Thanksgiving in Ohio

 Grateful for lots of walks with Grandma and Grandpa...

Grateful we got to see Elmo and lots of other characters decked out for Christmas.

 Grateful for lots of being read to before bedtime.

 Grateful for lots of time playing with Adelaide's cousins and my cousins' kids.

Grateful for mostly nice weather. :)

and grateful for celebrating Christmas with all the cousins together!

Happy Veteran's Day (a little late)

 People in the community purchased over 4,000 flags to place in downtown Simpsonville at the Veterans Memorial. We unfortunately weren't able to attend the service because it was at naptime but we went after and are grateful for all of those who have served our country! 

Fall Fun

 Even though we have had fabulous weather this fall, we were still able to build our first fire in our house. We all loved it, even Maui.

 We went for a hike last weekend... we didn't quite make it to the waterfall, but it was still a good time and Adelaide walked most of it and did a great job.

One Trick and a Couple Treats

 We attempted to go to boo at the zoo on Friday night, but we were tricked. Too long of lines and too much traffic means we wouldn't have been able to get in by the time they closed! 

 However, we were able to be treated at the Ice Cream Station. 

 Then on Saturday night we went to the Runway Cafe in Greenville... very cool! They happen to be having some sort of World War II event so we got to see some cool planes take off and land very close!

The Weekend

 Most weekends Serge works, but the great thing about us living near by is that now we can go visit him more often. Adelaide loves going to the Ice Cream Station mainly because she gets to play with balloons when she's there. 

 We tried to fly a kite this weekend, but the wind wasn't consistent enough for it to take off. 

And below is a picture of Adelaide's new face... she makes it all the time, it's hilarious.

Those two days when we were cold...

 We've had a fabulous fall which is great for the Ice Cream Station! However, on one of the coldest days so far this fall, we went swimming for Darlene's birthday(Oct 7)! Even the kiddos! However, I should inform you that the water was 89 degrees that day. Who knew having a power plant on the lake could be such a wonderful thing!? =) The plant uses the water to cool off whatever inside and out comes wonderful warm water. But then eventually we had to get out of the water... and that was miserable! 

 On the next cold day I bundled her up and we stayed inside all day... just kidding, Adelaide could never stay inside all day, no matter how cold. But here she is playing with my phone, her favorite toy, so if you ever get phone calls or texts at odd hours, it's not me. =)

 It's become increasingly difficult to get pictures of her these days. As soon as she sees the camera she walks right up to the lens! 

 a little apple to soothe those teeth =)

Fall = Pumpkins & Apples

 One of the churches here in Simpsonville, Holy Cross Episcopal, does a "pumpkin patch" every year in downtown Simpsonville, a stone's throw-away from the Ice Cream Station. They sell 2.5 semi loads each year and all the proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity. For the past two years we've had the opportunity of partnering with them so every pumpkin sold comes with a coupon to ICS and that money off also goes to Habitat. This year Adelaide got to have fun touching all the pumpkins and picking out some of the mini ones.

 They provide wagons too!

 We also went apple picking, although I have no pictures of apples. =) Adelaide's favorite part was the apple cider slushy, yum yum! 

 She loves the camera! But who on earth is that lady in the background in BOTH of these pictures!? Next time, I'll ask her to move. 

Chilly Fall Mornings

 Our mornings have gotten so cool that we bundle Adelaide up now for our morning walks. This particular morning we were walking around City Park and Serge and I laughed at how southernized we've become... it was probably mid 60s but felt very chilly to us and we had Adelaide all bundled up. =) In these first two pictures she is talking to a squirrel, trying to get it to come over.

She is fascinated by everything falling on the ground right now: leaves, acorns, other random stuff that I don't know what it is... if only we could stop it all from going in the mouth!