Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

This Thanksgiving we will be going to my aunt and uncle's house. Jason has to work on Friday, and Riley and I might venture on to my parent's house after that for the weekend. That's a lot of driving, though, for Jason, as he will then come back up on Friday, and so we're not positive yet what we're doing. We'll probably just take it one step at a time! Hope you all have a wonderful day and that you get to spend it with loved ones. Here is a cute poem that a friend of mine sent me that I thought was pretty cute!


May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Thanks for the Banner!

My mom made this banner for me, and the last banner that I had on my blog. They're always very cute, but a particularly love this one!

Happy Halloween!

We hope you all had a great Halloween. I have to say, I think Halloween is my favorite holiday. I know that sounds horrible, but I just love the changing of seasons, pumpkins, the no pressure of it all. It's like a month of fun events: pumpkins, farms, costumes, parties... I just love it.

We had a very fun evening. We started off with trick or treating in Kent. Everyone loved Riley's costume. I don't think we passed anyone without a comment and people were asking to take her picture all night. Riley kept saying, "See, Mom, I told you it was a good idea." She was saying that because I didn't really like the whole cupcake idea, mostly because I didn't know how we'd do that. Jason said when he took her into a restaurant to trick or treat, several girls were going crazy over her costume saying they would be cupcakes next year! I think Riley has started a food-crazed costume epidemic in Kent for next year!

It was so nice being in a neighborhood where everyone really gets in the spirit. When we opened the door to our house, you could hear all sorts of scary ghost sounds, wherewolves, you name it.

Riley is such a funny girl. All night I kept hearing, "Boy, they really like my costume. Aren't you glad I wanted to be a cupcake, Mom?"

Trip to New York

My mom took this pic of grandpa and it's my favorite. It's such a perfect picture of him.

Riley relaxing before we get on the plane!

Riley giving the guys a hand

What an eventful trip to New York! I was very nervous about Jason not flying with us as he had a business trip to go to. I haven't flown by myself in quite a long time, let alone with Riley! We only had a half hour layover in Cincinatti so I kept explaining this to Riley and how we would have to have a race to get on the plane so we wouldn't miss it. I also told her if we missed the plane we wouldn't get to see grandma and grandpa. Nothing like a few get threats to get them running! And it worked. A couple times she even told me to hurry up! She had so much fun. She was nervous on the plane at times, and even screamed at one point because she thought the "plane was falling out of the sky." Every time the plane would descend it would scare her. Eventually she got used to it and really started to enjoy it.

While in New York we rested a bit and hit a few farm markets. It's such a beautiful area and amazing how open it is. It's such a different feel. The men, of course, found a small chore.

My favorite part? Grandpa's homemade bread! Yum, Yum, Yum! Riley and I were pretty happy campers, I must say. I could live off it... or die trying!

River Berry Farm

What a beatiful place for a visit! I'm so lucky to have relatives that live in some beautiful places, like Fairfax, Vermont. Jason and I have always wanted to visit my Uncle Dave and Aunt Jane's farm, River Berry Farm, and finally got a chance to do so. They grow organic vegetables and small fruit. This summer I wasn't able to tear Riley away from picking raspberries and guess what the first thing Riley did when she got to the farm? Pick raspberries!! Ada and Huck, Dave and Jane's two children, led the way, and the kids were good friends from that point on.

On their farm they grow organic vegetables, strawberries, raspberries, pick your own and pre-picked, 18,000 square feet of greenhouse crops, and 400 organic layer chickens. I might add, the eggs were fantastic. Riley was eating three eggs in the morning and asking for more. No, I think three eggs is probably enough!

Going for a walk on their farm was so beautiful. The fall colors were out, actually we were a little late for the brightest colors, but it was still fantastic. Riley and I's favorite part was probably in the greenhouse picking their cherry tomatoes (I think they were cherry tomatoes) and eating them right there. Oh, they were sooo good. Riley asked for me to buy her some when we got home. I did, and she says they're not as good and won't eat them. Go figure!

Jane's dinners were amazing. Our first night she cooked lamb, squash, brussel sprouts. Now, this does not normally sound like a good meal to me. First off, I've never had "any" of these items. But this was the best dinner. Everything was so beautiful, including her table setting, and delicious. She made a rustic lasagna one night that just tasted so different and good from any other lasagna I've had. All the food they eat is organic, including their meat. And can you believe they have no microwave? That's right! Wow - I admire that. I don't think I could function for an hour. As a matter of fact, I was really fumbling around in the kitchen in the morning!

Their home is a historic landmark and is really amazing. I'm hoping to come up with some more pics to post, but I can't find one right now of their house. In the picture of the table setting, check out the oven there on the right. Isn't that cool?

Well, we hope to return one day, perhaps during their busy time to help out on the farm. Riley would sure love that. Her, Ada and Huck all hit it off. Even Riley and Huck had a fun time, as much fun as a boy Huck's age and Riley's age can have. They are sure some lucky kids, though, growing up like that! Wow!!

Trip to Vermont

Uncle David helping Riley get the eggs... yummy!

Riley's wish - to jump in a big pile of leaves. She finally got to do it.

Of course, the guys got in some fishing. And good fishing at that. This was a Northern Pike that was 38 inches. Wow!

Riley and Mommy

Riley brought this picture home and said it was of me and her playing. I've had it for awhile now and don't want to lose it, so what better thing to do with it than blog it? I was very surprised to see this picture; it was the first one I'd seen where she'd drawn actual people with faces. The date on this pic is 9/23/08. Thank you, Riley.

Remlinger '08

Another fun visit at Remlinger Farms! Riley enjoyed a pony ride, but was a bit fearful of the other rides this year. I'm not really sure why. This will probably be our last visit to Remlinger and we'll really miss it. With the move, though, it's quite a drive. We've visited there for three years in a row; it has become our pre-Halloween tradition. We'll now have to find another farm in this area that can hopefully compare!