Fun, Fall, and Forrest

This past week a friend of ours came up from Florida. Now that Joel has secured funding through a grant, he and Forrest are continuing to do research together in Oregon. Work was a great reason to get him to come visit us up here in NH. Jude couldn't get enough of Forrest! (Forrest... you were super!) Having Forrest around was the perfect excuse to get out and enjoy the fall.

Jude's favorite spot this fall.... Emmery Farm. Above: corn maze



Forrest hadn't been to New Hampshire or Maine before this trip. We had to make sure that he crossed into Maine by taking him to York Beach.
Jude wasted no time getting into the water....

There was plenty of searching for Goldbug....
Fall colors in Pawtuckaway State Park....

Hayride and More...

On a whim, last Saturday we called the Sessler's to see if they were up for a quick trip to Emmery Farm. We were delighted when the response was yes! Jude and Levi had a great time with Owen and Charlie. The hayride was great and the company was even better.....

Fall Visits

We're lucky to be living in such a beautiful part of the USA. We're grateful that we've been able to share this fall beauty with some of the visitors we've had recently. When Joel returned home from his marathon was whisked away to Monreal for a couple of days. Upon his return from that trip, he was greeted with friends who had come from Utah. Ray, Aviva, and their 2 daughters Aisha and Tallya were welcomed by a bubbly Jude. He was so excited to have some friends spend the night!

Enjoying Fall Outdoors

If it's not raining, we try to spend as much time as we can in the cool, crisp weather. It has been an absolutely wonderful fall!

Exeter Harvest Festival

While Joel was away for the marathon, the boys and I took a trip to Exeter to visit some friends. Downtown a Harvest Festival was taking place, giving Jude a perfect excuse to slip into his costume and give trick-or-treating a try. He had a great time going store to store, scoring plenty of sweets with his friend Ben.

Detroit Marathon 2010

October 17th marked the date Joel would run his first marathon. After training for many months, this was one day that he was ready for. With a smile on his face and bib number 7748 he made his way through the 26.2 mile course. He had an amazing race, qualifying to run the Boston Marathon if he so chooses. His finishing time was 3:04:29. (Thanks to Mike and Angel for capturing the race on camera.) I couldn't be more proud of his endurance. He did an amazing job of balancing work, family, church, friends, and athletics throughout his training. Way to go Joel, (and Daddy)!

Emery Farm Fall '10

Just about every day Jude asks to go to Emery Farm, a 350 year old farm just minutes from our house. Luckily we've had many excuses to make a trip there this fall.

Levi also enjoys this outing, so it's easy to hop in the van to feed the animals and play with the pumpkins....





Jude loves to load a Cozy Coupe with grass to feed the goats and donkeys....

Corinne, our music class leader, put together a trip for our class. We all met at Emery Farm for a tractor ride, picnic, and corn maze extravaganza. What a beautiful day to spend with friends out-of-doors!




The hayride stopped at a pumpkin patch. We all got to get off to pick a pumpkin. Jude wasted no time, I think he picked the first one that he saw.
Levi took his time....


When we got back from the hayride the kids each got a pumpkin cookie and ate their picnic lunches.


When lunched had wrapped up, we headed over to the corn maze. This year it was done with a Hungry Caterpillar theme. When we followed signs with the caterpillar eating healthy food we got to watch the caterpillar growing bigger and bigger. When we followed signs with the caterpillar eating junk food he was unhappy and small.




Jude was having a great time playing peek-a-boo with his friend Olivia....
On Columbus Day the Caswell's came down for a visit. Jude wanted to take him back to Emery Farm to explore the maize maze....
They all enjoyed picking grass for the donkeys....


Levi has no fear when it comes to livestock. He LOVES animals!





After we were done playing and eating lunch at Emery Farm we went across the street for a stroll through Wagon Hill. Jude was hiding like a cat in the tall grasses....