Circleville Pumpkin Festival 2010

Disclaimer: This post was initially published rather late, partly from procrastination, and partly from vanity, since it seems like everyone else Mom knew went to this event, too, and posted about it. :)

October 2010 was quite a month for grandparent visits: both sets came, and their visits overlapped. During the time all the grandparents were here, we took a Saturday outing down to the Circleville Pumpkin festival. However, despite the preceding advertisement about two sets of grandparents, only one set made it to the pictures. The Muffin clan was so large that day that we took two vehicles, and Mom and the camera went with Grandmother and Grandfather.

It was a very popular festival, we could tell from the start, as we found a parking place a few blocks away. Grandma and Grandpa had gone to the festival years before, which is why we decided to make the pilgrimage this year.

On the walk, Mom had fun checking out the architecture. Castle, anyone?

And now, a confession: Mom didn't take any pumpkin pictures at the festival. Too many other people in line trying to get shots of the prize pumpkins. However, Mom did get pictures of kids on rides. Dad and Amanda went on this one:

Grandmother kept Curtis happy while Dad and Amanda were riding. Jared, meanwhile, was on a giant slide (not pictured).

Jared also got to go on a little helicopter ride, which he enjoyed immensely. Meanwhile, Mom went with Amanda on the Ferris wheel, to Amanda's delight and Mom's chagrin. Too bad Mom didn't remember until after the fact that Grandmother is a Ferris wheel fan. No pictures, but Grandfather did get lots of video.

After the festival, Mom took pictures of some fun pumpkin carriages she'd seen in someone's yard. So, there you have it: pumpkins in Circleville, albeit not at the festival. :)


Back in the car. Mom got to ride in the backseat with these two cuties, Curtis and Lydia. Note the free balloon Curtis got from the festival. It brought him much joy, especially with no older siblings in the car to snatch it from him.

We decided on the way back that we were VERY glad to have made our festival visit in the morning.

Mom's group got in a little extra fun: we stopped at Renick's, a family farmers market/pumpkin patch. It was fairly busy, but not as busy as the festival had been. Plus, it had a slide that Curtis could ride all he wanted for free.

Some things at the market: Indian corn (top) and assorted pumpkins/gourds (bottom). Grandmother and Grandfather picked up some mini pumpkins for Halloween decorations for us, and we also got a loaf of bread with cheese baked in for a snack on the way home. Despite its yummy-ness, we even managed to save a little for the folks in the other group.


However, all pumpkin fun considered, one of the best parts of the day in Mom's opinion was watching Dad play with the Muffins at home.

Travels with Grandparents

The world is full of advertisements for all the big, fancy, impressive, expensive places people "need" to go to have fun. However, it doesn't cost anything other than gas and perhaps snack money to have a semi-exotic little adventure away from the usual routine. That's what it's like for Mom and the Muffins when Grandmother and Grandfather come to town. Now, we do occasionally end up at an official Destination, but for the most part, the adventure is about spending time together and seeing new things. Thanks to digital cameras, we can even share what we've seen. And so, dear readers, if readers there be, stay tuned for a post or two concerning adventures with grandparents, some recent and others a bit less recent.

Waffle Wednesday, weird version

A month or so ago, Mom dug up the waffle iron after some 5+ years since its last use. It still worked just fine, and so our new Waffle Wednesday tradition began: Waffles for brunch, maybe some friends over to share them, and a general good time with good food for all. And then we got to this Waffle Wednesday: plenty of waffles (good ones, too), but not much eating.

It all started when Jared began throwing up, a lot. Knowing that we might have to cancel our company, Mom decided to whip up some waffles earlier than usual in case Dad wanted to grab one on his way out the door. When the waffles were served, Jared didn't want one, Amanda only ate a couple of bites, and Curtis decided to shred his. Lydia got in a few crumbs gumming one, and Dad did indeed grab one, but needless to say there were more than enough left over for Mom.

The plot thickened later in the morning when we found a probable cause for Amanda's aversion to food: She has her first loose tooth! She's been feeling left out as her classmates have been losing teeth, and so she is very excited and has spent most of the morning wiggling it. Any bets on whether it will still be in her mouth or not by the time school's out today?

Fun coincidence in tooth trivia: Amanda's loose tooth is the same one as Lydia's second tooth coming in right now. In other news, Lydia can sit alone for short periods of time.

Teeth . . . we all have them

. . . and this is news because for the last six months or so, we have had a toothless Muffin in our midst. But no more! Lydia now has her first tooth broken through.

Thank you note to Santa for Christmas 2010

Dear Santa,
Sorry this letter is a bit late; I meant to send it off a couple of months ago, but I'm sure you understand how busy life gets in a house full of small children. I really must thank you, though, for the wonderful Christmas this past year. As you probably know, we've tried hard to downplay the Santa mystique in our family, not from any inherent Scroogieness or Grinchiness on our part, but just to avoid any potentially unpleasant discussions with our kids in a few years. And yet, this year we have you to thank for Christmas.

I'm not sure if you remember us; just to jog your memory, the kids and I came to see you a few days before Christmas. You may remember my little Curtis, the brave toddler who climbed up on your lap with no help from Mom.




There was also one more child, baby Lydia, who stayed home with her dad. But you remembered her, too! We started out the season with our little tree, the one my parents gave me back when I was little.


Then we got the gifts from the grandparent Santas (thanks for putting in a good word to them!).


We were so surprised, though, to find that you weren't finished yet. By the time Christmas morning came, we had stuffed stockings (including the stocking you brought for Lydia, her very first stocking ever) . . .


. . . and we had an overflowing treeful of presents, too! The kids were delighted. I felt so loved every time one of your elves stopped by. Dad was amazed that we should have such a Christmas, especially when he knew we certainly hadn't done any Christmas shopping.

Little Curtis dove right in and started passing out gifts.

We were all so pleased and so thankful for the things you brought, and most especially for the love that went into the gifts, from boots for the kids to gas for the car, and all sorts of amazing fun and practical gifts in between. I would write out a list of it all, but I know you know what you sent, and what I really want to do is just thank you again and again on behalf of us all for all you did for us this year.

Love,
Muffin Mom

p.s. Here's a picture of Dad spending Christmas with us; we were glad to have time with him. Oh, and thanks again for the boots, coat, and watch for me; my winter has been so much nicer!