddos on Wednesday so I was glad to be feeling better. Karen was staying in Richmond for the week while Brian was out of town. So, she met Katie and I at the
Bounce & Play and the kids had a great time. I didn't get a lot of pictures, but Katie did capture this fun video of Jacob & I going down one of the slides:
Let me tell you, it is hard work walking up those steep slide steps! Jake and I probably did it five times (and he would have done it a lot more if I had been willing). There was one other one that was even steeper that we climbed up. All in all, I think Jake had a really good time and we are looking forward to returning again soon.
4. Two days later, on Friday, Katie and I and the boys drove to Richmond to meet up with my Mom, Karen and her girls at the
Children's Museum of Richmond. We started out going to the new location in Short Pump, but we didn't stay long since it was kind of small and the older kids were getting bored. Thankfully, with paid admission to the Short Pump location, you can get into the Downtown Richmond location for free. We spent about an hour and half there and the kids had so much fun! We could have stayed much longer, but it was getting to be lunch time and we had to get home for naps.
They had a real-sized ambulance that the kids could play in.
Jake LOVED playing in it and sitting in the driver's seat!
Jake loves anything associated with cars and trucks
so he was in his glory in this area.
We attempted to get a picture of us three sisters and our kids,
but as you can see, the kids were starting to melt down and
weren't really interested in looking at the camera!
4. On Saturday morning, Keith, Jacob and I went up to Ruther Glen in Caroline County for their Fall Festival and parade. Shaun grew up in that town and his parents still live there. We had fun spending time outside on a beautiful crisp Fall morning and Jacob enjoyed watching the parade. We even got some yummy
Brunswick Stew homemade by the Fire Department volunteers.
Jake enjoying time with Daddy
Pierce and Jake watching the parade go by
5. Later that day, Keith carved a pumpkin with Jacob. As you can see from the picture, Jake wasn't super excited about it and he ended up getting down from the table after a short time. I think he is just a little too young to enjoy pumpkin carving. Maybe next year!
Keith continued even after Jacob gave up! :) He did a great job!
6. On Halloween Sunday, before we returned home, we did a dress rehearsal of Jacob in his costume for everyone to see. I didn't bother really planning a costume for him, but instead used a Scooby Doo costume that Katie had that my grandma gave to Pierce a few years ago. Jacob has no idea who Scooby Doo is, but he donned the costume as cute as he can be.
Later that evening, after Jacob took a nap, we went to one of Keith's co-worker's house for a party. We decided that he really didn't need the candy so we didn't bother trick or treating. As you can see from this video, he had fun just walking around in front of their house.
7. Last, but not least, Jacob and I exercised our priviledge as Americans and voted on Election Day. Of course, Jake didn't really have a clue as to what we were doing, but he did have fun with the sticker that they gave him. At one point, he decided it looked best on his head (and it stayed there for quite a while). :)
Unfortunately, the candidate that I voted for didn't win, but the constitutional amendments that I voted "Yes" for all passed.
As you can see we have been busy, busy, busy! Now that it is November and there are less than three weeks until Thanksgiving, I am sure our busy schedule is not going to slow down. We already have almost all of our weekends for the next two months booked! Like I say every year, maybe things will slow down after the New Year. But, I am guessing probably not!
