Sunday, October 19, 2008

Rickett's Glen

With fall in full swing we couldn't pass up one last opportunity to go camping. Taking the our friend's recommendation (and the fact that this campground is ALWAYS full-so it's probably pretty good), we headed up to Rickett's Glen Park. The cool thing about this campground are the twenty-one waterfalls you can hike to. The Farnsworths and Sperrys went with us and decided to brave the hike with three toddlers. So with babies in arms we hiked the 3.2 miles Falls Trail Loop. It was a gorgeous trail. The leaves seem to be in their prime and the orange, red, and yellow leaves were a striking contrast to the black rocks and crystal water. We didn't count on the elevation change and by the end our arms and backs were exhausted, but it was well worth the hike.Life back at camp was also fun. Our campsite ended up being twenty feet away from a lake so the girls couldn't run free like we were hoping, but they did manage to get some wiggles out.

Here's a picture of Cambrie and Hailey hiding behind some exposed tree roots.Cambrie sat still just long enough to pose for a fall leaves picture.
On a bathroom trip, Cambrie insisted on holding Hailey's hand. Hailey was a good sport and didn't complain.
The only problem we had during the entire trip was the cold. We knew it would be cold at night but we didn't expect it to stay cold all day long. There was no relief. All of the women were in at least three shirts/sweatshirts/jackets and/or sleeping bags. The men were tougher-Jeremy was fine in his shorts and T-shirt. However, the girls were pretty irritable since they could never get comfortable, and they don't exactly understand the idea of sitting near the fire to keep warm. Cambrie spent both nights and mornings in a snowsuit. Just keep in mind that the idea was warmth, not style. The snowsuit was really big on her and made her look like a sumo-wrestler or the boy on Christmas story. Yea, she couldn't roll over she was so fat. It was a great end of summer hurray. Yea for camping, fires, and living outdoors :)

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Feeding the Ducks

One thing I love about the area we live in, is the proximity to a small piece of paradise-I will really miss it when we leave. There is a jogging/walking/biking trail that runs parallel to a small river. It's far enough away from the main road that you forget you're near civilization, but close enough to enjoy frequently. The trees provide great shade and a wonderful show during the fall with the leaves changing. It is a great place to go on runs in the morning if I want to exercise, or feed the ducks if I want to chill. Yesterday Cambrie and I went to feed the ducks. She thinks it is a lot of fun to watch all of the birds swarm around the bread chunks she drops (it's better they don't know only half of the bread is making it down to their level). It was such a gorgeous day yesterday that I just had to take some pictures; I figured this might be the only time I dedicate to taking pictures of the fall leaves. Oh ya, I took pictures of Cambrie too.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Ring Around the Rosy

I didn't know Cambrie even knew this game. She completely surprised me with it yesterday by saying, "Ashes, ashes, boom." I wish we got her singing on tape, but I'm happy with the performance anyway. Isn't it cute?

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Pumpkin patch

What do you get when you combine a hayride, a pumpkin patch, a corn maze, a giant slide and an ice-cream cone? Autumn of course! Today we went on a field trip with both preschool classes and their families to Freddy Hills Farm for a little fall-time fun. To begin our adventure, we all piled into flat-bed wagons loaded with straw and they pulled us to a pumpkin patch where each kid got to hunt for their own perfect pumpkin. Cambrie thought all the orange balls were great. She would walk from pumpkin to pumpkin trying to pick them up and carry them around. The ones with stems were a lot easier to hold on to. If carrying a pumpkin around wasn't hard enough, Cambrie's feet kept getting caught in all the vines. She spent a lot of time trying not to fall. But she finally found her perfect pumpkin.The last stop on our hayride tour was a corn maze. I thought that it would be a pretty simple maze considering their clientele, so I let Cambrie lead the way. She started off following her friends, but she just doesn't walk as fast. Twenty minutes later I realized that we were alone and there were plenty of dead ends and circle routes, so I had to take over as navigator. Did I mention we were the last ones out? Ya, Cambrie and I are pros. Cambrie was just thrilled that the way out of the maze involved a really tall slide. And finally, what field trip would be complete without a little ice-cream? They make their own ice-cream at the farm and it was absolutely, positively wonderfulishish. (Thanks Cambrie for sharing your ice-cream cone :) It was a great day spent with friends and festivities. Happy fall everyone!

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Autumness

Reasons I LOVE autumn:

Autumn leaves


You can see your breath

Pumpkins and cozy decorations
My husband likes blankets as much as I do

Hot apple cider

The smell of cinnamon

And of course, candy bowls overflowing with peanut butter M&M's

Lancaster Half Marathon!

Yippee! I did it! I successfully ran my first half-marathon today! The seemingly endless early morning runs have paid off, and I'm on my way to my ultimate goal of a full-length marathon. (Okay, let's be honest. After today's run...a marathon sounds like murder. We'll see how I feel again in a couple of days). My final time was 1:41.06. I am thrilled with that time. It was a wacky combination of 7 min. and 9 min. miles, but that's what happens when the course is hill after hill after hill. I finished 78th overall, 16th among the women, and 3rd in my age group. That last ranking actually earned me the prize of an engraven Wilton Armetale platter. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to display it or use it for Thanksgiving dinner. Neither one sounds quite right. If I had a collection like the Williams sisters or Tiger Woods, it would be an easier desicion to make.

Here's Melissa and I before we lined up at the starting line. It was a cold start to the race. But once you got moving, the blanket of clouds overhead was perfect.

13.1 miles later, I don't look nearly as happy as I did at the beginning. But I finished!

Here's my beautiful and awesome platter-it's shiny.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Ah...

This is what Jeremy brought home for me last night.
Happy First Thursday of October!
What a sweet guy :)