11-1, Saying Goodbye

.....and then before we knew it, the month was over and it was time to say goodbye. Hardly seems fair! We just wish we didn't live so far away and that these visits could be more often. As has become custom, we drove with mom and dad aways for one last bit of time together. This time we went to Frederick, MD. The hope was to go to Harpers Ferry, but we awoke to rain, rain, cold rain. We decided a nice lunch together would suffice. Nikolas and I rode with mom and dad and Sven led the way in our car.

Nikolas is excited for a ride in the motorhome. I can't believe I've never been for a ride in this motorhome!

....and we're off!

Nikolas enjoyed himself so much that he put his Nintendo away and just 'relaxed'.

Killing time before lunch waiting for the restaurant to open, we found a great little store called One of a Kind. It had the most unique things. Nikolas enjoyed trying on this hat.

Sven and mom didn't miss out on the fun.... (and I bought a cute hat, myself!).

Lunch, some browsing and then it was time for one last stop before saying goodbye.... Starbucks. Nikolas was inspired to draw from the visit we made to a gallery earlier in the afternoon.

And, sadly, our last group photo commemorating mom and dad's month-long stay with us. Boy, are we going to miss them!! Come visit again soon!!!! We love you!!

10-31, Happy Halloween!!

Another Halloween come and gone. Can you believe it? Soon I'll be saying that about Christmas. Anyway, we had a good Halloween. As usual, low-key, but I think Nikolas enjoyed himself. He was Snake Eyes (GI Joe) this year.

Ooohhh..... scary!

Nikolas and some friends from the neighborhood. (Funny how there's not much difference from one front porch to the next, huh? Yeah-- our neighborhood is like that.....everything's the same, same, same.)

After half an hour of trick-or-treating, Nikolas surprised us. He said, "No, I'm done. That's all the candy I need." We had to pick up our jaws and walk home-- we were dumbfounded! It was for the best though, as Nikolas had done both mom and dad in with rough playing during the week and I think they were eager to sit down! Nikolas is a great candy distributor. I think he had as much fun giving out candy as he did receiving it.

This picture cracks me up... talk about 'Snake Eyes'.... if you zoom in closer his eyes have a weird glow!!!!

Another de ja vu from last year. We like this tradition of having grandma and grandpa here with us for Halloween!

Nikolas and his best buddies, Danny and Samuel.

10-27, Carving Pumpkins

We had a good time carving our pumpkins this year. Nikolas was hard core! You should have seen him go at his pumpkin. Dad played photographer and I think enjoyed capturing these moments of craziness.

Ew.... the goo....!!

It looks like Nikolas has his hand on his bottom...but he doesn't! (And, don't laugh at my cow apron.... it's saved many a shirt!!)

A family affair....

Now which is more scary.

THIS......

or

THIS?!?! =)

10-25, Fort McHenry

October seemed to come to a close rather quickly. There were so many things that we still wanted to show mom and dad, but we'd been rained out too many weekends. This Sunday afternoon, we seized the sunshine and drove to Baltimore to show them Fort McHenry. We had come here last Christmas and showed it to Sven's mom and knew my parents would like it as well. Thankfully, it was significantly warmer this time around and we were able to view it more leisurely. For those of you not familiar with Fort McHenry, a pivotal battle of the Revolutionary War was fought here. It was this battle that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that later became our nation's anthem. It's definitely a place that takes you back in time.

The beautiful fall foliage....

My happy boys under the beautiful fall foliage....

Fort McHenry.... did you know that a 'rampart' is a "wall or embankment raised as protection against attack"? Yeah, neither did I. Now, after seeing Fort McHenry, it adds a whole new (and intended) meaning for "the ramparts red glare"......

During one of the walk-throughs of an officer's quarters, I turned around and saw this scene. Not staged, not planned.....how funny is that? Grandfather and Grandson posed exactly the same .....I wonder what each was thinking as they stared out their respective windows.... 'penny for your thoughts?' (You may think I underexposed this photo, but I think it adds to the dimension of it.)


