We went to the Harvest Festival at Crestfield but this year, Eric went up early to help with the youth group. This was a lesson in money management as he apparently felt the need to spend $9.25 at McDonalds, leaving him $.75 for a chocolate sucker at the festival. When we showed up, he begged for more money indicating that he never had (bought) a drink. What a thirsty boy he must have been that afternoon as he and his friend Johnny tried to scrape up enough change to fund one. We painted pumpkins, went on a hayride, created our own scarecrow and made s'mores..that makes for a festive afternoon!
Then, there was my birthday weekend. After visiting a friend of mine, Jon and I had lettuce wraps at PFChangs. They asked us if we wanted separate checks so we must not have looked like we were really together...haha. Later on, my Mom & Larry came down and we all went out to Ichiban for dinner. This included the 'special birthday' treat...who doesn't want a hip-hop Japanese birthday tune played with disco ball lighting and ice cream that has a sparkler in it presented to them? They know how to make you feel special...lol & of course, at a price. However, us all being together to celebrate with a very yummy dinner is priceless. Saturday, Jon (a.k.a. sniffles) and I headed to PSU Homecoming. Meanwhile, Mom & Larry got to see Jesse SCORE in his hockey game. Also, Eric went on his first overnight backpacking trip. Admittedly, this worried me a bit (especially with Jon not going) but he arrived back safely on Sunday and enjoyed this new adventure.
So, we're almost caught up now....Jesse & I headed to Hershey, PA as a follow-up birthday gift this past weekend. We did the Chocolate Tour a couple of times, met the Sillybandz guy, rode LOTS of rides at Hershey Park in the Dark (starting when it was light until it was getting dark). Jesse tried his (steady) hand at the water races and won TWICE...and then proudly carried his stuffed animal prize winning around the park and on many rides (as his loved companions). We ended our evening with a s'mores and hot chocolate party before heading to Grandma and Grandpas. Thankfully, they are much closer than driving home and we got to spend some time with them too! Grandma made a snackcake cake (shaped like a flower) to surprise Jesse and celebrate his birthday. They had made a long trip out in Nebraska to see dear Addison, their newest, smallest sweet granddaughter (and Adam and Wendi) a few weeks back. It's much quieter without our whole gang (with that including two more boys and two more girl
