Happy Halloweekend!

The Barclays had such a busy weekend! But lots of fun was involved. Just so that everyone knows I do pull out my Superwoman cape on occasion, let me describe my Saturday for you.

I got up Saturday morning with Noah and got both of us fed, showered and dressed, then we all headed to the farmer's market. On the way out the door, we learned that the humongous gingko tree in front of Carnegie was shedding its leaves on this day, so we added that to the to do list. (I'll include pics from that stop in a later blog.) Next, we came home and I made sugar cookie dough and icing, fed Noah and I lunch, got the chili started in the crock pot, and put Noah down for a nap. Then I made the corn muffins and cleaned the kitchen. Jeremy went to Wal-Mart and mowed the lawn and helped me with cleaning up during all of this. We took a break, got Noah up, and ready to go. We planned to take Noah trick-or-treating down Court and Church Streets in Lewisburg but nixed that and just went to the carnival at the hospital instead. We came home and had dinner with some friends who came over and made my cousin's famous sugar cookies. Now, they weren't nearly as pretty and detailed as hers, since she pipes them and fills them with hundreds of tiny stars, but nothing of mine ever turns out in any sort of perfection. I cheated a bit on the decorating. But they tasted good and everyone loved the chili! We put the kids to bed upstairs and played Scrabble Flash and Catchphrase until late in the evening. I smoked Jeremy at Scrabble and the girls tied the boys at Catchphrase. :)

The Little Green Monster and Big Green Monster arriving at the carnival.

Signing "more." He never wants to stop. :)

Ready to ride something!

Noah's first kiddie ride!

Doesn't Daddy look thrilled? Maybe just squished.

Riding the kiddie train with mommy.

Making the cookies.

Our friend Kala decided to go as Lindsay Lohan. No, really she got jalapenos on her nose and mixed up a paste of baking soda and milk that she swears does wonders.

Trying to get some nice shots of the monster.

Not so easy.

The front porch decor.

Always the leaves.

Hope your weekend was bootiful too! :)

A Day on the Farm

We took off on the evening of October 19th as soon as Jeremy could get home from work. Destination: an unknown farm with a pumpkin patch just south of Union, WV. We found a delightful place full of cheap entertainment and broadening new experiences for Noah! :) This trip included his first time seeing farm animals, first petting zoo, first pumpkin patch, and first hay ride. Too bad it was getting a little too late to have time for the corn maze!

I think this is the perfect little farm boy picture. :)

This is the best shot I could get of him actually with pumpkins in the picture.

Visiting with the cow.

For some reason, this little goat was very fond of Noah and wanted to climb out of the pen to see him.

With the little ponies.

Sitting in the kiddie ride that he was not really big enough to do by himself. (And Jeremy and I were not really small enough to ride with him.)

Waiting on the trailer for the hay ride to begin.

Here we go!

Sitting on Dady's lap, watching the kind young man drive us around the

corn field and gardens.
Then he wanted to ride on Mommy's lap for a while.

This was his expression through the whole ride. He hasn't sat that still on my lap in a very long time.

As we came around the last leg of the trip, who did we see? Bevo. I told Jeremy it is a sign. :)

I guess you'd call this a bramble? I'd hate to tangle with one of these. They were growing amongst the crops.

Mooooo!

Hawk's Watch

On October 17, a bunch of us decided to lug our kids up to the Hawk's Watch, or Hawk's Point, for a little hike. It was really nice, even on a chilly morning.

The Hanging Rock Lookout was where we headed. 0.8 miles.

We borrowed this cool pack from some friends so that we could haul Noah too. He seemed okay with it as long as Jeremy stayed moving.

Jeremy woke up on this morning with a terrible neck cramp but was quite the trooper and made it anyway.


This cutie, Little A, had a great time and was more than willing to let me take his picture.

Little A, and big sis, Big A.

"Go see what lives in that log, Little A!"

He had a good time running and climbing ahead of us, doing very well until he clocked his head on a rock toward the end of the trip. Poor guy!

Our friends, Josh and Kala, with the cute A kids.

Finally, we get to the top.

You can see Virginia from here, but nobody knew which direction exactly. :)

There was a little shack up at the lookout and we found this little friend inside taking a break from the wind. Now that I think about it, this place reminds a little bit of "The Shack" the book.

Rob, Khristina, and little SB in her pack.

Little SB never made a peep.

Noah had a great time running around the (well-fenced) lookout with the A kids.

Someone was kind enough to take a group shot as we started to leave.

A group shot of the kids. Notice that Noah is the only one who is upset by this. They all did really well with our little trip.

Here is a pic where you can see the full length of the pack.

Two tired boys. Once we got home, Jeremy pretty much went to bed for the rest of the day with his neck issue and Noah developed a cough/cold. Totally worn out!

Aside from being a bit sickly with the cough/cold and allergies passing around for the last week, we have been having a lot of fun in the great outdoors of West Virginia lately. October is surely my favorite month now, and definitely the best month to visit out here. Sorry that nobody came to enjoy it with us! Heehee. :) More to come!