a day in leesburg!

For the past two years my friends and I have gone away in the fall, always exploring a new to us place. This year we even had a fourth friend come which was woohoo! Fun! We started as we do before the sun… heading for breakfast before going to Morven Gardens (we’ll be back). Then we just hopped around the town getting drinks and snacks before checking in to the cutest little cottage. It was a lovely day away!

the in betweens….

These days we are finally getting to slow down…. David’s fall ball season ended… Letty’s hockey is done…. Dom has one more game and then fall sports will be in our rear view mirror. Between all of that there have been niece cuddles….a trunk-or-treat with ice cream….baseball games and a final birthday dinner for Matt….Letty’s final youth practice and a lost tooth…. A funny image caught on tv…and quite the cheering squad for Letty’s final game!

a hayride!

As per tradition, we had to hit up Toniel’s man friend’s corn maze and have ourselves a hayride this fall….Unfortunately with sports schedules it was much later in the day than usual and we didn’t have time to paint pumpkins but! We did it! Making these things happen! And we got to see a nice sky on the ride followed by dinner out. 

youth hockey, the end

I didn’t think that Letty’s last game with the youth league would have me feeling all nostalgic but it did! Here I thought I’d be celebrating more freedom and a less hectic schedule but no, it was sad! I mean it isn’t like they won’t still all play together because of course they will but still… the end of an era! Next year they are going to be playing at the middle school! Anyways I digress. They were undefeated this season and you could just tell that they have all been playing together for four years. They are ready! Thanks to their coaches for the past four years! It’s been a ride!

hersheypark in the dark, again

This time with all the ladies in the family! More cousin time! It was such a beautiful night and not too cold…. The kids got to ride any ride they wanted without much wait and of course they hit up the truck-or-treat trail again. David braved the new Scare Zone again and this time no tears! We aren’t renewing our passes for next year so I’m trying to get a few more visits in this year…. 

RACE

So strange to only have one child to watch and cheer on this year…. Well I guess more than one because: Lena. But of my own yes, just the Dommy. This event is always quite the deal and it raises so much money for their school! I think that Dom and Lena ran somewhere between 3.6-4 miles. Each. Crazy kids. 

these days…

These days as of late have been long and exhausting, terrifying and full of gratefulness, busy and fast… we have been here and there and everywhere. Birthday celebrations  with friends times two (more, I know the mind reels!) and lunches out, singing and being sung too, Poppop visits and lots of hugs and love, sports and more sports, volunteering at school and working at school, a new pool toy and a new neighbor…. All of everyday life among some heavy things… Last week took it out of us and we are still recovering, but we are all here and healthy and for that I’ll be forever glad. 

hersheypark in the dark

Last Friday night my sister and our families took advantage of the nice night and headed up to Hershey for their Halloween themed shenanigans. And it won’t be the last time this season either! The kids went on a few rides but the trick-or-treat trail was the main goal. Candy, am I right? And it seems my older two are getting too cool for costumes these days….

a birthday wedding

And on Matt’s actual birthday (it is the birthday celebration that never ends) we had a wedding to go to. His cousin’s son’s, to be exact. It was a beautiful crisp fall day and the wedding was in Delaware. My parents had our kids and we got all cleaned up real nice and off we went! A date night to a wedding with family too! It was a beautiful event! Congratulations to Cierra and Seth! What a lovely day!

our annual gettysburg visit

We have taken a fall jaunt to Gettysburg every single year since Letty was one…. I say that emphatically and yet we may have missed one or two but for the most part this is what we do. We have a good meal and then we drive through the parks stopping here and there as we see fit. We actually left Baltimore to go here on our day off of school last week…. So we did all the things! Not until we had a Gettysburger though, that came first. The park wasn’t that crowded and the kids were thrilled to see they could still climb all over Devil’s Den, even with the construction. Glad we found the time to make this happen!

a final visit to the aquarium

I loved that we had this membership this past year! Granted we haven’t gone a ton but we did get down there five times which means we more than got our moneys worth! The kids really enjoy the aquarium and this last trip we had the place to ourselves which was really just so special. We got to take our time and circle back and soak up every part of the big blue world! It was the perfect way to spend a morning off of school!

the farm show parade

Annnnd the highlight of Farm Show week, the parade! Thankfully our very good friend Toniel lives on the parade route so winner winner! We have all the foods and drinks and have bathroom access! Pretty sure my kids came home with more candy than on Halloween!

a farm show field trip

It wouldn’t be a fall in our town without a field trip here to the Farm Show!  And the second graders got lucky in that the rain held off for the most part, because how miserable would that have been? I got to be a chaperone for Dom’s class which as you can imagine, I loved. We walked around to see all the animals and he made himself a new and improved jump rope!  Just a solid day doing all the farmy things! 

this is the life…

Living the dream as my brother says…doing all the things! I’ll sleep when I’m dead type of mentality! But I will also stop and see the sunsets…swim whenever I can which is very rare these weeks…. Catching snippets of my kids’ days… lots of sweet treats whenever we can… being thankful for the good health of family and speedy recoveries…. Birthday parties and joining a new gym (with a pool!)…. Working at the middle school and cheersing David for being a Learner of the Month (!!)….. and another fortieth celebration for Matt! Getting it DONE. 

mikayla is eight!

Oh Kayla Raaaaae!!! Eight years old! How can this be! Such a lovely little lady with lovely long curly hair! Full of personality and lover of soccer and the stars….. the most fashionable of little ladies! My nieces put my wardrobe to shame I’ll tell you what. And this past weekend we got to celebrate her eighth trip around the sun with a little ocean themed birthday party. And her mother is quite good at a theme. The kids played and snacked before a delicious dinner…. Gifts and cake and a song! We did it all!

We love you Kayla! Happiest of eighth birthdays! You are a leader and will do such great things! Can’t wait to watch you grow!

a hocus pocus two party

I smell children! Amuck amuck amuck! Sistahs!!!! All of it! Bring it on! Twenty-nine years later and we have ourselves a sequel! So obviously we needed to have a little party! With matching t-shirts (orange for the moms, purple for the girls)! The food was definitely the most on theme and it was just such fun! The movie itself didn’t disappoint a single person in the room. The girls loved all of it and the fun glasses and the Hocus Pocus water bottle stickers which is all the rage these days (says no one these days)…. All the sweet sugary foods and the punch….  Its all just a bunch of hocus pocus!

some fall sports shots…

Oh fall sports. And all three in them at once!? It is quite the deal. Every night of the week and every day of the weekends are filled with practices and games and sometimes good skies…. I haven’t gotten many good photos of Dom at baseball because he’s quite new and quite often in the outfield…. But he is really enjoying it! They all are. And so we keep going, one day at a time!