Even holdout leaves have started falling....

Before I start the post, a quick nod to songwriter Hugh Prestwood for today's title. It is a line out of a song he wrote for Jimmy Buffett, "Savannah Fare You Well", and very appropriate for today. Every breeze brought hundreds of leaves down from the trees in the yards around Fort Vegas.

The temperature was in the low 60's today, but only felt that warm in direct sunlight. Andrew was in his new Plex from "Yo Gabba Gabba" hoody, so he was in good shape. I was in my usual in-house garb (t-shirt and gym shorts), so it was a bit chilly.

We logged a good three plus hours in the yard including time in the sandbox, making a huge leafpile, playing some "Red Light, Green Light", and enjoying PB&Js and chips on a blanket in the yard.

So it wasn't the lake or the beach or the park, but a pretty good bulk of a day.

BOO! The Halloween highlights...

Friday night was Andrew's first Halloween where he was fully up to speed on trick-or-treating. Last year, it was just a few neighbors and his babysitter. This year, it was ON!!

The costume was an obvious choice. The firefighter costume took almost a month to piece together. The hat, hatchet, and inflatable fire extinguisher were from Glen's Fair Price in Harrisonburg. The shirt and pants were from J.C. Penney. The "big rubber boots" were a last minute pickup from WalMart.

We had several stops on the agenda. First, we headed next door to see Mr. Lamb. Mr. Lamb is a card carrying member of the Andrew Fan Club and was happy to see us on his porch. Next up was a zip south to pillage a sub-division. Our third and fourth stops were back in Fort Vegas. Mrs. Baker, Andrew's old babysitter, was due a visit. Aunt Sharon and Uncle Silvio also requested a few minutes with a few minutes with the big boy.

Here are the highlights.

Here is Andrew with Mr. Lamb. The Twix whole wheat honey stix were TOP NOTCH! We'll be on the lookout for these at the store.

We were invited to trick or treat with our friends over in Verona. I promised Ali she could be on the blog if she donned the Darth Vader mask. Here you go! I'll also throw in a shout out to Amy, who was also promised a mention on the blog.

Next stop was Mrs. Baker's house for a quick visit. She was surprised I was taking pictures.

The last stop on the Andrew '08 express...no, wait, this isn't Election Day, this is Halloween. We headed to Aunt Sharon and Uncle Silvio's for a late snack.

And now it is Sunday night. Welcome to another week of hell. ---J

A very busy weekend!

Where to start?
Let's start with the weather. This is a shot of the kitchen thermometer before dinner on Thursday. Yes, that is 77 wonderful degrees in downtown Fort Vegas. It is hard to believe that I was outside in shorts. I tried that Saturday night while grilling steaks and almost froze my ass off. Wait, I digress...

First, my sister Katie and her boyfriend Danny swung by to visit on Thursday evening. I am such a moron that I took no pictures of the visit. Andrew was really happy to see his sandhole digging partner. He wanted Danny to help him dig in the sandbox!


Friday was a "fun night" for the kids at Tamara's school and she was signed up to work the event. Andrew and I had dinner at Burger King in Verona.

Saturday was beautiful except for the cool temp. We headed down to the Golden Kernel in Grottoes to enjoy a hayride and a trip to the pumpkin patch. Here is an interesting looking squash that they discovered just steps off the hayride. I am not exactly sure what you do with a squash that big. Do you fry it? Do you club someone over the head with it?

Anyway, we ambled through the fields looking for THE ONE. This field had pumpkins as far as the eye could see. There were also green pumpkins and more of these wacky squash.


Here are Andrew and Mommy after locating THE ONE. It was so heavy that Tam had to switch off with me to get it up the path. Yes, I know you are looking at that picture and asking yourself how big that bad boy really is. I am going to throw in a plug for anyone who lives around here - the Golden Kernel is great. The folks are nice, the pumpkins are GINORMOUS, they have a play area for the kids after the ride, the ... okay, I am rambling, but if you haven't gotten that pumpkin yet (or even if you have), go ahead on out and enjoy yourself.
We rode on to Harrisonburg to get Andrew some firefighter gear for Halloween (Thanks Glen's Fair Price!) and then rode around getting the Big A some shuteye. Saturday night was cold (30 degrees at one point in our neck of the woods).

Sunday was the long awaited open house at the Weyers Cave Fire Department. As many of you know, Andrew has spent the past few months becoming obsessed with anything having to do with firefighters. This is from watching "Fireman Sam", a show on Noggin. An opportunity to interact with real live firefighters was one we couldn't pass up.











Andrew spent the afternoon climbing on fire engines, talking to the firefighters, impressing the fire safety lady with his acumen, looking at the firefighting gear, taking a tour of the Fire Safety House, and generally absorbing the vibe. Every corner was something he thought was cool - it was really fun to watch him take it all in. While we were eating our free lunch, there was this low rumble approaching the fire station. Tam and I knew what it was, but the Big A had no idea his dream was about to come true.


The low rumble was coming from the local air rescue helicopter. It was flying over the building and heading for the field behind the station. For the boy who spends hours using any of his various toy helicopters to simulate the aerial exploits of Tom from "Fireman Sam", this was indeed a dream come true. The dream had to wait as the crowd seemed to multiply as soon as it dropped from the sky.



Yes, here he is, mission accomplished, goal met, lifelong dream fulfilled...he is sitting in the rescue helicopter. Okay, so he was only there for less than five minutes, but you could tell he was just taking it all in. He was also getting very sleepy, so we loaded up and headed for a little nap to get him some shuteye.

As for life in adult-land, the thermometer is going to go under 32 degrees again for sure. What happened to my 78 degrees just 75 hours ago? UGGGHHHH but it doesn't matter because Andrew had a wonderful weekend. ---J

And now...it is October

First, an apology to our loyal readers - the blog has fallen in some disrepair. As Tam joked earlier this evening, "Life has caught up with the blog." While the Rick news made it on quickly, the other events of the past few weeks that would normally be blog-fodder have not made the Web. We'll try harder.


In the past few days, Fort Vegas has been feeling the change of the season. We've gone from leaving the kitchen door open at all hours to slamming that puppy as soon as you walk through it. The leaves are quickly changing and dropping. The garden gave us the last few gifts she had left. We don't think the peppers are worth a squat, but the tomatoes show some promise. The house is a bit chilly in the mornings. In fact, it is a bit chilly right now (9:04 p.m.), but I refuse to move from my Awful Arthur's t-shirt and gym shorts. Tam and Andrew are both bundled like mummies. As I type this, the weather widget on the Avalon Pier website tells me that both the air and water temps in Kill Devil Hills, N.C. are both currently 70 degrees. (Insert sound of my heart breaking or my head hitting the desk, whichever entertains you more.)


Tam's birthday is coming up. The Rick show was the big present, but she has been adamant about going out. Plans for the Big A to stay with Grammy and Poppy are in place. Fuzzy cellphone pics will be posted if allowed by law.

REMEMBER - ONLY 236 DAYS TO JUNE 1ST!
---J