Happy Halloween!

Mr. Serious received record amounts of candy when encountered by a Detroit native and Lions fan. Sweet Pea told a woman that she looked like a man (someone not in a costume handing out candy). So, we remain humble over here. (Facepalm.)

Also, Doc Brown was in our neighborhood with his DeLorean:

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Sky Meadows Children's Discovery Area

This one was stung by a mud dauber following her younger brother. The Engineer promptly killed it. Then, Mr. Serious stomped on it a half dozen times for good measure. We didn't even see the thing and were unable to avoid it. But, we learned that no one is allergic to bee stings!

The one who thinks outside the box looking for things in the box.

It's an oar:

Actually, a guitar:

It's a riding horse:

She was building a sandcastle when it got crushed by a brother. I told her that was not okay and that I would talk to the offender. She stopped crying long enough for this shot. Poor girl!

Frontier settlement:

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Harper's Ferry Revisited

This is one of those gems that's only about one hour away. We love a good hike; and today this placed saved us all from the Sunday blues!

I've been here a half dozen times -- three with the family. It is one of my favorite places!

A wedding photographer took this shot:

Lookout from Maryland. The little town is in West Virginia. The mountain to the left is Virginia, bordered by the Shenandoah River. The Potomac River meets it in this confluence to the bottom left.

The only one we didn't exhaust was this one:

The lookout from below:

Here are few phone photos:

The Potomac River between West Virginia and Maryland.

It's just really hard to be three-years old. We've had to be firm with this one lately because she screams whenever she doesn't get her way. We've realized that we've (Mom, Dad, & big brothers) reinforced the behavior unintentionally; and have begun to intentionally correct it. We got her to walk back the entire way like a big girl with no screaming or whining. We know her future husband will thank us one day! And we still love her so much.

I love Sundays with my family!

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Siblings.

It's so nice to see these three together!

The Early Bird Family I Married Into at 5:45am. They've all been up for a while! When I first met these fine people, it was at 5:45 or 6:00am at a diner. They put me to complete, utter shame.

Watching silly animals with Auntie R:

DH prepared a special smoked pork shoulder BBQ in his new smoker. Our home still smells like Hill Country.

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Lazy Sunday Afternoon

DH went on retreat this weekend -- his first in 5 years (Corporate retreats don't count.). I was very glad he finally felt like he could make one. He tells me he slept for 18 hours over 2 nights, exercised every day, and spent a lot of time reflecting and praying. He was so happy when he returned!

Sweet Pea got busy telling him everything that was on her mind as soon as he returned.

He brought back a bag of cool ranch Doritos. It could have been a shiny corvette and would have received equal jubilation.

We put on a bit of TV this weekend because the toddlers were sick. (Sweet Pea kept trying to sneak a drink from Mr. Serious's sippy cup. I kept telling her not to and taking it away. She would watch me leave the room and try to grab it when I was out of sight. When I caught her in the act, she was remorse-less. So, of course she got sick. I knew that would happen. I'm just grateful the big boys and I are okay!)

We still love her so much! She is a cuddle bug.

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Afternoon Coffee with Sweet Pea

This is one of those delightful moments when I'm one-on-one with a child. She has so much to share! Here she grabbed her brother's drawing, drew over it, and asked me to look at her work. She remembers most of her letters and their sounds.

She is working so hard in preschool! Sometimes, she says she doesnt want to go; but I think that's because they ask a lot of her. Eg. Follow the structured schedule, stay in circle for circle time, listen to others, and share. It's hard work for a 3-year-old! I'm very proud of the improvements she's made so far!

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ER Frequent Flyers

This time it was Mr. Serious. So, that makes 4 of 4 kids who've had ER visits. (Ironically, Sweet Pea seems to be out-performing her brothers in this area.) Mr. Serious had a perfect well-check on Monday. Of course, the next day is when symptoms began.

I like to avoid the ER unless it's very serious; but when he woke himself up with a 104.6 rectal temp, and wasn't laughing/smiling at any of the usual things, we called our insurance on-call doctor (his normal doc didn't pickup). A woman went through a checklist and told us to take him to the ER (because it was 11pm) within the next hour. And then she asked me to confirm I was going to take him in right now. Of course, I said yes.

They did strep and flu tests (negative) and chest x-rays (clear) and gave him a steroid for croup, Motrin, and Tylenol. Then, we were sent home.

He is recovering; and he's still not sure whether he wants to be ornery or cheerful. We've cancelled most of our week to give hugs and make broth soup. There are worst things that could happen.

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More Farm Life

We enjoyed the farm day so much that we returned with DH the following day. Sky Meadows was not crowded and had an abundance of interesting activities and energy-burners. I can't believe we are just discovering this place now! Apparently, it was rated "Virginia's Best State Park" at one time.

On the steps of the old farmhouse.

The view is truly breathtaking.

They were giving tours of the home, where we could get surprisingly close to treasured artifacts. (Those pics didn't turn out well.) DH was super relaxed.

Someone was selling barbecue, chili and cornbread, and other similar things.

The kids each got their own bags of chips, which might be the most exciting thing that happened to them.

 Hay bales and obstacle course. They made friends here and ran a lot. It was never over-crowded.

He was humoring me as I wanted a shot with the barn in the background. The blacksmith, calves, and kids were on the other side.

They spent a lot of time chasing chickens, which made Mr. Serious happier than we've ever seen. He made everyone laugh.

Yes, we told them to be nice to the chickens.

In the historic kitchen, which was operating this day. They made cornbread in a dutch oven with corn they grew. There was pumpkin butter one could put on the cornbread. This made the Engineer's entire afternoon:

Examining the corn kernel remover and the apple press. These things were really cool.

We had a wonderful afternoon with the kids and will definitely return. We hear there are some great hikes with tremendous views as well...

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