Pumpkin Patch

We love Fall at our house ... we like the cooler air, the changing leaves, pumpkins, football, and the return of hunting season. We try to visit a farm each year to pick out our pumpkins, and this year we found a great place! It had hayrides, 2 pumpkin patches, a corn maze, a hay maze, a playground and petting zoo. We had lots of fun, and I even remembered to take pictures! Here are just a few:

Jenna and Erica on the hayride

Grady with his big pumpkin

Liam, Jenna, and Mommy in the corn maze

Daddy and the boys on the hayride

Trip to Massachusetts

I'm a few weeks behind and many pictures short, but it's the thought that counts, right?! We went to Massachusetts earlier this month to help my aunt and uncle celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. We had a great time and enjoyed seeing family that we hadn't seen since we were up there the last time - nearly 6 years ago! My parents are both from there originally, so most of my extended family is there. We had a great time reuniting with aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts, second cousins ... you get the idea! Unfortunately, we were so busy visiting with everyone that I only took a few pictures. These are a few that we took when we visited Patriot Place with my parents. The kids enjoyed hanging out there, and Liam has decided that he wants to play for the Patriots when his career with the Hokies is over. In addition to visiting with extended family, we had a chance to hang out with my parents more than usual. The kids really enjoyed having sleepovers in Mimi and Papa's hotel room! We hope to go up there again sometime - 6 years was too long to go between visits.

Surgery over!

My mom's surgery is over, and all went well. It sounds as if rehab will be pretty tough, so I know she'd appreciate prayers for that. The hardest thing for her will be resting - just last week she was talking about adding a 2nd workout to her daily routine! She'll be back to 2-a- days in no time, I'm sure.

Prayers for Mimi...

Please pray for Kirsten's mom - a.k.a Mimi. She will be having surgery this afternoon because she ruptured her quadriceps tendon ... can you imagine?? We'll update when we know more. Thanks!!

5 minutes or less...

In college, I took an athletic training class - the main thing I remember learning is how to tape ankles, knees, wrists, etc. I'm sure there was more to it, but it wasn't as fun as taping up my classmates! For the final, I had to be able to tape an ankle in 5 minutes or less, and Dave and I have joked about that many times over the years. I never thought I'd need that knowledge, and I have considered it a useless skill of mine ... until Saturday. Erica sprained her ankle last week and wanted to play in her soccer game even though it was a bit sore, so I brought out that piece of "useless" info, and did this:
It doesn't look very pretty, but this is what it looked like after the game. I doubt it was done in 5 minutes, and I'm pretty sure I used too much tape, but Erica said it felt great and wants me to do it for her again!

Our Ballerina

It's official - we have a ballerina in our house again! Jenna just started ballet a few weeks ago, and is really enjoying it. We love watching her and the other little girls - it is so cute to watch them try to move the way their teacher does! It seems like just yesterday it was Erica that I was watching - how time flies!!

Hokie Football

Dave and I try to spend one on one time with each of the kids as often as we can. A few months ago, Dave asked Liam what he wanted to do on their next "date" - Liam usually asks for ice cream, or a trip to the soccer field to kick the ball around, so that's what Dave was expecting. To his great surprise, Liam asked to go to a Hokie football game - and Dave was all too happy to oblige. After 5 years of living far away, he was thrilled to get to go to a game again - and to share it with his son. No one else wanted to go (except me!), so Dave and LJ went to the game, and I hung out with the other kids on the Tech campus. It was so much fun to be back there, and to see how much Blacksburg has grown! We had a chance to tailgate with my best buddy from junior high/high school/ college - and I enjoyed outfitting my crew with new Hokie shirts.:-) Liam LOVED the game - he said he wants to be a Hokie football player when he grows up!!