Baltimore Harbor....

What a great picture of them!

What little boy wouldn't mind posing by a cannon??

10-24, Rascal's Flat

Mom and dad's visit wouldn't have been complete without a major construction project (we set a precedent last year by buidling Nikolas' 'fort'). This year's project-- an outdoor bunny hutch....."Rascal's Flat" (get it? anyone get it?!). We like to think it's the fanciest bunny hutch around-- it is quite a masterpiece! Rascal does seem to be quite smitten with it, and it's been very convenient for us, too. Of course, he's still a 'city bunny' so he'll be spending the nights and cold weather indoors with us. =)

Much to our surprise, Nikolas couldn't wait to get in the cage with Rascal. Here he is coaxing Rascal out .... " Come on, Rascal... you can do it!"

"See! You CAN do it!!"

Happy boy.... happy bunny.

Thanks, dad, for your creativity, handiness, and putting up with my crazy ideas. =)

10-23, Movie Night

Every Friday night is "movie night" at the Krauss house. We make homemade pizza, snuggle up on the couch and watch a family movie together. We didn't want Grandma and Grandpa to miss out on this fun family experience. We moved the couch in from the front room, squished us all in front of the flat screen, got out our tv trays and wala! MOVIE NIGHT! How's that for cheap entertainment?! We like it.... obviously, since we do it week after week!

10-22, Sven's Birthday

We're pretty low-key people. Not a lot of fuss, you know. So, spending Sven's birthday with a relaxing evening by the campfire was just fine with him. I made him his favorite chocolate cake and mom prepared a steak feast. REAL steak...not turkey, not chicken.... BEEF. He was thrilled!

Steelers paraphernalia....what better gift?!! Good choice, Nikolas!

Silly, silly boy.....who else would think of such an idea?? Don't worry-- the look on his face is pure laughter.

Who needs a fancy restaurant?!

No picture of me because I didn't eat steak. =) Look at Nikolas' face though..... a true carnivore, that boy!

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you.....!"

Hope you enjoyed your birthday, Sven!!

10-21, Campfire

The weather was a lot cooler this October than last year. We didn't seem to spend as much time at the campground this time around. We made the most of the days we could, bundled up, and had dinner and marshmallows over at mom and dad's.

It may SEEM like we're on vacation, but homework still needs to be done!


A classic image of mom....always running into the motorhome to grab something!

Don't ask how much marshmallow weight we've put on this month.....

10-18, Day in DC

We saw a lot of DC last year during mom and dad's visit, so we diversified a little more this year. We did spend one afternoon in DC. We took it easy and wandered through the Botanical Gardens (the same venue as the Montana Christmas party in honor of the Bitterroot Tree last year) and the American Indian Museum.

A quite moment spent researching information about the Cherokee lineage in our family at the American Indian Museum (although, dad is researching but I think Nikolas is playing! =).....).

A few more pictures to finish off our day....

10-14, Seeing Thad at Dulles

This day was like de ja vu. Almost to the day as last year and under the same circumstances, Mom, Dad, Nikolas and I drove to Dulles to visit Thad during a layover. We did the classic IHOP brunch. Somehow our family just has a way of getting around, doesn't it?!

10-12, Mom DOES like Rascal!!

For those of you who know my mom, can you believe your eyes?! =) Me either.... I must say I'm quite proud of my mom. Much to my surprise, she adores our little bunny Rascal. Here she is feeding Rascal a carrot...friends for life now!

11-3, October catch-up!

Ok, I've never been this far behind on my blog! It's now November and mom and dad left 2 days ago. I can't believe how quickly the month of October flew by! After months of anticipating my parents' visit, I can't believe it's already over!! We miss them already!! So....now begins the game of photo/blog catch-up..... let me take you on a little journey.....

10-11: C and O Canal and the Great Falls

A beautiful day for a ride on the canal.

A boat that didn't make mom seasick! =)

The picturesque Great Falls.

Is that a hollow tree, I see?!?