October 29, 2010: Girl Pirate or....

Wench. I prefer to say "girl pirate," but I suppose "girl pirates" were known as wenches in their day. Is she cute or what? This is my baby girl's Halloween costume parade at her preschool.

October 24, 2010: El Templo

My cousin and her husband were in town for a conference.  She wanted to see the DC Mormon temple up close, so we stopped by on our way back to their hotel.  

October 21, 2010: A Beautiful Fall Morning

I often miss the peace I always found on top of mountains.  Every once in a while, if I'm there long before the crowds descend, I can find a little bit of that feeling on the Mall early in the morning.  So once again, and it probably won't be the last time, I'll say fall is the best of the four seasons in DC.

October 13, 2010: Fall in DC

This could become an annoying recurring theme: fall in the DC area is the best time of the year.

October 11, 2010: City Slickers Pay to Work

We took the kids apple picking in Maryland.  Yes, we paid grocery store prices for apples that we had to pick ourselves.  Could anything be more yuppie city slicker than that?  Probably not, but at least they were good apples.

October 8, 2010: A Non-Overnight Overnight Campout

Our church congregation organized a little one-night camping excursion in nearby Clifton, VA.  We weren't able to stay the night due to an early morning flag football game the next day, but we went to eat dinner and let the kids enjoy getting gooey with marshmallows by the fire.  The weather was perfect for it.  Too bad it isn't that pleasant in the summer when we usually do our camping thing.

October 5, 2010: Loving It

I'm in week 4 of my new program, I'm seeing progress... and now I think I'm getting sick.  Always something to derail progress at the gym (usually it's work).  I need to figure out how to just make about 16 weeks of focused effort happen for me.

October 2, 2010: Agritourism is Great For Farmers

I was introduced to a new experience today: agritourism.  I know it's been around for a while now, and I know that my family has gone without me plenty of times to these seasonal farm amusement parks, but this was my first time.  We went to Belvedere Plantation in Fredericksburg.  The guy in the picture is taking advantage of the deal on pumpkins that no bargain minded pumpkin picker can pass up--all you can carry for $25.  It was a spectacle.  And no, my first agritourism experience, as fun as it was, probably wasn't worth the $60 it cost me.  My little girl might disagree.

September 14, 2010: I Love the Blackened Harleys

But if I were actually in the market, I'd probably opt for the beefier and more unique Victory Hammer.

September 11, 2010: Nothing Like Little Kids and Ice Cream

September 7, 2010: New Digs at the Office & Day 1 of 1st Grade

Our big 1st Grader on his way out the door to the bus stop.

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I came back from vacation to a brand spankin' new office.  I have three times the desk space to mess up compared to my old office, and I'm loving it.  BIG improvement.

September 6, 2010: Some Peace

My first day in the woods this "fall."  I'm not posting the picture here that I liked best, a certain friend lounging 12 feet in the air in a plastic patio chair we took from an old campsite frequented by homeless people and underage drinkers.  This is the view from my own seat in the leaves.

September 5, 2010: Go Home!

The kids made sure we included a stop at Gravedigger's house on the way home.

September 4, 2010: This is Why We Didn't Want to Leave For the Storm

Weather on Saturday was perfect--much better than being home early due to Earl.

A little target practice too.

September 3, 2010: Earl Was a Girl

We decided to ride out the hurricane at the beach house.  I admit it would have proven a very stupid move if the hurricane had actually hit the OBX where we were with its full strength, but then again, I'd also bet that if there were a strong chance of that happening, they would have asked the locals to leave too.

We did our best to barricade the media room and set it up as our safe room in case we needed it.  We didn't.

There was a bit of flooding in low-lying areas, but this was the worst I saw.

And as fast as the storm came, it was gone.  The kids definitely didn't let Earl spoil their fun.

September 2, 2010: A Storm Brewing

September 1, 2010: Catching Sunrises But Not Waves

Hit the beach early to attempt some fishing.  I didn't catch anything, but it's always worth it to be on the beach at sunrise, and I got a great picture of Mr. McC.  I attempted surfing for my first time too.  I very nearly stood up on my first wave, but subsequent attempts were not even close to successful.  Just paddling out in the pre-hurricane currents was more than I could consistently accomplish.

August 31, 2010: Beach Perfection & Wet Kids

When the waves are big, the kids always like a kiddie pool for getting wet without fearing for their lives.  The pool was for the babies more than the 4 yr olds, but 4 yr olds liked it too.

This is what one might refer to as safety swimming--no swimming involved.