Photo Catch-Up

And now, to attempt to fill in the gaps in this blog. haha! It's a daunting task. But I will do my best!

So... the first weekend that my parents were here was a very busy one. We went to the AppleFest at the ski resort on Saturday, which I posted about. The next day was the Halloween party for the club I joined not too long ago (and am now set to be on the board for next year-- ha!). It was crazy! There was a dancing/singing skeleton thing that someone brought from home, and Nikos did NOT like it. Not one bit. It was hard to even coax him into the room with the thing on. But he eventually loosened up (mostly because they unplugged the thing), and instantly glued himself to an older boy. He has such Big Boy Worship-- it's really sweet! But they all played together for a few hours. Here's one picture of (most of) the motley crue:

And then they brought out the pinata, which is something that Nikos has been sort of scared of in the past. But both kids wore the blindfold and gave it a good whack. In fact, Nikos was the one who actually broke it open! He was so proud, but he quickly learned not to rub it in-- a few kids who hadn't gotten chances to hit it started to cry. But the moms re-hung the biggest chunk, and those other kids got their turns. Peace was restored!

The rest of the afternoon is a blur. The adults were all so wiped out! The kids had a good time, though, and that's all that mattered!

On Monday, we made it our mission to find a pumpkin patch to visit. I found one that said it was open seven days a week, so we got into the car and headed out... only to discover that the website was misleading. The farm was open seven days a week, but the pumpkin patch was only open on weekends. Doh! I was a little bitter. But, on a positive note, we had passed this really interesting stone church on the way there. So we stopped to check it out on the way home. It was pretty cool, actually!

And the leaves on the ground were impressive, too! Especially to the 5-and-under crowd.

But the kids were still in pumpkin mode. When we got home, they asked if they could paint the pumpkins they received at the Halloween party, and I thought that sounded like a great idea! So that's what we did. And then they played outside for a bit.

The next day, Tuesday, I was still determined to find us a pumpkin patch. Gus returned home from his looooong (too long!) business trip to Brazil that morning, so he was able to join us. Perfect! I had another farm in mind. The website for this one said that they were still doing u-pick pumpkins. Wrong again! They have a lovely playground, though. And the kids got to feed the goats, so they were happy. But no pumpkins!

The next day, I don't really remember what happened. I think I got things ready for Nikos' birthday. We had dance class. I'm drawing a blank! And that's why I should keep this thing up-to-date!

Jumping ahead, Gus' mom arrived on Saturday morning, in time for Nikos' birthday party at the bowling alley. We had a full house, but it was fantastic! The kids loved being smothered with love by three of their grandparents (papou had to work-- but he was here in spirit!). Sunday morning, after a ten-day visit, my parents left to continue their New England vacation in Boston. The plan had originally been to head down into Rhode Island, but the threat of Hurricane Sandy caused them to change their plans at the last minute (which was a good idea!). I started getting things in order for the hurricane. I was keeping an eye on the forecast, and knew it would make landfall sometime on Monday. I had flashlights. We had loaded up the gas cans (the gas station was insane!!). Extra batteries. Bread and peanut butter. We were all set.

Later that evening, Gus' mom learned that her flight had been cancelled, so she spent about two hours on the phone with the airline, trying to get rescheduled. She ended up staying until Wednesday morning, which was great-- we got a longer visit!

Monday was really nerve-wracking. It's so surreal to know that a HURRICANE is coming towards you, and there isn't anything you can do except hunker down. We went nowhere all day. I set up sleeping bags for the kids in our room and the guest room, so they would be sleeping on the side of the house away from the tall trees. The wind was howling, and the rain was crazy. We developed a small leak in our front room, presumably from the water being blown back up underneath the shingles (not normal). We lost power right after dinner, until 11pm. But aside from some branches and debris down, we were fine! The following day was gorgeous! It started to rain in the evening, but we went out to dinner and had a lovely time. We survived!

And... I think I am pretty much caught up now! And exhausted! Good night!

P.S. We never did go to a pumpkin patch. Everything here is only open on the weekends! Made me miss good ol' Nate's Butt Farm in San Diego (Bates Nut Farm).