As you can tell by the photos below, both our kids made a good haul for Halloween.  We were able to trick-or-treat inside the apartment building where we live, which made it much easier for the kids. 

Yes, that is Joseph as little Yoda sucking on two lollipops at the same time.  I wouldn’t recommend trying to take either one from him - these are his favorite type of candy.

I would say that our race car driver made a pretty reasonable take for an hour’s work.

After having a pretty crazy week, we thought that it would make sense to head out to a fall-festival type place. Cox Farms (http://www.coxfarms.com/) was pretty close by and had lots of things for the kids to do like petting some goats, going down some big slides, and a corn maze (well, okay, it’s more like a marked path in the middle of a corn field).  The apples were great, and some of the best I have ever had.  And while the apple cider wasn’t quite as good as Grandpa Foote’s, it was a pretty good substitute.

Heading down the slide

Chris and Joseph

Erik, Dad, and Joseph

Becca and Hayden playing with the goats

We went to a really cool park that Norma discovered with her playschool group a few weeks ago.  It’s probably about 5 acres in size and is totally covered with playground equipment for all ages.  Erik probably liked the carousel best, closely followed by all the airplanes and cars elsewhere.  Joseph just liked dodging in and out of everything and playing hide-and-seek with his dad.  For directions and information about the park, you can click here: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/clemyjontri/

Joseph and Norma on the carousel

Erik hopping between steps

This weekend we had the chance to go on a Father & Son Campout with some people we go to Church with.  There were about 250 people there, and Erik definitely had a good time.  He loves being outdoors, playing with sticks, and looking at bugs (or anything else that moves).  During the evening program, I brought out my guitar, which helped me remember why I like playing.

Ever since we got back from El Salvador, Erik has been begging to go to the beach.  Unfortunately, the only quasi-beach close by is the Chesapeake, which isn’t exactly an ideal place for swimming.  We decided to avoid the summer crowd and go down for the weekend to Virginia Beach a few weeks after Labor Day.  We all had a great time, and Joseph couldn’t stop giggling with delight for the first ten minutes that he was in the water.  This beach had way more things to do than we had time for, and we could easily see ourselves spending a week or more here.

Having fun at the beach

Erik and Joseph chasing birds and going on a walk together

On our way down to Virginia Beach, we decided to stop by a WWII Iowa-class ship, the USS Wisconsin.  Of course Erik and Joseph liked wandering around the ship and seeing the big guns.  Interestingly, this ship has been decomissioned and reactivated three times, last serving in the Gulf War.  I would highly recommend a brief stop by this site if you have young kids or are touring the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area. Here’s the link: http://www.hrnm.navy.mil.

Standing on the bow of the ship

Erik having fun

Today we had the chance to head over to Manassas to have dinner with my sister’s in-laws.  My mom was in town, so we had a great time getting together.  

Here Erik and Joseph using some sticks to go fishing after a car that fell into the stream 

Playing around

Given the outstanding weather in DC during the summer months, we thought it would be a good idea to head towards our local water park, Cameron Run.  Of course Erik and Joseph had a good time, and Erik would have liked to stay all day long going down the waterslides.  They have a wave pool, and when Joseph first got into the water he burst into a huge smile.  We could definately tell that he misses going to the beach and having real waves.

 
Watch out, he just might get you…

Chris & Joseph heading down the slide

So I thought that making some milkshakes would be a good idea.  Little did I know that it was not just a good idea, it was a great idea.  Joseph had about three full glasses, and as you can see from the second photo, he had to use three straws to get enough.  Anyway, it’s good to have small moments like these ones.

Norma, Joseph, and Erik sharing mommy’s strawberry milkshake

Warning! Triple straw action going on here

Erik finished his first two weeks of swimming lessons and absolutely loved it.  Some mornings when the pool was a bit on the cool side, he wasn’t too excited to get into the water, but otherwise he had a great time.