We needed a Marino visit

This past weekend we were incredibly lucky to have Amanda and Matt Marino come visit. Amanda lived with us for a while in Falls Church and is one of our favorite people on earth. It has been far too long since we had seen her. We were lucky her brother Matt could come too. We felt like we knew each other thanks to FaceTime. We all soaked up their conversation, laughter and love. Complete with a soul searching hike (Matt actually feel asleep on the Summit), delicious dinner, fire, and brunch. We can't wait until they get to visit again.

Waiting forAmanda to come and enjoying a beautiful afternoon at Government Island and then the High school football game where Boyd just played football with his friends (sadly, no pictures)

View from a lookout point.

I made up a story about this one. I told Boyd a person had to hold the rock up until another person came along  and took the burden. He totally believed me and asked, "Was it heavy? What if you were the last person?"

Boyd sandwich with two Marino's. 

He was stuck to Amanda like glue for all kinds of snuggles.

Chilling by the fire.

Before they left we had to play a few rounds of Pie in the Face.

Sunday afternoon we went to Braehead Farm. The farm shows how much Boyd has grown. Not quite as much fun for an almost 8 verses newly 5 year old, but the pumpkin painting was a hit and he did a great job, He has been loving art this year and said maybe he'll be an artist.

At the Summit. We made it! Post lunch at the top, even though it was 10 in the morning.

Overlook.

Halloween costume preview.

Family is everything

Sunday I ran the Chicago Marathon. It was wonderful to be back in the midwest for a few days and my cheering squad of mom, dad, Aunt Jill, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Chris sure made a girl feel loved. While I was gone, Adam, Boyd and Grandpa Burla held down the fort inVirginia.Boyd had off from school Monday so I flew standby to get home earlier and enjoy a perfect fall day at Belvedere Plantation for their fall festival. It exceeded our expectations and we spent four hours there.  It was a wonderful day.                                                                                         

This is the face of a boy who doesn't want you to leave on a work trip.

The Chicago marathon cheering squad.

Waiting for the Pig races on the farm.

Boyd was chosen as a pig ring leader. We were cheering for the pig that was marked with red to match our flag.

Our pig took second or third so Boyd won a pig tail.

Zip line

Hoops. This was quite the sight. There was also a kickball and since the other boys were trying to kick the ball into the hoop he thought he should try too. Fearful for all our lives I told Boyd he could do the kicking attempt once...he sunk it in one shot.

Kind of like paintball. Somewhere I have another photo I'll need to upload.

Slides with sacks. He ran everywhere including up the super steep hill to the top of the slide.

I lost track of how many times he rode these vehicles around the track.  He loved it!

Carrying our flag in case we got lost in the corn maze.

Proof I was there.

Pig nose to go with his pig tail.

Gramps is always such a good sport. 

Pig on the way to our car. Always in character.

I let Grandpa go up with Boyd to get ready for bed. They were quiet for a while and when I came upstairs I saw this. Reading for twenty minutes together in bed before bed was part of their routine while I was gone. I love it!

Coolest thing ever. Giant corn pit. You could jump, dive, wrestle, dig, burry, and so forth. So much space and a blast. I wish we had one for the yard. It was at least a foot deep.

Throwing footballs.

Oh yeah. I buried Boyd. The only issue was occasionally someone would walk by and accidentally step on a hand or foot.

This is what happened when you attempted a headstand.

Cool kids

Pie in the Face

 Well, you just never know what adventures and fun will occur around here. Last night we went to get a gift for a friend who had broken his arm. Since he has brothers, we thought an additional family gift would be nice to help everyone smile. When we arrived the older brother peaked into the bag and politely said, thank you and that was thoughtful, but we already have that game. Boyd was relieved to see his friend doing better (it was all he talked about last night and as soon as he got off the bus he asked to go see him). Boyd had sent him a very funny message that helped provide some much needed smiles for their family as they were in the hospital the night before. The gift for the friend with the broken arm was a nerf gun he could operate with just one hand so he doesn't miss out on any of the neighborhood nerf fun. Since Boyd had been so empathetic (which is something that I have been trying to teach him for years) I allowed him to keep the game. We gave it a try and oh boy was it hilarious. We had to call our neighbors over to play for a few minutes at 7:45 just to share the joy. This game is coming with us to Thanksgiving and I recommend picking it up if you need some laughter and love. Pie in the face.

The anticipation of the possible outcome.

Preparing for the possibility or channeling inner zen?

Boyd seemed to get pied more than anyone else. Given his sensory issues I was so proud of his for playing and continuing to play this game, He didn't want to stop. His always seemed to land right smack in the middle of his forehead like a unicorn.

Probably even more fun for the audience. I love Boyd's face as I get pied.

Post first pie.

So much fun.

Fuse bead creation he came up with all his own. Brings back memories for me as a kid and summers with the Colorado family. Thanks to great neighbors for this fun on a half day of school.

Always hard to see this stinker go off to school. Love him.

Little bookworm and pretzel.

Experimenting with different ways to lose a tooth. wrapping it with floss.

More reading. Yesterday I caught him reading while at the dinner table with us. This was less secretive. Boy after my own heart.

The tooth finally came out at Jersey Mikes. The whole staff was excited. Almost reverse vampire but not the canines. It was a short stint between losing the two teeth. The other one came out at school right before the bus at the end of the day. His teacher had teased him that she didn't want to deal with teeth that day. 

Sometimes there are no words, just giggles.

Growing up