Cow Train and Hayride

Last weekend my cousins were here and we had a cookout at my parents' house.  My dad broke out the tractor and trailer and we took a hayride around the neighborhood.  I think that this was the most people that we had ever had on a hayride at once.  It was fun.  My dad also borrowed the cow train from his neighbor and the kids (and adults) had fun riding around the yard in it.

The Walker Reunion

The first weekend of November is the Walker Reunion.  This year was our family's turn to host, and it turned out well.  The best part of the weekend was getting to see my Quarnaccio and Cook cousins and their families.  My cousin Pam and her family have recently moved back to the U.S. from Germany.  It is great to have them nearer to us because we didn't get to see them a whole lot when they were in Germany.  My cousin David and his family live in Texas, and we haven't seen them in four years.  Needless to say, we had a wonderful time catching up with everyone.  We were sure to take lots of pictures, and I am posting some of those.  We tried to get a picture of all of the younger cousins, but we didn't have a lot of success.  The one at the top of the page seems to be the best.  Sitting on the trailer are Andy, Rachel, Zachary, Claire, MacKenzie, Scarlett, Olivia, Julianna, Ava, Owen and Benjamin.  These kids sure had a great time together.  In addition to the reunion itself, we had a cookout at my parents house, went on a hayride, made smores and did all kinds of fun things.  More to come.

A Super Halloween

The family theme for Halloween this year was "Superheroes".  This turned out to be a really fun theme.  In case you can't tell, Brian is Clark Kent / Superman, I'm Aquaman, Owen is Spiderman, and Olivia is Black Widow (from The Avengers).  I think Brian's costume was the best.  He was a really convincing Superman.  My sister Quincy and cousin Thomas also joined in by dressing as Captain Planet and Wolverine.  As in years past, we met up at Granny Buie's house for pictures and trick-or-treating in her neighborhood.  Thomas and Quincy stayed at Granny's house to pass out candy.  They had music playing and were really getting into it.  One thing that I learned is that all superheroes are not created equal.  No one seemed to know who I was suppose to be.  Quincy had even fewer people recognize her costume.  One kid even littered in front of her- in front of Captain Planet!  What is the world coming to?

   After filling up the kids' new buckets (made by the very talented Aunt Kay), we returned to Granny's house.  The Murray family came over after all of their activities.  Ava and Claire were also Superheroes, so we got another picture made of the entire group. Uncle Bobby tried to convince us that UPS men are superheroes and got in the picture with us.  I'm not so sure about that one.  I think everyone had a great time.  We are already looking forward to next year.

Owen at the Pumpkin Patch

Owen's Pre-K class went to The Pumpkin Patch this year.  This was Owen's first time going.  Owen was excited that his Papa was able to go with him as a chaperone.  These two had such a great time. They got to go on a hayride, pick out a pumpkin, and participate in lots of other activities.  Here are some pictures taken by Papa.

Olivia at the Pumpkin Patch

Olivia's Kindergarten class recently took a field trip to Poppell Farms (aka The Pumpkin Patch).  Brian was able to go with her, and they had a ball.  The kids got to pet several animals and participate in various activities- including riding the cow train, going on a hayride, and playing on the big bouncy thing.  There were a few things that Olivia wasn't able to do due to her cast, but the majority of the activities were cast-friendly.  Here are some pictures that Brian took during the day.  I especially like the one of the "bald" parking spot.  That's pretty funny.

Racing for Pinks

Last weekend Quincy, Maura, and I participated in the Racing for Pinks 5K.  This is always a well-attended local race as the proceeds go to help in the fight against cancer.  We all ran well, and Maura and I both placed in our age group.  My time of 24:55 was not too far off my PR, so I was happy. This race marks one year that Quincy and Maura have been running.  They have done so much in a year.  I have really enjoyed having them to run with.  It's nice to go to a race and know people.

Olivia Turns Six

Last weekend we celebrated Olivia's sixth birthday with a small party at our house.  Olivia wanted a Barbie themed cake, so that's what we had.  Speaking of the cake, isn't it soooo cute?  My sister, Hannah, made and decorated it.  She has been taking a cake decorating class and volunteered to do the cake for us.  It looked and tasted great!  After eating cake, it was time to open the gifts.  Olivia got so many nice things- including winter clothes which she needed desperately.  She also received Barbie stuff, dress up clothes, board games, and lots of other nice things.  One popular item was the Aerial wig.  Some of the adults decided to try the wig on.  We learned that Quincy can pull of the Aerial wig- Brian not so much.  It was lots of fun and Olivia was happy to celebrate her birthday with her family.