We hope everyone had a great Halloween. We thought you might enjoy seeing some of our nieces and nephews in costume. Lia and Ella are still a bit young for trick or treating, but their parents got them into the Halloween spirit by dressing them up as pea pods. Alice dressed up as a duck. According to James, she is close to walking and it’s tough to get her to sit still these days, even for a quick photo. Justin went as a red hot rod. Amy and Joe bought a car kit, but then spent the weeks leading up to Halloween working on Justin’s specified modifications – adding windows, a trunk, a hood and supercharger, etc. And Brian went as a Tyrannosaurus Rex – which seems like a good match given how fast, strong and vocal he is as of late. Hope you all enjoyed the holiday.

Last week, we revisited one of my favorite fall traditions, the Topsfield Fair. We went with Amy, Joe and their boys on a cool evening after work. It’s fun to see what Justin remembers from year to year. They of course rode the merry-go-round, the train and the cars. And this year Justin was ready for his first grown up ride – the ferris wheel. We also did our best to sample as many of the fair’s delicacies as our stomach’s could handle. Between the group of us we consumed a polish plate (featuring pierogis, potato pancakes, golabkis and kielbasa), corn dogs, cider donuts, clam chowder, a steak skewer with yucca, popcorn, chicken fingers and hot cider. We also saw a variety of animals – all sorts of chickens, geese, ducks, llamas, goats, sheep, cows, a clydesdale, alpacas and racing piglets. One of Justin and Brian’s favorite exhibits continues to be the model trains, so we spent some time checking out that display as well. By the end of the evening we were all bundled up in sweatshirts, jackets and hats – but we definitely all enjoyed ourselves.

In September Brian turned two. Amy and Joe had a small family cookout/party at their house to celebrate. Amy made one of her fantastic and creative birthday desserts – this time it was cookie monster cupcakes, complete with blue coconut fur. They were pretty impressive AND delicious. We spent the afternoon outside on the swing set, drawing on chalk rock, chasing frogs – following Brian’s lead…needless to say, it was a fun day.

At the end of August, with a hurricane en route, Amy and Joe lucked out with an afternoon of good weather and managed to squeeze in an outdoor birthday party for Justin. Complete with a train theme, a huge inflatable bouncy house, a piñata and of course cake and ice cream, Justin along with friends and family celebrated his day. If you can believe it, the bouncy house was rated for adults so Aaron and I gave it a try before the kids showed up. It was a lot of fun and surprisingly a serious aerobic workout as you are moving all the time in an attempt to stay on your feet. The rain started just as the party was winding down. It was pretty spot on timing.

Here’s the second half of the photos from our time at the shore. Peter and Maria and their girls came down for our last weekend as a surprise which was great. As our family continues to grow, I am grateful for any opportunity when all my siblings are together and for it to happen at the shore makes it all the better. Above the family on the point (a photo I borrowed from James and Chrissy :) and yes, my eyes are closed. And below a very proud Nana with all five of her grandkids. I think the joy in her face says it all.

Posting these photos is bittersweet. As many of you may know, Hurricane/ Tropical Storm Irene hit our beloved cottages on the Long Island Sound very hard a couple of weeks ago. Major damage was done to the entire property and as a family we are just starting to look into our options in terms of repair and/or rebuilding. It seems there is a long road ahead. However, this album of photos and the 2nd part (which I hope to post next weekend) were taken back in early August before the storm. Aaron and I were fortunate to enjoy a week and a half of pretty good weather, lots of family together time and a lovely break from regular life surrounded by the ocean and sand.

One day after work in early August, we stopped by Amy and Joe’s and were lucky enough to squeeze in some outside play time before it got dark. As much as I love the winter and the snow, I do love summer’s daylight lasting into the early evening. Wagon rides, watching traffic, blowing bubbles, playing with cars – simple stuff – but it’s the time together we appreciate the most.

I’m still sorting through the shore photos, so in the mean time I thought you all might enjoy seeing some more recent photographs of our niece Alice. We didn’t take any of these photos, we borrowed them all from her parents (Thanks! James and Chrissy). She’s a total cutie and having spent 10 days with her at the shore, I can attest that she does indeed seem to be a remarkably happy and laid back kid.

On a side note, for those of you on the east coast, hope Hurricane Irene turns out to be a lot of hype and that you all weather the storm well.

At the end of July on a Sunday afternoon, Aaron and I visited Peter Maria for a little lunch and an a visit with Lia and Ella who at the time were just about 3 1/2 months old. The girls have started to smile and laugh and are clearly interested in what’s going on around them. Above is a shot of Aaron with Lia and below I’m holding a sleeping Ella. Click on either of the photos to see a small album from our visit.

Back in June, Amy and Joe invited Mom, Aaron and I to join their family for a day at The Museum of Science. Aaron and I hadn’t been there in ages, but it was great fun to go back and see it through Justin and Brian’s eyes. It was also interesting to see what has changed since we were kids – for example the T-Rex statue that I loved so much as a kid has been replaced by a new statue based on the updated idea of what this dinosaur looked like. They even had miniature versions comparing the two. After exploring most of the museum (it’s smaller than I remembered as well), we stopped at Fuddrucker’s, a burger place, on the way home and were lucky enough to be able to sit in the one and only car booth – much to the delight of Justin and Brian. It was a great ending to a fun day.