11-1, George Washington's Birthplace

We just couldn't let mom and dad go.....so we went with them! We followed each other down to Virginia to Pope's Creek Plantation where George Washington was born. It was so beautiful there! Sven asked if we could buy that property overlooking the Potomac River....but the ranger laughed at us. =) We learned that George Washington spent the first three years of his life at this plantation. He never really considered it home but rather his brother's property instead. Mount Vernon (closer to DC) is where he considered home....that'll be another road trip another day. It was a beautiful, beautiful day in an amazing setting. But, the day did end eventually (at dark and after dinner in mom and dad's motorhome at a neighboring campground....) and we finally had to say goodbye to mom and dad. Boy oh boy are we going to miss them. =( (THAT is an understatement!! Thanks, mom and dad, for making the long drive out to visit us. It means a lot to us and we're hoping you enjoyed yourself and will come back next year!!).

This is the house that is on the property. It is not the original house; it is a replica of a house of the era. It was built in 1930-31 and supposedly modeled after the house at Mount Vernon. The original house that George Washington was born in burned down in 1779 and was never rebuilt. The house that was rebuilt on the property (as shown in the photos) was thought to be built where the original house once stood. However, the foundation with charred remenants was later discovered nearby. Original or not, this is a beautiful house.

I didn't realize that the reason the kitchens were built as separate buildings in those days was because of the risk of fire-- it was easier to rebuild just a kitchen rather than the entire house. Ironic since the original house burned down in a fire yet the kitchen still stands..... separately.

This is the view of the original house foundation and its proximity to the house that was constructed in the 1930s. You can see the original foundation in the foreground.

This is the view from the front of the "new" house. Is that beautiful or what? Just imagine merchant ships going by back in the day. Wow.

The foliage and garden grounds were beautiful. Very, very peaceful.

I'm quite proud of this portrait...... what a cute couple. =)

Cute, but in a completely different way.... hee hee.....we heard some strange, little noises coming from behind the fences surrounding the barns. We peeked over and saw these cute little piglets running towards us. We watched them for quite some time....as they ran around the corral, squeezed under the fence, ran around loose, back under the fence and back into the corral. It was hilarious!!

10-31, Halloween

Not too bad for a "timer shot" =). Nikolas and I enjoyed carving our pumpkins together that we had chosen from his field trip to the petting farm. Nikolas was a GREAT helping digging out the seeds. And when grandpa came over that afternoon, Nikolas enlisted his help with that task!

Halloween was a fun, special day for us. Sven took the day off of work and we convinced grandma and grandpa to stay an extra day to share in the festivities with us. The day began with a "character parade" at school. The theme of the parade was to dress up as your favorite book character or word. Time and costumes were slim, so Nikolas' new favorite book character was Davy Crockett. =) Hey-- why not? Who else has a coon skin hat?!

Nikolas' teacher and nice friends from school.

and who's that wearing Davy's hat?

After the parade, we were able to spend a little time in the classroom with Nikolas. It was nice being able to show grandma and grandpa Nikolas' school, classroom and the unique "pod" style set-up (the classrooms within a grade level are divided not by walls but cubicle walls).

The trick-or-treating portion of the evening was CRAZY! Having never experienced trick-or-treating on post, it was definitely unlike any other trick-or-treating we'd seen. After the first few minutes we had the revelation...."if everyone has kids and is TAKING them trick-or-treating....WHO is at home giving candy away?!". We soon learned that the pros at this sent one parent out and one stayed home giving away the candy. So, THAT is how it's done. =) There were kids EVERYWHERE. Nikolas sprinted through the neighborhoods with various friends while us old folks did our best to keep up and make sure we returned home with the right Star Wars Storm Trooper. =) Seriously-- put those masks on and you'd never know who was who!

Some of our neighbors REALLY get into Halloween.....

(These are TWO different houses...... I wonder who won the house-decorating contest!)

Much to our surprise Nikolas announced that he was "done trick-or-treating"about 8, so we sat outside and handed out candy to the later crowd. It was really nice to see so many people, of all ages, out and about and enjoying the evening. What was even nicer was to see the post police patrolling on foot and making sure everything was on the up and up. Pretty cool way to celebrate the holiday. Thanks for staying that extra day, mom and dad! It wouldn't have been the same without you here. You know we have certain expectations for next year, don't you? =) We've got a tradition started here!

10-26, Baltimore

As the month of October began to wind down, we realized the things we had yet to show mom and dad before their visit was over. We decided to spend this beautiful Sunday showing them Baltimore. The boys toured the submarine (the name slips my mind....) and mom and I went to Barnes and Nobles for a Starbucks. We were on the hunt for the Canadian magazine "Maclean's". Kelly (Thad's girlfriend) was featured in an article in it (promoting her book "Soup in the City") and we were trying to get our hands on a hard copy of it. Unfortunately, B&N doesn't carry it so that venture wasn't too successful. Anyway, after a yummy lunch and a quick stop to view the BWI airport from our favorite trail's vantage point, we went back to the motorhome so Nikolas could partake in his favorite activity--- roasting marshmallows.

10-25, Germany brought to MD

We were surprised to realize that Sven has never made my parents an authentic German meal. Sven spent the afternoon in the kitchen and emerged with a wonderful meal of knudel, blaukraut and roasted chicken. Mom and dad seemed to like it.....and Nikolas and I loved it! Thanks, Sven!

10-24, Thad at Dulles

We had a special family day. Nikolas got to skip school and we all headed (ok, except poor Sven.... he couldn't miss work that day) to DC to have lunch with Thad during his layover at Dulles. It's pretty rare when mom, dad, Thad and I all get to be together.....especially on this side of the country! Aside from the long day of driving (I don't know how commuters do it....), it was a nice visit. We had lunch at IHOP to satisfy dad's love of breakfast and Thad's messed-up internal clock (breakfast? lunch? dinner? whatever!). Short and sweet, but great none-the-less!

Didn't Nikolas take a nice picture of us?!?

10-22, Sven's Birthday

Sven turned the big 35 this year. And like every other year since we've been married and he's been home (which sad to say, has not been many in our 11 years together), I made him his favorite cake-- mom's recipe for my dad's favorite chocolate cake with white icing. But unlike most years, we had company to help celebrate. My parents were here and Nikolas and mom did a great job (and had fun, too) decorating the house. And just before dinner was on the table, we got an unexpected phone call from a friend who needed us to watch their little boy while they rushed their younger child to the ER. (Thankfully, after 2 weeks the little boy is finally doing much better.) We set the table for one more and had their little boy with us for the evening. The more the merrier, right? And of course, the louder the birthday song. =) And to top it all off, Sven FINALLY got his Steelers jersey that he has wanted for SO LONG!

10-18, Battle Reenactment

The east coast sure is different than the west! There is so much history to take in here. We went to the reenactment of the Battle of Berryville in Middletown, VA. We got up early, drove far and just about froze during the crisp fall weather, but it was a great day. Watching history come to life was amazing-- so was the time, energy and detail the reenactors put into re-creating life and war during the Civil War era.