At the end of November we made our annual trek down to Washington, DC to celebrate Thanksgiving with Aaron’s family. The journey was remarkably easy and hassle free, which I can only imagine was a direct result of the economy and fewer people flying. We had a great visit. We spent lots of time with nieces Molly and Emily, and nephew Andrew, which was fabulous. We saw a bunch of movies - Slumdog Millionaire, Australia and I took Molly and Emily to see Twilight, which was fun for me since Molly is the one who initially told me about the books. I think a highlight of the visit for Aaron though was watching the extended versions of all three of the Lord of the Rings movies with the kids who apparently enjoyed them just as much as he does. We continued our Thanksgiving tradition of making the centerpieces out of Pillsbury pizza dough. The girls and I made the usual cornucopias, while Aaron and Andrew made an armadillo. And of course we did some great eating. Lisa cooked a delicious Thanksgiving feast and hosted 14 of us for dinner. Click on the above picture that Rita took of all of us Thanksgiving morning to see the photos from our visit.

So as many of you know, I’m not a gardener, but I am trying. Aaron’s mom has been a huge help since we bought the house and has put countless hours into developing our yard. I just try to keep up. Unfortunately Aaron’s mom broke her ankle earlier this fall, so I had to find a way to plant the fall bulbs on my own - without Rita’s help. Ugh. And then I heard about the Bulb Bopper. You see, when Rita and I work together in the yard, she works about 4 times faster than me - in the time it takes me to plant 3 things, she has planted 12. I’m not kidding. She’s a machine. I think this tool might help me to level the playing field a little bit. You see it’s a giant auger that you attach to a drill and it digs the holes for you. I could do their commercials. Anyway, I bought the tool and it definitely made the planting go quicker, although admittedly not as fast as when Rita does it by hand. I’ll take whatever advantage I can get.

We went to visit Aaron’s family in DC back in October. It was Homecoming weekend at the kids school and so we spent much of Saturday on campus. Fortunately it was a clear and sunny fall day and it felt great to be outside. We spent the morning watching Molly’s soccer game. Later we walked around and checked out the booths, ate lunch, visited and watched (sort of) a football game.
Sunday we carved pumpkins and hung out. It was a great weekend to visit and catch up. Click on the photo of Molly above to see the photos from the weekend.

Sorry everyone…you know how it goes, all of a sudden it’s holiday time and I haven’t posted in weeks. Here goes….

Back in October, Amy, Joe, Justin, Aaron and I went back to the Topsfield Fair, a local agricultural town fair. We spent the evening wandering the fair, people watching, checking out exhibits, and eating. There were all kinds of food and we bought a little of everything and shared. Our list included latkes, corn dogs, fried dough, German fries, pizza, a giant turkey leg, a steak sub, and cider donuts. Justin loved looking at all the rides that were lit up once it got dark. This year he went on a school bus ride twice and the carousel. Click on the photo above to see the photos.

Amy and Joe hosted an casual birthday party for both Dad and Joe at their house back in September. We had dinner out and then went back to Amy and Joe’s for cake and presents. Justin was very helpful with opening the cards and presents and when he was done with that, he dragged his school bus tent into the living room and somehow convinced Dad to crawl into it with him. Needless to say, it was very entertaining for the rest of us. Click on the photo above to see the album from the party.

Our week of relaxation on Orcas Island continued. We spent a lot of time at the house, reading, playing games, napping and hanging out. Mid week we decided to check out Orcas Island’s namesake and went on a whale watch. It was a cool and damp day, but we saw seals, sea lions and plenty of orcas. Nothing got super close to the boat, but it was still nice to be out on the water and see some wildlife.

While on the island we did a fair amount of cooking at the house, but did hit up a couple of local restaurants: The Kitchen, Rose’s Bakery & Cafe, Lu Lu’s Pasta Rustica and Aaron’s favorite, Cafe Olga. Cafe Olga served a Dungeness crab, baked egg dish for breakfast that Aaron was particularly fond of. On Friday, we left the quiet of the island and moved into Seattle for the weekend. Patrick and Aaron attended PAX, a gaming conference and met up with friends, while Bonney and I shopped and wandered the city. It was a great vacation. Click on the image above to see the second half of the photos.

Back in August, Aaron and I spent a relaxing week with Bonney and Patrick on Orcas Island, of the San Juan Islands, off the coast of Washington state. We flew to Seattle where we met Bonney and Patrick, spent the night in a small inn right on the coast and drove onto the ferry, first thing the following morning. The day we arrived on Orcas was sunny and clear, knowing this was unusual weather for the area (it is often misty and overcast, or rainy) we decided to make the most of our day. We went to an outdoor farmer’s market and stocked up on local produce (and some fresh baked cupcakes) and then we drove through Moran State Park and up Mount Constitution (2,409 feet high), knowing a clear day would mean great views. Mount Constitution is the highest point of all the islands and the panoramic views are breathtaking. The above photo is of Aaron and I at the peak, with a view of Mount Baker behind us. Then, we finally drove out to the cute house that we had rented for the week, right on the water. Click on the picture above to see the first half of the photos from our vacation.

It’s hard for me to believe it’s already been two years since Justin joined our family. At the end of July, Amy and Joe threw a cook out birthday party at their house. Families from both sides were in attendance, as well as friends of Amy, Joe and Justin. The birthday boy had a good time, but the highlight of the party by far was when Amy brought out her homemade cake. Those of you who know Justin, or follow this blog, already know that Justin LOVES stop signs, so of course that’s the kind of cake Amy made. She reports having gone through something like 6 bottles of red food coloring - and make sure to note that she actually cut the cake into an octagon as well. It was pretty impressive. I’m pretty sure she may have started a tradition though… Click on the photo of Amy and Justin above to view the rest of the photos from the happy occasion.

So here is the last chunk of photos. You’ll see Peter and Maria joined us for the second weekend of our time at the shore. As brief as it was it was great to have all the siblings together. We continued to spend a lot of time in the water. We really lucked out as this time at the beach ended up being one of the hottest weeks of the summer. On Saturday, our last night, we had a bonfire on the beach. I’m already looking forward to next summer. Click on the family photo above to see the last batch of photos from our vacation at the shore.

Our vacation at the shore continued. We spent lots of time outside, on the beach and in the water, as it continued to be sunny and quite hot. During the days played shuffle board, read books, napped, swam and at night we ate good food (we all took turns cooking), played games and chatted until we got sleepy. I could have stayed for a month. James and Chrissy joined us about mid-week and stayed for the duration. They joined Aaron and Joe at a local golf course and the 4 of them played 9 holes. Click on the photo above to see the next album of photos.