Fall Fun

I think I may have passed my obsession with fall onto my kids. In the last month and a half we have graced pumpkin patches, apple orchards and numerous fall festivals. We've been doing this for years, but the difference is that my boys finally caught onto the hype and couldn't get enough of fall and all of it's wonderfulness! To feed this obsession we even checked out dozens of fall themed library books. Everyday Sam drew a handful of pictures filled with jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, and haunted houses. Halloween was also a big event with Sam dressed as Captain Hook and Luke playing the role of Peter Pan. My parents came down to trick or treat with us (along with some of our friends) in Grant and Jen (Andrew's brother and sister in law) and Andrew's parent's neighborhood. Unfortunately, my kids went through withdraw the moment the candy was gone and the Halloween decor came down (apparently turkeys and cornucopias are not as cool as bats and witches- that's news to me).

I know that winter doesn't officially begin for another month, but with the weather turning and the leaves quickly dropping, it seems like a good time to make peace with the fact we had a great fall this year. Ohh, and I can't end this post without mentioning the Phillies' World Series win and the immense joy it brought Andrew!

Yes that is Sam in a wig, and he loved every minute of it.

Just the Two of Us

Andrew and I have not taken a trip alone since Sam made his debut into the world nearly 5 years ago. Our destination- Chicago. The provider of this trip- The Federal Reserve. The enablers- Andrew's parents who graciously watched Sam and Luke. Andrew had 3 days of work training, so with one plane ticket, a hotel suite, and food expenses paid for, I decided to tag along. Lets just say it was the best decision I've made in a while. Being nearly 7 months pregnant, I was free to lounge around in bed all day long, order room service, read books 1-3 of the Twilight series and SLEEP! It was heaven. Our hotel was right on Michigan Avenue (an amazing little shopping mecca) and only a few blocks from the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. Andrew and I had a blast touring the city (both by foot and boat), eating out and enjoying each other's company uninterrupted by kids! I even managed to get myself out of bed before 9 a.m. one day to go to the Chicago Institute of Art.

Our Almost Family Reunion

Ever since we moved back to the East I vowed that I would spend a large amount of each summer going home and relaxing at the beach. Well, this was the first year that it actually happened. This was mostly due to our purchase of a minivan (that's right I sport a minivan, and if Sam wasn't a soccer league dropout, then I could have added "soccer mom" to my resume as well). I found that with my roomier mode of transportation, the 3+ hour drive to Cape May wasn't such a pain after all. The boys and I averaged about 2 trips per month, with Andrew joining us when work permitted. I have to say our best trip was when my brother Dan and my new sister in law Kristin came out to visit. It would have been a full Walker reunion, but Joe was still out on his mission. This was Kristin's first trip to Jersey, and hopefully we (meaning New Jersey and its residents) made a good enough impression that she'll be up for more visits!

It starts...

On the way home from preschool today I suddenly got the urge to create a blog. I'd like to say that I caved from the "pressure" of all my friends telling me to start a blog, but in actuality its only casually been suggested by one or two people. Regardless, when we got home I popped in "Ratatouille" for my boys (one of the longer movies we own), and off I went!