We finally got around to pumpkin picking this year. I think in the future we'll try and go early October rather than mid or late-October because the pickings were slim this year. The weather was cloudy and brisk with a few sprinkles here and there, but it wasn't nearly as nasty as last year.
We met up with Bridget, Auntie Laura, and Nonna. We searched far and wide for the perfect pumpkins. We also let Lily get up close and personal with the muddy pumpkins.
I attempted a picture of my three girls, but Abigail didn't keep her hands on Lily, who ended up face first in the dirt. Oh well, maybe next year.
After pumpkin picking we warmed up with hot chocolate for the girls and coffee for the moms.
We waited until after dinner to carve. Jonathan worked with Abigail and Sarah worked with me. I already had an idea in mind and Sarah was on board, that is until she saw what Abigail and Daddy were doing. After that she pretty much lost interest in our pumpkin.
We are big fans of college football and root for our Alma Mater, Virginia Tech. We also root for Notre Dame because (1) Uncle James is studying Physics there and (2) they are doing really well this year (7-0) and the Hokies are not (4-4). Well, thanks to Grandma Kapaldo and Uncle James the girls can cheer on the Fighting Irish in style. The girls got a package from them yesterday and tried on their new clothes right away.
We managed to pack in all sorts of fun into our weekend. Here's a bit more of what we experienced.
Fun Outside
One of the first things the girls wanted to do when we arrived in Virginia was to play outside. The weather was pretty much perfect for it. This was actually one of Abigail's most frequent requests-to go outside. Here are some pictures of Abigail helping Papa rake leaves and some more of them playing with Lily.
Funny Faces
We did end up playing outside for a bit on Thursday afternoon. The only bad thing about it was the mosquitoes. They were attacking like crazy. The main victims were my feet and the girls' faces. Things seemed pretty normal Thursday night and all day Friday. On Saturday morning, though, when I was washing my hands Abigail was behind me telling me her "eye wasn't working". I told her it was probably because she just woke up. And then I looked at her. This is what I saw (sorry for the poor camera phone quality):
I couldn't believe she had this sort of reaction, and a whole day and a half later! Sarah was a bit swollen too, but not nearly as much (and one of Sarah's other bites near her eye swelled up a bit more on Monday). Thankfully this was the only side-effect to the bug bites. We saw no fevers or difficulty breathing, just puffy faces (which the nurse told us was common, especially since they had been laying down all night).
Birthday Wishes
Sarah and her Uncle Nathaniel share the same birthday, so Papa bought a cake to celebrate. Sarah also got to open her present from Grandma and Papa Kapaldo.
Our reason for heading down to Virginia this past weekend was to celebrate the marriage of Aaron and Mita. There was no way we weren't going to make the trip for this. I am trying to figure it out-the last time everyone was together-and all I know is that it was a long time ago (maybe Christmas 2010).
There were less than 30 people there (it was for immediate family) but if you went in there with a blindfold on, you would have figured there were a lot more. It was the joining of two beautiful families celebrating a very happy occasion. We all had a wonderful time.
This was also the first time we got to meet our new nephew Micah. He is such a cutie and has just about the best gummy smile I've ever seen.
Congratulations Aaron and Mita!
This past weekend we traveled to northern Virginia to celebrate the marriage of Jonathan's brother Aaron to his new wife Mita. We left Thursday so we had all day Friday to do something touristy. So, we took the girls to The National Zoo!
We had a great time seeing lions, tigers, and panda bears (oh my!). The girls were a bit grumpy at first, complaining that they were hungry, thirsty, or their legs hurt. Eventually though they cooperated and began to enjoy themselves. When it was time to go they didn't want to leave!
