October Visitors

Jason got to come back and see us once more before he headed home, so that was a lot of fun, even if (once again) we took very few pictures of it.  But we got a couple, at least!  Tom had just barely had a birthday, so we all got to celebrate together with Chinese food and cupcakes!

Proof!  Jason was here!

And Tom was properly fêted!

Also back for a visit, was the kids' well named friend, Scarlett!  The whole neighborhood was excited to have her back for a few hours!

Jason left Sunday and my parents arrived Tuesday, so I had just enough time to put clean sheets on the bed, and clean towels in the bathroom. Whew! I was excited to show my parents Ragged Mountain, but it's a little tricky doing outdoor stuff with them: my Dad loves walking and frequently walks for miles each day, whereas my Mom is scheduled to get her knee replaced next month.  Finding Covid-friendly activities that works for both of them requires a little bit of finagling, but in this case, I just set up camping chairs where my mom (and Ryder and Camille) had a great view of the reservoir, and Dad, Colton and I did the 3-mile round trip to the floating bridge.  So I think that made everyone happy?

Hiking!

Not hiking!

The next day, for actual Hiking Club, my neighbor Shannon and I loaded TEN KIDS into my van and took everyone to Wildrock.  I let my parents follow in Craig's car, rather than subject them to that much noise!  This time we did the Creepy Crawly Trails (and my Mom managed to do it, too!) and had a great time (even if the gnats were STILL bad!):

Sydney, Keegan, Calvin, Colton, and Jameson!

Hey, look-- a picture with me AND my parents!  (And Beth!)

I loved how Kendra and Beth were matching!

Here they had toy snakes you could play with

And then at the end the kids could decorate pumpkins and (play) masks

We got home from Wildrock and I had just enough time to eat a bowl of cereal, shower, and close my eyes for ten minutes before we headed right back out again.  This time we were heading to a corn maze!

We found a small one heading west on 29, and it was perfect.  There was plenty for the kids to run around and look at, but I could sit on some benches in the middle and always see them.  Nothing makes me happier!

Gotta love a giant chair!

Ryder still loves pigs!

And giant slides!

Here are we are at the end of the corn maze!

I'm just gonna point out that my hair looks fabulous here!

Camille got nervous in the corn maze (she was afraid they'd never find their way out), so Craig finally brought her out through the entrance and then went back and did it again with Ryder.  

We had a great time and spent WAY too much money on pumpkins.  And then we stopped at Dr. Ho's and got pizza as we drove home!  It was a lovely day!

My parents were here for a few more days, but then it mostly rained and we ordered take-out and had a FABULOUS time, but did not take any pictures.  But it was so good to have them here for a bit-- I'd been really missing them!  Come back soon, Mom and Dad!  (And Jason!)