Trick or Treat!

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

After a hiatus last year, Emily returned to trick or treating!  She had most of the friends from the homecoming group plus a couple more over to the house for pizza and trick or treating!  They did not get plans together in time to dress alike, but all of them having their own individual costumes was kind of fun too.  Emily got a second use out of her ghost poncho from several years ago.  It was a good choice for this year too because it was COLD and she was able to put her coat underneath the poncho.  

   

After collecting all of their treats, they came back to the house to survey their bounty and warm up with hot cocoa.  They definitely seemed like they had a good time...and look at how cute those little ghost mugs are!  Thanks, Target.  :-)

Homecoming 2023

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Tonight was homecoming.  I wasn't 100% sure Emily would go this year.  She had a group of friends trying to pull something together, but it wasn't clear until right up to the dance what the plan would be.  A couple of weeks before the dance, Emily went dress shopping with her friend, Jenna and she got a really pretty burgundy dress for the dance.  She looked quite stunning, if I do say so myself.  We took these shots at home in the side yard before heading downtown to meet all her friends.

   

It rained most of the morning and into afternoon, but a couple of hours before the dance, the skies cleared a bit and we were able to get some nice pictures.  You couldn't tell by looking at these pics, but it was actually pretty chilly.  The kids met first at the University of Charleston for pictures.  I was kind of glad for a new location because we did all the homecoming pictures downtown, last year and UC did have some very nice spots for photos. 

   

   

The girls in this pic from left - Jenna, Emily, Ashlynn and Haley.

   

   

After getting these pics, there was still some time to kill before the dance.  The kids wanted to do dinner after the dance this year so that's why there was some extra time.  So, they headed downtown to Taylor Books for coffees and smoothies before finally making their way to the dance...where apparently no dancing actually occurs.  Ha!

   

Then after the dance, Jenna's mom hosted the girls at Embassy Suites for a sleepover.  It seems like they all had a great time!  Here's to all the happy high school memories!

Gritt's Farm

Sunday, October 8, 2023

Every year I think maybe this will be the year we won't be going to Gritt's - that Emily will say she is too old or doesn't want to go with her parents.  Luckily, this was NOT that year.  We had a beautiful Sunday morning for our visit and it wasn't even too crowded.  We started our fun in the pumpkin patch.  They have significantly scaled back the patch, in favor of other attractions, I guess.  But we still love finding our own pumpkins.  We got 4 for the porch and one little one for Emily's room.

   

Then it was time for the yummiest pumpkin and apple cider donuts!  I don't know what makes these so good, but man they are delicious.

Then it was time to feed all the goats!  We love petting zoos and feeding farmyard friends.  Even though we could not go into the little pen to pet these guys, they sure were fun to feed!

   

Much to my surprise, Emily was not too big for the slides.  She even rode twice!  From there it was onto the wagon for a ride out to the corn maze.

   

   

The corn maze was really good this year.  The stalks were still really tall so you couldn't cheat by just looking for the next marker.  We did well and only had to back track for a marker once.  I didn't used to be a fan of these, but they have really grown on me and now I look forward to going.

   

After a full morning at the farm, we headed out for our traditional post-farm lunch at Dairy Queen with snickerdoodle and pumpkin pie blizzards for dessert!  Yum!