Pumpkin Patch

It was a beautiful fall day in Northern Virginia so we went with my new friend Laurie and her kids Mella (3) and Dante (16 months or so) to a church nearby that does a pumpkin patch. Note the changing leaves! (It brings me such joy.) We all had fun, even Harris who attempted to eat some grass and leaves during his photo shoot. Mac was very agreeable as you can see, cheesed it up- maybe showing off his new very short buzz. Doesn't Ruthie look so grown up in that top picture? I was telling a friend just this week how it seems to me that all the baby girl is gone and she is just total young lady now. Sigh.

So the pumpkins came home, and I put them outside in the yard/patio, but the stinking squirrels, apparently cash strapped due to the state of the economy, have started eating our pumpkins. I moved the pumpkins inside, perhaps rather uncharitably, but really, squirrels need to stick to acorns. I hope they got squirrel diarrhea. Serves them right.

6 months old

Harris is now 6 months and just a joy- full of smiles, even with his thumb in his mouth. He is sitting up strongly, but still needs the boppy behind him just in case. Harris is very active, constantly kicking and moving and wiggling when I hold him or when he's in his saucer or just playing on the floor. Today I promise you, he said ma-ma-ma-ma, very clearly, several times during the day. It is precious, of course, and precocious too. I don't remember my other two talking quite this early. He chose the right word for his first, let me tell you.

We are past the feeding issues we were having around 3 or 4 months, he is nursing well and also enjoying solids. He still spits up a ton, but it doesn't seem to be painful or problematic to him, he just spews and keeps playing. It is problematic to me mainly in the laundry department. He and I change clothes frequently during the day, or just go around smelling like nasty milk.

Harris's check up on Thursday went well- he is 16 lbs 2 oz. and 26 inches tall. Not sure about percentiles and his other measurements. The doctor said he is growing great!

Mountains! the Abode (it was not Adobe)

Some friends from Mobile let us use their beautiful home, about an hour west of Asheville. It sits up on a winding road, surrounded by woods. You have to actually ford a stream to get up to it! See the picture of the waterfall? That flows down over the road, and the footbridge, where you see the kids, is below the road. The picture of me and Mac is on the back deck, where they have birdfeeders and we saw several bird species including two of my faves, the black-capped chickadee and the tufted titmouse. The house also has an ivy-ringed pond, with cool, clear water, and a swing off to one side (but no swinging into the pond). It is just a peaceful place, perfectly situated. We loved it and we thank our friends so much for opening their home to us!

(this is from a random overlook off the BR Parkway-a mile high)

Mountains! Fun with trash

The house we stayed in did not have trash pick-up so we bagged it up in small bags and distributed it in trash receptacles across the Blue Ridge Parkway. It got to be pretty funny. Ok, maybe you had to be there.

Mountains! Part Two

Day Three we climbed Waterrock Knob again, which is a short hike, at only 1.2 miles roundtrip, and moderately strenuous with an elevation gain of 412 feet. The kids went on this hike and really did wonderfully. Ruthie dealt with some fear, but she toughed it out. Mac was a trooper, and Harris did the best of all, riding on his mama. He had just fallen asleep as we started taking the pictures of us at the top, above. It was clear on the way up (see the first two pics), but some clouds rolled in just as we reached the top-we tried to wait a bit, but that is the best we could do! The elevation at the top of Waterrock Knob is 6292 feet, and it is the 16th highest mountain in the Eastern United States! Not too shabby for the kids' first summit!

We came down the mountain and ate lunch in a scenic little town called Maggie Valley, then drove more of the Parkway till we found another trail to attempt. It had an amazing overlook and then you plunge downward through thick forest. The path was leafy and easy going.

Mountains!

Our trip to the mountains of North Carolina was really wonderful- crazy but wonderful. Crazy because we had six children under the age of 5 under one roof for five days and five nights. (Equivalent of 4 year old twins, 3 year old twins, 1 year old toddler and a nursing infant.) Wonderful because we were all together, enjoying the beauty to be found around every corner.

Our journey to North Carolina was rough. We got stuck in traffic and it took us two hours to get out of the city- this on top of a way later start time because Jay couldn't get away from work. Hindsight being 20/20 we now know not to even attempt to leave the city anytime on a Friday besides maybe the butt crack of dawn- and this was a holiday weekend for government employees, which means everybody around here. Groan is all I can say. We ended up having to get a hotel that night and arrived in NC the next afternoon. It was rainy and cloudy but we managed to get in a good hike up to the top of WaterRock Knob (which we reclimbed later), it was just discouraging because all views were obscured.

Day Two was overcast, and what that means at higher elevations is zero visibility because you're in the clouds. We drove around on the Blue Ridge Parkway which is right around the corner from where we stayed. It is one of the most beautiful drives in the US, and even though it was cloudy the woods were so beautiful with all the changing leaves. We did see some mountain views during some breaks in the cloud cover, like the pics above. As we drove around and around on the curving roads, my brother, who was driving his Suburban up ahead of our van, suddenly slowed and pulled over. Alan got out sort of laughing, and my Dad came back and said that Alee (almost 3) and Annabelle (4) had just thrown up. It was a bonafide Barf-o-Rama! So we had some haz-mat clean up and alot of laughing- except from the poor, green-faced bewildered kiddos. Let me just say that Alan drives like a wildman on those curvy roads, and the Suburban is no minivan! Ha! We made it to our picnic destination and had a nice lunch on Mt. Pisgah (and we couldn't even see the promised land!) and the kids played soccer and ran around for a while.

