Leaf Piles 2020

 We've had some nice fall weather and the leaves were just begging to be raked into piles and played with:

Waxing Leaves 2020

 The foliage has been very pretty this year and it was easy to collect leaves to wax for our table decoration:

Pumpkin Patch Success

 After a Facebook post about our failed pumpkin expedition, we received a good tip on a sweet little pumpkin patch in Madison, so we headed there on Sunday afternoon. Abby stayed home again to do an art project, but the rest of us enjoyed the excursion:

Pumpkin Patch Attempt #1

Last Saturday, we decided to trek down to Harrisonburg (about an hour and 15 minutes away) to a corn maze and pumpkin patch. When we arrived, however, it seemed pretty crowded and Kevin was iffy on going in. We decided to take the scenic route home, hoping to run into another, smaller pumpkin patch. We did find one, but it's pumpkins were all picked out, leaving a field of hopeless looking rotted gourds. We spent a few minutes walking around, though, to stretch our legs and to take in the pretty scenery. It was not a total waste-- the drive home was beautiful in the golden afternoon light with trees changing color as we crested Afton mountain:

Abby stayed home to do homework, but gamely took this photo with me once we got home

Benji in the Leaves

 

Dry Ice Fun

 I got a package of snacks packaged in dry ice, and Kevin was very excited to play with the wrappings. He dropped the ice in a bucket of water and the kids were fascinated:

Benji's Half Birthday (12.5!)

 Benji's half-birthday fell on the day we came back from the beach. I was trying to figure out how best to get mini cupcakes, when I realized it was the last week Splendora's (our favorite gelato) would be open, so I went ahead and ordered gelato sandwiches to celebrate instead. He was not sad about the switch up:

Sunrises (Last of the OBX Posts)

 All the bedrooms in the house were east-facing with sheer curtains, so we woke up for the sunrise most mornings. Here are some favorite pics from the first two mornings (after that, I ditched my camera to just enjoy the view):

Day 1 (Cloudy morning):

And sunset, that same day:

Day 2, beautifully clear:

Beach Girls

 Abby and Julia taking silly photo on the beach: