Happy Halloween! This year Miss S said she wanted to be Minnie Mouse - and she never changed her mind. She was excited to have the whole outfit on, from the tights and leotard, to the big bows on her shoes and Minnie ears.
We headed out with an entourage - Jim and I, all of our parents, and Leslie and Clarence. She was very excited to trick-or-treat, knowing that she would get candy in her pumpkin. We practiced at our front door, and she was ready to go...until we came to a neighbors house with scary music and real people dressed up on the porch. That was it for her. She grabbed on for dear life and decided it was time to head home.
Back home, safe and sound!
While passing out candy, we got the crazy idea to dress my mom up and put her on the porch to scare the older kids/teens. She played the part so well. She silently crouched on the porch, waited for the kids to get their candy, and then she would start quickly moving towards them. It was so hilarious to watch we almost peed our pants. Kids would take off screaming and running!
Minnie Mouse was wore out and ready to pass her ears on to daddy :)
Miss S celebrating Halloween with her friends at school.
Yesterday I spotted this out of season peach orchard with tons of leaves on the ground, and thought it would be a great spot for some pictures. S and I headed there this morning, and here are the results. I'm feeling frustrated with my camera lens because the clarity of the photos is poor.
Yesterday I was trying to get dinner made, so I turned on "Little Bear" for S to watch. It was an episode about one of the characters getting hurt and needing bandages to feel better. S came and asked me for some tape so she could "fix" her Minnie Mouse just like the show. She put a couple pieces on Minnie, and then I was off to dinner again. Next I heard her in the office, so I asked what she was doing..."getting stickers Mommy"...no big deal right! :) haha on me - the stickers were postage stamps, and she had over 25 of them all over Minnie from front to back!
We stayed with the Mills family in their very cozy/traditional Hamilton, Virgina home. No department stores, no fast food, no chain restaurants - a smalltown USA experience. 
One day we took the kids to a nearby pumpkin patch/petting zoo/outdoor entertainment park. We took a hayride, went down a huge slide, looked at all the farm animals, and enjoyed apple cider and the beautiful crisp weather outside.
The next day we headed to Baltimore, and visited the National Aquarium, where the kids were entertained with fish, sharks, sting ray, and a dolphin show. We had lunch among all the beautiful brick buildings, set on the Baltimore waterfront. We hit the road home just as the rain started to pour down. 
Jim drove about 1 1/2 hours to the FBI Academy to visit his good friend from the police department who is now in the FBI.
We also went a winery where the fall leaves were changing colors, and the beautiful countryside was abundant. I tried to get some pregnant pictures (16 weeks), seeing that we have not taken nearly as many pictures as we did when I was pregnant with S.