We headed back to the house but my brother saw a promising trail head down at a lower elevation so we pulled off and went for a hike on a nice, level path along a rocky, rushing river- I think it was the North Fork of the Pigeon River. I can't remember the name of the trail, but it was lovely. I even found a spring bubbling up beside the river.

I always have to steal my kisses from you...

So the blossoming romance continues between beautiful Isabelle and handsome little Harris. Their recent visit only reaffirmed their mutual affection. Isabelle was very bold in initiating some play-date hand-holding, and Harris was only too thrilled to comply. There was the rumor of a first kiss as well, undocumented and not necessarily approved by the attending chaperones.

Now hear this...

Attention all readers of hodgepodge- I am officially making my blog private in the next couple of days-please comment on this post with your email address if you are a reader and want to keep reading! All family and friends already in my email address book (those I email on a regular basis) will automatically go on the list. You'll just have to log in to see my blog. Been pondering this for awhile- and I think it is a wise decision, thanks for bearing with me! I am also pondering a spin-off blog for children's literature- and maybe some writing of mine too, both of which would be public. Thanks for being a reader, I appreciate all of you!

Sunny and High of 59

The five days of rain are past. It is amazing to me how much the sun or lack thereof affects my mood. I like this quote by English essayist Joseph Addison- (and I wonder if I could ever live in the Arctic circle, or Seattle. I seriously depend on Vitamin D it seems.)

"A cloudy day or a little sunshine have as great an influence on many constitutions as the most recent blessings or misfortunes."

It is so true, but it makes me wish I were more constant, less affected by physical things. Like Harris being up so much in the night last night, pain in my knees, or days of gloomy rain.

This brings me to two of my favorite things about God that go together really. His immutability and self-existence. Unchanging-ness and un-neediness. He is not affected by the weather, the political climate or hair loss. He does not need oxygen to survive, or food to keep him alive. He is all he needs. He does not grow tired or weary and mouth off at people. He does not get depressed. He is steady and true, He depends on nothing but himself to thrive and survive. This is so attractive to me, one, because I am not that way, and two, because I can fall on him as my rock, my anchor, my sustenance. And I really need an anchor because "the sea is so wide, and my boat is so small." And I really need sustenance because I am weak and frail.

Mount Vernon

Day three with Jen and Brandon was spent at Mt. Vernon, a hop, skip and a jump from our very own estate. It is an amazing place, sort of like a historical Disneyland without the rides and with way better views. There are people in period dress walking around, and we got to see Martha Washington sewing and a real blacksmith who makes things that are used on the farm and estate. Our neighborhood is located on one of George's five original farms which qualifies us as "neighbors" of Mt. Vernon. We can get passes and special invites throughout the year. I can't wait to see the house decorated for Christmas!

"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.”-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

True.
It has been raining for three days now.
Two days to go.
And it is cold.
Come back sunny fall weather.
Please.

First Tooth!

Can you see it?

A is for Apple Orchard

The second day Jen and Brandon were here we went to Stribling Orchard to pick our own apples. It threatened rain, but then cleared up, and was really the perfect day for picking-not too hot, not too cold. We picked Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Stayman Winesap, Rome and McIntosh varieties. Alot of the apples were up high and they had these Lacrosse-looking poles for reaching up and picking. The orchard was very hilly, and we rested at the top and enjoyed the view (see top picture). All in all a very fun day.

National Air and Space Museum

Fun piece of memorabilia.

The Disposable Absorption Containment Trunk that the astronauts used to wear. Hmmm. Looks strangely familiar. Oh yeah! Harris wears one, it's called a diaper! I love the government's names for things.

Danger, Will Robinson. Danger.

Ruthie with her Space friend.

Family photo right inside the museum- you can see the US flag in the back, where the space shuttle is, and the very top of the SR-71 Blackbird.

Satellite, in my eye

Like a diamond in the sky

How I wonder

Satellite strung from the moon

And the world your balloon

Peeping tom for the mother station

Last week was such a fun week for us. Our friends Jen and Brandon and their baby Isabelle drove all the way up here to visit! We loved every minute of it, and wished they could come live with us permanently. Jen used to live with us before she married Brandon, so it didn't seem at all strange to see her every morning, and to say "good night" as we headed to bed. Brandon and Isabelle just make the party merrier! So keep that in mind J & B. We love you guys!

Our first day was spent at the National Air and Space Museum, at the Udvar-Hazy Center out by Dulles Intl. Airport. It opened in 2003 to hold the wealth of exhibits that the other museum on the National Mall could not hold. It has the space shuttle Enterprise, a SR-71 Blackbird, the B-29 "Enola Gay" (dropped the atomic bomb that ended WWII), the Concorde (the first supersonic airliner) and hundreds of other interesting planes and aircraft. The plane my dad flew, the A-6E Intruder is also on display there. I have always loved aviation, probably because of the coolness of having a pilot dad, so I really enjoyed this museum- it is up there with the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL. We were glad to have Brandon with us on this visit because he knows so much about aviation. He was a wealth of information, as you can see in the top picture.

message from the bat phone

stay tuned for all the fun we had with jen and brandon. I am in the Great Smokies with my family trying to type with this phone. it is very foggy-we need the sun to burn it up. It is so beautiful here-getting ready to go for a hike.

Wanna Buy a House?

It being the first of the month and all, and us being still the owners of this lovely, brick, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom beauty, I would just like to say, wanna buy a house???? Ask your friends- do they wanna buy this house? How about your grandma? She would love it- huge master bath with garden tub!!! Backyard with two perfect trees for a hammock!!! Get it while you can, it won't be on the market for long!!!