We moms always do it up. This year, we met at Ketch Joanne's again, as per Jen's recommendation last year, and it was just as yummy. It's at the marina, so we met by the boats (Jen wanted to buy a whole fish for cookin' and man, did she whip up one helluva gravlox!).
After lunch, everyone was wandering around and it was about 95˚ (no joke... look at all those rosy cheeks and shiny foreheads), so I decided to buy all the kids a frozen yogurt pop. That was a HUGE hit. Got them all to sit still. Even just for a little while.
Then we went to Pastorino's Pumpkin Farm, same place we went last year. Oh, the difference a year makes at their tender age! In the jumpy castle, our group totally took over. As usual. And we did the hay ride. And the pony ride. And the train. And the wagons. These kids are a-lackin'-for-nothin'! Witness it all here:
And the photos to accompany:
Russell loves the idea of pumpkin carving (in theory), but hates how messy the seeds are and hates working precisely with a knife, so this year, he delegated the responsibility to grammy and me. We didn't mind at all. At the same time, we baked pumpkin pies from scratch... yum! Grammy helped Riley make a mini one all for herself. She ate all the filling out of it with a spoon, just like I did once when I was about 5. Only difference: I wasn't supposed to be doing it (while Christmas dinner was being put on the table... oops)! I think it was the best pumpkin pie I ever had. Just because.
For a nice little post-Halloween bash, we went to our cousins' Brian and Sandy's house for dinner. Riley discovered the carpet-covered stairs, and the fact that she can slide down really fast on her bum-bum. No photos of that, but here she is, being a ninja.
And here she is at a party at Annie, Sam, and Isaac's house, just being pretty:
Tonite was so funny. She always wants to take a certain stuffed animal or toy to bed with her. Tonite, it was a photo of me. How sweet was that?! We just went in to check on her, 4 hours later, and she was clenching the photo by her face. MAN, how I love that girl. I was lucky to get a kiss in sideways, cause Russell had to check every inch of her body for temperature (she's had a 100.3 for two days... 'nothing' in the world of toddler temperatures). And, he had to kiss every inch of exposed skin. Naaah, he doesn't like her much. Hah!
For a nice little closer, two things:
This kid has nothin' on Riley. He's 12. I give her till she's 5.
And, this girl... oh man, this girl. Isn't that Riley in disguise??? Hilarious. Yes, you've gotta love those pull-up diapers. Thanks for sharing this, mom!
