Friday

Well Thursday was a mix of weather with temps still rather mild in the upper 50's despite overcast skies and then a light rain and mist for part of the day. We did get outside for a hike, except for Nancy and Amy and drove over in the afternoon for a visit with our "mountain mom", Helen. Ava and Sam had such a great time playing outside despite the damp conditions.

We started the day with the kiddos heading down the stairs around 7 AM. I think Ava was awake earlier and wanted to head down but Sam was still sleeping soundly so she had to wait for him. They slept in the same room. After an abbreviated quiet time we started a breakfast of buckwheat cakes with home grown eggs. Ava optied for oatmeal while Sam ate a whole pancake. Tyler and I took the kiddos for a hike to the top of the mountain and they were great hikers; not one complaint except "when were we going to get to Zeke's house". The views on top were awesome with leaf colors and the clouds and fog laying along the ridges. The kiddos had a fun time with Zeke and he seemed to really enjoy playing with them so much so he followed as we headed back towards the cabin until we saw another gray dog in the distance and then he headed back for his house.

We no sooner got home than it started to rain which lasted for awhile then turned to a drizzle and then finally stopped. We decided to carve pumpkins and the kids had a grand time with their designs. We put candles inside and that made for some scary pumpkins especially after dark when I sat them on the outside porch railing in the dark. We decided to eat a lunch of sandwiches on the bakery bread and I have thus far stayed away from the delicious stuff that clings to my belly like steel to magnet, oh well.

We got ready and headed over to visit Helen and she had a grand time with Sam and Ava. They were in the "fighting the evil monsters" mood as he was bat boy and Ava was bat girl. She got quite a kick out of their imaginations and displays of affection for one another as well as all of their energy after plying them with just one piece of candy. We headed home as the fog settled in. Nancy had made a huge pot of vegetable beef soup and it was smelling up the cabin. So far we have had the heat off and it's been quite pleasant in the cabin despite the damp weather. Tyler took the family on a golf cart ride to the mailbox and then to the top of the mountain as the rain stayed away for a few hours.

Nancy fried up and eggplant for Amy as Tyler and the kids don't like it. I gathered thyme, oregano, basil, arugula and red peppers from the herb patch along with some nasturtium leaves to garnish the fried eggplant, Yeow was that ever delicious. We then settled down to chowing down on that soup. After the clean up the kids ran around in the yards and decks as they continued their plot against the evil lawn mower monster. What imaginations!!!

Well after bath times and home work for the Ava the kiddos they settled into some kid shows while we played a couple rounds of LOGO. That was the first time Amy and Tyler had ever played the game and then we played another first for them a game called Hit or Miss. We had a grand time and I don't know how the kids slept through all of our racket until after 11. Tyler and I tuned into the Red Sox vs the Tigers game and it was a good one with the Sox winning and taking a 3-2 lead in games. It was after midnight before we finally turned the lights out, LATER