LILLY LOST!

Last week Lilly's preschool class had a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Lilly and her friends were all playing in the hay maze when I realized I hadn't seen her in a while. I climbed up the steps that overlooked the maze and could not see her. Some of the other moms and I were standing at the entrance/exit, but nobody saw her leave. The Pumpkin Patch was wide and open and she wasn't there, so I started to look at the two tent areas on either side of the maze. She was not there either. By this time I was starting to panic, the other moms had joined the search and were checking the grounds with me. I said a quick little prayer right before making my third or fourth pass of the grounds. I stopped and looked over the side of the outside of the hay maze and through a small hole in one of the hay bales on an inner ring I saw Lilly's face. She was hiding in the maze and told me she was waiting for her friend. Man, that was a horrible feeling!

Minus that incident the field trip was quite fun, we got our pumpkins, and Lilly is loving her preschool class.

Lilly's preschool class

Our sweet little witches

Sisters at the Pumpkin Patch

Panda-monium

For the last few days of our trip we stayed with my grandparents in Potomac, MD. They were great hosts and helped us navigate the metro so that we could spend one morning at the National Zoo.

The animals were cooperative and gave us quite the show for the short time we were there. The cheetah was chasing rabbit meat on a series of wires, the three year old panda was posed right in front of a large window eating a popsicle, the orangutans were all climbing over a series of high ropes called the O-line, and the hippo was swimming and snorting at us. Sophie still recalls our trip with some of her classic two to four word phrases like "zoo...panda...eating...popsicle" or "hippo...swimming."

Just as a side note Ron and I have become big fans of the September/October vacations. Our visits to Yellowstone and various places along the East Coast have been quite pleasant. Light crowds, temperate weather, etc. Plus our trip to Hawaii last year in October was quite reasonable for hotel and air, as far as Hawaii goes. I am afraid with Lilly quickly approaching school days this brilliant travel period may come to an end, but those with some flexibility should definitely check it out.

3 year old panda, Tai Shan, eating his fruit popsicle

Taking a picture of Tai Shan proved to be quite difficult because of the glare coming off of the glass. The one just above was the best I got, but this one is kind of interesting with Soph, the panda, and me taking the picture.

The girls and I in front of the panda store

Ron and the girls with the pygmy hippo (if you look real close you can kind of make out the hippo on the left)

Historic Richmond

Downtown historic Richmond was quite the place. We wandered around with Brad and Dani and my mom while we were there for the wedding. Mostly we checked out the Civil War Monuments (all dedicated to the heroes of the South-of course). Ron really wanted to check out the Confederate White House and museum, but we ran out of time (plus it cost $, and the monuments were free). Plus all the old homes and churches were absolutely beautiful. Watch out Carter and Brandi, we will definitely be back, there is still tons more to see and do in Richmond.

The family in front of the Stonewall Jackson monument

Ron and the girls in front of one of my favorite buildings downtown, if I remember correctly I think it is now a museum dedicated to Richmond architecture.

Our future home

Grandma Mecham and the girls in front of the Robert E. Lee Monument (this ones for you Natalie)

Get Me to the Church on Time

Carter and Brandi's big day was October 18th. They were married in a beautiful historic church in Richmond, Virginia. Afterwards, at the reception, we had one of the most delicious and fancy dinners. The reception was held at an Italian retuarant called Maggio's. I beleive there were four courses with about four different foods per course. Yummy and very filling.


Once we got Lilly out on the dance floor there was no stopping her. She danced and danced through to the end. Sophie, about midway through the reception had had all the party she could take and took quite a significant nap. My parents, grandparents, little brother Brad and his wife Dani, were all able to make it out. It was the first time in a long time that I can remember having us all together.

Sophie tuckered out at the reception

Lilly with Uncle Carter out on the dance floor


Cake cutting time for the bride and groom


My parents, and grandma and grandpa Mecham at the reception

PA and Baltimore

We just got back from a week and a half back East. We started the trip at my parents house in Annville, Pennsylvania. Lilly and Sophie loved going to Hershey's Chocalate World, they especially liked the ride with the singing cows. We got in some good quality time with Grandpa and Grandma and I got caught up with some old friends.


The primary reason for our trip was to go to my brother Carter's wedding in Richmond, Virginia. So after a few days in Annville we started south to Richmond. On the way we decided to stop at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.



We saw the dolphin show and did a quick run through the rest of the aquarium. Lilly loved being at the inner harbor and seeing all the ships so we had lunch afterwards on a balcony overlooking all the ships.


Ron, the girls, and half a fish

Mom, Sophie and Lilly in front of the shark tank. (We tried to get a picture with a shark, but the girls kept running away when the sharks came around.)

Wings in the water tank

Big Sky and Yellowstone

September and October have all been about traveling for us. At the end of September Ron had a conference in Bozeman, Montana. Since it was over his birthday and not too long of a drive we decided to all head north. On the way home we took the scenic route back through Yellowstone.

We saw a few animals and enjoyed the diverse scenery. Lilly kept commenting on how stinky the hot springs were and was concerned that the stink would cling to her and everyone else in the park.

We waited for Old Faithful, which unfortunately is not so faithful anymore, but the girls were definately not impressed, and found the waiting anticlimactic.