Cox Farms 2013

Yay! It's Fall, my favorite time of the year! This weekend, Jen and I met up with the kids at Cox Farms in Virginia. We hadn't been in a couple years and it was even more fun this year, since the kids are more independent but equally enthusiastic. 

Gosh, I love these three kids! 

This place has THE BEST hayride. It ends with a dance party complete with strobe lights. Marino immediately wanted to go again. 

Monster feet

Here Marino is saying, "Mommy, I reached inside his costume and felt his neck. There's a human in there."

Poor bunny!

The three amigos

Fun, fun, fun! Love Fall and these kids! 

Adams Harvest Festival

Last weekend, we went to New York for my brother's memorial (post coming). The next day, my mom and I took Marino to the Harvest Festival at Adams Fairacre Farms (local independent grocer in my hometown).  Marino had a great time - there were animals, a magician, bounce houses, games and delicious food.

Here's Marino and Gramma - his favorite person

Petting a goat...he fell in love with this goat and introduced me to him, saying, "This is my buddy, Goat."

My friend Anne was there with her gorgeous kids. Anne's stepfather was the magician at the event!

My friend Tracey, who was my next door neighbor for 20 years, came, too. 

Here we are with her new baby, Sara (born just a few days before my birthday).

Marino got to ride a pony named Jaxon. He was very sweet with the pony.

He really loved this goat.

He also loved this giant bunny.

Tracey's other kids - Emma and Alex. Emma is a spitting image of Tracey at her age!

My friend Jill was there with her boys, too. 

Fun day with lots of special people!

Fall Festival at Butler's Orchard

Last week I was able to visit Butler's Orchard with Marino and his school on their annual field trip to the Harvest Festival there. It was a beautiful day and, as always, we had a great time there.

Looking for the perfect pumpkin.

Being silly with his buddy, Rebecca.

Hay fight!

Showing off pumpkins with Carter.

Hayride with my favorite boy

My little monster

Where's Marino?

Wonderful day!

Fun with Leaves

My poor boy is sick with pink eye and some sort of cold, but after a nap and some Tylenol, we spent some time outside enjoying a gorgeous, mild fall day.

Marino wanted to help me rake leaves, and by help I mean he wanted to have me rake them into a pile for him to jump in. It was fun.

Attempting to help rake...this lasted about 15 seconds before he announced "This is hard, Mommy".

Hoping we can get a doctor's appointment early tomorrow to get my boy feeling well again!

Siena's 2nd Birthday

Saturday, the three of us headed to New Jersey to celebrate Siena's 2nd birthday. The party was at Etsch Farms as it was last year, and they really do an awesome job with their parties. There's tons for the kids to do there and this weekend we had amazing weather. It was a REALLY fun party - all 3 of us had a good time

How cute is Siena?

Birthday tractor! Marino LOVED riding the pony. He insisted on also riding the miniature horse. Neither of them wore shoes, which I've never seen before (shoeless horses), but they said they only ride them on the grass, so its a non-issue.

Happy Catalina

How cute is Sonia's belly?!
Heading to the corn maze


Very scary witch (he keeps telling me he's going to be a witch for Halloween)
Decorating pumpkins

Corn maze...this was the easy one and we still got lost!
Birthday sweetie!
Excited toddlers ready for the hayride!
View from the hayride


The birthday girl and her parents (she's her Papi's twin)

Riding the miniature horse

Pinata time!
treats from the pinata
Birthday cupcakes for Siena
Siena is 2!
Enjoying the cupcakes
When this pinata broke, candy and treats went everywhere! It split in half rather than just a hole cracking in it. It was quite a sight!
Pumpkin head

Reading and cuddling with Marino and Siena
Marino was unusually friendly this day - see him snuggled behind Sonia's sister, Nikki?
Of course we had to break out our matching pumpkin hats...the kids were even less cooperative with taking pictures with these than last year! But at least they had fun.

Before we headed back, we met up with our friends Karen, Stu and Brandon (and new baby Wesley!) for a playdate at McDonald's. The kids had a lot of fun. Marino kept asking Brandon "Do you want to play with me again?". It was great to catch up.