Loudoun County Farm Day

Once a year in Loudoun County, a number of private farms open up to the general public for a weekend. This year, Alex & I tagged along with the Colangelo family for a day 'on the farm'.



Alex & Ellie show off their matching PJs the night before the farm outing.



Dave has them conditioned to line up this way.



Alex meets her first baby chic.



Maggie & Audrey like the chic.



Alex gets to hold the chick - dad & Lisa were nervous.



The Gelo girls.



Family picture (Alex was confused why she couldn't be in this one).



Feeding the chickens.



Picking some fresh eggs from the hen house.



"Eat more burgers and hot dogs, no more chicken nuggets - repeat after me, no more chicken nuggets"



Alex feeds the chickens.



Now to the llama farm.



Maggie stares the llama down.



Feeding the llama.



Nice form Maggie.



Alex gives it a go.



Nice horsey.



Ride 'em cowgirls.



Joe makes a friend.



Spooky walk through the forest.

Pumpkin Patch with the Pumpkins

While Sean was out gallivanting the free (and not so free) world with some important person - Alex, Jen, & I met up with Miki and Erin at an over-the-top pumpkin patch. You would have thought that Disney put this production on, except that they weren't peddling DVDs. We had a grand ol' time with Alex-pumpkin and Erin-pumpkin.



Ain't she so sweet?



TOUCHDOWN!



Gearing up for the slide.



Weeeee...



Alex & Erin in the big chair.



Cote-Nance sized chair.



Miki & Erin.



Auntie Lindsey and Erin.



All smiles these two.



Down the slide, again.



Daddy's turn.



Hayride time.



Chilling on the wagon.



Monster hatching from the egg.



The "pumpkin" patch.



Monkey on the pumpkin.



Back to being such a sweet young thing.



Momma & Erin, still all smiles.

Pizza Night

Pizza night came again at the Hill's castle. The kids were amped up and Steve had the fridge stocked with some good beer, as always. For a moment, we were back in Ohio.



Beauty and the Beast, all in one.



Group shot, in the kitchen - of course.



Princess Emma.



Snow Audrey.



Ryan got eaten by a tube worm from Dune.

Soccer Monster

A few more shots from our Saturday ritual in October - soccer, followed by a trip to the "pancake place" (or IHOP) to feed our soccer monster.


Lining up from some wind sprints (kiddie style).



No idea if she is chasing someone, or running away from someone.

At the Park with Maggie and Ellie

While Dave & Lisa were on a weekend away in Florida, Joe took Maggie & Ellie for a few hours so Lisa Jane could relax a bit. The girls had a blast running (and swinging) around.



Monkeys on a web.



More monkeying around.



Ellie & Alex take a moment to swing.



The girls loved the tire swing.



Did I mention that the girls loved the tire swing.



Maggie chills out on the tire swing.



Then the girls chased some caterpillars.



Bouncing on the bouncy thing.



The day finished like it started - monkeying around.

Erin's Birthday

We had the pleasure of celebrating Erin's first birthday with her family and friends. Sean & Miki threw a good shindig and everyone had a good time, especially the birthday girl.

Erin motoring around.

Barely a year old and already a ham.

Who wants some homemade ice cream?

Miki & Erin share a smile.

All eyes on Erin for the 'eating of the cupcake'.

Messy eater, just like her dad.

The girlie pose.

Brandi & Dave.

What is a birthday party without the birthday hat?

I think Alex likes her.