Fall Fest 2013

Cas and I celebrated our 10th anniversary on Friday.  Cas was out of town during the day, so as I was explaining the significance of the day, I showed the kids parts of our wedding video.  Collin couldn't figure out how all the cousins he knew looked so different and didn't understand where he was in the video - not even in Mommy's tummy.  I was in tears as the video included family members who have passed away.  It was a very dramatic morning.

 

We were delighted to have Cas home that evening, bringing in dinner from one of my favorite restaurants.  One of my friends, Jill, dreamt that Cas took a group of my friends and their husbands with the two of us on an African safari for our 10th anniversary.  The truth was so far from that - but we're hoping to take a vacation - just the two of us - this summer when Maya is finished nursing.

 

Saturday morning, Grammy came to join us for the fall festival at our neighborhood village.  She brought a hat for our little pumpkin -

At the first booth, Collin "won" vampire teeth even though the rings he tossed didn't hit their target - it's a very lenient festival.  They were his "high" of the day -

At the petting zoo -

My mom wanted to make sure she wasn't intruding on a family outing and I laughed, accurately predicting that if she came, Cas would opt out of the festival and relax at home watching college football.  I was thankful she came, took a lot of our pictures, and gave me a much-needed hand.  My mom and Maya, whose hat and general cuteness encouraged lots of "how adorable's" -  

Beyond the teeth, Collin's other highlight was riding in the fire truck -

This was my favorite photo from last year, when it was time to share the fire truck seat -

On a beautiful autumn day, some photos amidst the pumpkins -

Maya's silent pleading eyes -

And this is where we needed Cas - to get Maya's attention off the grass -

She smiles so easily, we are so blessed by her content nature!

And we compete to see who gives her the most kisses throughout the day - she is one loved girl!

Collin led us to the next area and assured us as we waited in line that he was going to be brave and ride on the saddle like the children before him were doing . . . but as we were next in line, he recanted.  And that's how we ended up with my favorite picture of Fall Fest 2013 -