Happy Be-Lated Halloween!

Rayna having fun trick-or-treating with her cousins, Nick-Nick and Thomas

Pumpkin Time!

Fun at the East Pennsboro Pumpkin Fest

The petting zoo was a highlight for Rayna... especially holding a bunny.

That's our little "lady" playing on the inflatable slide!


Hmmmm....Pumpkin Funnel Cake!!

Let the Fall Fun Begin

We kicked off October with a trip to Little Buffalo State Park's Fall Arts Festival. Rayna had a blast making crafts, dancing with a Gypsy and watching the sun set over Lake Holman. We're excited about October and all the fun to be had enjoying fall festivities!

Our Personal Nature Guide

We had the pleasure of visiting with our good friend and nature buff Tim a couple weekends ago. It was actually the first time Rayna got to meet him, and needless to say she thought he was the next best thing to Diego! He introduced her to all kinds of fun nature stuff like crumbling dried leaves and making seed pods pop. And he did LOTS of silly things to make her laugh. Hopefully it's not too long before we see him again ... who knows maybe Rayna's first airplane ride will be to Seattle!

Play Time!

Rayna and her BFF Sydney test out Adventure Zone to see if it meets their playground standards.

Family Fun Mountain Style!

Well after car problems, thunderstorms and several stops to change movies, we joined the Gaumers for a long weekend in the mountains. I don't think I've ever seen the cabin so "full"... of kids, clothes and food! Even though it rained every day we still had pockets of nice weather to enjoy some hiking, biking, creek playing and marshmallow toasting. Unfortunately my photos are limited since I had to send my camera home with the hubby so he could take pictures of him playing baseball (which may I add that out of the three he took only one wasn't blurry). I think it's safe to say that everyone had fun, especially Rayna and Nicholas.

A Fun Fourth!

Kayaking 101

Well, I finally gave in to Papa and let him take our little girl kayaking. I agreed to lake kayaking, but told him it would be a while before he could talk me into taking her on a creek. I'm not sure who was more excited about it, him or Rayna. Although she wasn't too happy about the lifejacket at first, she put up with it long enough to go around the lake. And after we had our picnic dinner, she actually grabbed the jacket and told us she wanted to go again. She took her little "caiman" (the alligator on Diego) along for the ride, too. After kayaking her and papa went swimming in the lake. Of course, she wouldn't even stick a toe in for me, but for papa, she went in all the way up to her neck! Oh well, everything with papa is just more fun.

Beach Party

Rayna's First Music Festival

It was the best of times...

We decided this year was the year to introduce Rayna to the wonderful world of music festivals. We heard about DelFest and it sounded perfect... very family friendly and featuring incredibly awesome bands including Railroad Earth, Old Crow Medicine Show, Sam Bush and of course Del McCoury. There was even family camping, a Kid Zone and a special concert for the kids. We were a little worried about how Rayna would be with the whole festival environment ... I'm not really sure why ... it was obvious that it's in her blood. Between making new friends within the first five minutes of setting up camp, dancing to blue grass, sleeping in a tent, hula hooping and sleeping on a blanket while Railroad Earth played (Mama was especially happy that she got to see them!) it's safe to say she had a blast!

It was the worst of times...

Then the rain, wind and hail came. One minute we were sitting listening to Sam Bush and the next minute we're running for shelter from the worst (and scariest) storm I ever experienced. Rayna and I stayed under a pavillion covered in a blanked to protect us from the wind and hail while Ryan ran to the tent to try and secure everything. When it finally subsided we made our way to our campsite which Ryan had managed to keep from blowing away, only for it to start up again! Finally we made a run for the car. Four hours later, it was all over and in its place was flattened tents, camping equipment floating by, busted sun shades and soaking wet gear! We were forced to cut the trip short, but still able to end on a good note with hearing Old Crow Medicine Show before we left Saturday night!

So, would we do it again... Del Yeah! Already looking for another festival!

Down on the Farm

Going "down to the farm" is one of Rayna's favorite weekly excursions. Unfortunately, our visits are only a few hours long and usually hectic in order to visit with everyone. Friday, however, we actually had the luxury of spending a very leisurely day there. Rayna's priorty of course was playing with Nick Nick which she got to do all morning. They played with trains and then took a walk with Aunt Kendie and I to play with the neighbor's goats. The evening brought more time with Nick Nick and also Katie and Thomas, as well as another walk with Grandma. It was a great day that left me feeling rejuvenated, nastalgic and craving for our own home in the country. Some day :) Until that happens, there's always our weekly trips to Grandma and PaPa's.