Company Picnic

The company Gus works for is celebrating their tenth anniversary this year, and they decided that this was grounds for a party. Fine by me! They planned a fantastic "family picnic" for today. We actually weren't sure if it would still happen, since it was raining up to (and during) the event, but they did rent a tent to cover the food/eating area. That, and most of the employees are originally from Holland, so they are a group that is accustomed to picnicking in rainy and cold weather, haha!

Anyway, despite it being in the 50s and raining much of the afternoon, we had a great time! They had a bounce house, which the kids were supposed to jump on before eating lunch, but it sort of became a lake, with all the rain water. Not fun! So everyone huddled under the tent until the food was ready, and then we ate. After that, we were surprised to learn that they had planned a "Pumpkin hunt"-- basically, an Easter egg hunt with a Halloween theme. They provided the kids with little Halloween buckets, and set them free to find as many pumpkins-filled-with-candy-and-toys as they could. So much fun! Nikos did pretty well, if you couldn't tell by the look on his face!

Later, we got to see and pet some animals! Gus had told his coworker (the one planning the picnic) about the group that came to visit our campground over the summer. She ended up calling the company and booking them. It was a huge hit! Everyone was very interested in the animals (even the adults), and it was perfect, since we were still stuck under the tent. We got to meet a bearded dragon, a leopard gecko, a chinchilla, a degu, a hedgehog, a porcupine, and an alligator! And yes, pictures were taken! Of course!

After that, the kids jumped like crazy in the semi-dry bounce house (someone found a large blanket in their car and did their best to wipe it off). And then it was time to go. I snapped this quick picture from the car as we drove home. Not all the leaves are turning yet, but our town seems to have more patches of fall foliage than the other ones around us. It is SO pretty! I can't wait for it to hit its peak!

Once we got home, Maya's voice got progressively raspier, and she was looking very tired. She felt a little warm, so she took some acetaminophen. She also developed a nasty little cough. Her buddy, Paige, had croup last week, and this seems like it might be a form of that. She actually wanted to go to bed early tonight, and is currently all snuggled in with her humidifier on full blast. I really hope she sleeps well and feels better in the morning! Sick Maya is really the sweetest, saddest thing you will ever see. Poor baby girl! --------------------------- On an unrelated note, I wanted to share this picture from yesterday. Our town had a Festival of Forgotten Arts. It was very nearly rained out, and it was pretty chilly out there on the town common, but we went for a little bit. We saw bees making honey, people spinning wool into yarn, an old apple grinder/cider-making-thing, people making scarecrows, etc. My mommy friend who has her own cake/cupcake business was there, so we chatted and got some cupcakes. And we bought local honey (REALLY local... from here in town). And Nikos wanted to sit on the tractor, of course. Who wouldn't??

And that was our weekend. It ended with a sickie, but it was a great weekend nonetheless. We are fully enjoying our first fall in New England!