I wouldn't exactly call it the "First Snow," but we definitely saw the first flurries this morning. It snowed --- pretty good-sized flakes --- for a couple of hours, but of course, it's not cold enough to stick around. Hard to believe that autumn is nearly over and winter is close behind. What an interesting sight to see the snow falling against the backdrop of red, yellow, and orange leaves falling!
Living in Ohio does have its benefits... we have a real FALL --- Real maple trees, real leaves changing colors and falling to the ground, real cool, brisk weather, real pumpkin patches and apple orchards, real sweaters and jackets, real farmer's markets... Living in Houston and Louisiana never provided the type of autumn excursions that we've had up here.
This weekend we visited the pumpkin patch at Freeman's Farm.
When we arrived at the patch, a friend of ours gave Dylan a bag of animal crackers. He took a bite of the first cookie and a bee landed on his cracker. Somehow in the process of getting the bee off the cracker, the bee stung him on his bottom lip. Immediately, it started to swell, and it got really tight. The first few pictures taken at the pumpkin patch didn't go over so well. Check out the size of Dylan's lip... and this was before it got really big! (Sanders Fam... think Submarine tour guide at Pearl Harbor, circa 1992) He didn't know what to make of the whole thing (it was his first bee sting), but he was a good sport. 
Evidently bee stings must happen often because when I asked the lady in the market for a bag of ice, she gave me an entire bee sting kit. Whatever was in that thing worked... the swollen lip quickly went back to normal, and Dylan went right back to being Dylan. 
He chose two large pumpkins to take home, but found it more exciting to push them around in the little wheelbarrow.
Brooklyn, on the other hand, had a much less dramatic day. She hung out with everyone --- all bundled up --- and enjoyed the hayride and hot dog roast. I think her favorite part was snuggling up with her Daddy all day.
For those of you who have asked about our family in Hawaii... they are okay!! They definitely got quite a shake yesterday morning, but everything seems to be fine. I haven't heard from all of them, but those we've been in contact with seem to have been spared any damage.
For those of you who don't know... my mother is originally from Hawaii, and most of her family still live there on the island of Oahu which was about 100 miles or so from the epicenter.
We are just grateful to God that they are all safe!
Brooklyn celebrates her 6 month birthday today, and as she does every month, she indulged me by posing with Bossier the Bear and smiling as big as she could... For the past couple of weeks, she has been going through her biggest growth spurt yet. Hawaii agreed with her very much as she put on a little weight while we were there. For her, that's a great thing! She is still very "petite" or as this man at church says "She's little miss itsy bitsy!"
She's a pretty happy baby most of the time... she loves to smile and laugh, and she has discovered that she can have a lot of fun in her exersaucer --- now that her feet can reach the bottom.
She has two teeth now (they broke through around 5 months) and more working their way in... that means that there is lots of drool and gnawing on the fingers taking place!
It's full-blown fall around here --- temperatures are very cool and varying greatly from day to day. Unfortunately, since she is so tiny that means she'll never wear most of the cute little spring/summer clothes she was given when she was born.
While we were in Hawaii, Grandma and Aunty Gwen bought the kids some "Aloha" shirts and some fun clothes... the outfit Brooks is wearing in these pictures is the one they gave her. While it seemed a little out of place in Hawaii, it's perfect for fall in Ohio. Thank you Grandma and Aunty Gwen!! (And by the way, Dylan loves his orange jacket... wears it everywhere!!)
The annual Open House at the Worthington Fire Department made Dylan's day today! He climbed all over the fire trucks and medic trucks, and even did the junior firefighter obstacle coarse where he shot water from the firehose. He rang the bell of Engine 102, and we learned that Engine 102 made the long trip down to Louisiana during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to help out with relief efforts... small world, huh?!?
