The first weekend of October I woke up with a massive cold just in time to miss out on a fun day in Annapolis. Jim and the kids went up for a home game and linked up with lots of friends since it was a reunion weekend at Navy. I, on the other hand sat in the basement under the kotatsu (Japanese heated coffee table) with the pets and slept most of the day. Jim, Lucy, and Ben had a ball!
Seems crazy that it is already senior night for Volleyball, but it is! They still have a few away games left in their season and of course they might make the playoffs, so this won't be Lucy's last high school volleyball game, but it will be the last one we are able to see. Lucy got tons of playing time and she really stepped up! The senior night events were not quite the same as our amazing experiences in Yokota, but it was still a great night.
Senior night for volleyball also coincided with Homecoming! The Mustangs won their football game on Friday night, so Ben was pretty stoked about that. The dance was held the next night and both Lucy and Ben attended. While they had fun with their friends, Jim and I headed over to DC to meet up with some of the Jessen ladies to have a fabulous dinner and catch up in the 2 months since we saw them last.
The following weekend, we drove down to catch the William and Mary Homecoming game with almost all the Wellons family in attendance! It was wonderful to be there on such a beautiful weekend and it gave Lucy a much better idea of how it would be to attend college there. She has started submitting her applications and William and Mary is definitely on the list.
At halftime, Jim and I left to drive over to Dundas to attend his 35th high school reunion! It was held at one of Jim's best friends' home, a beautiful farm/wedding venue with an amazing pumpkin patch! Well calling it a pumpkin patch, doesn't really do it justice, It is more of a destination! The fancy barn and grain bins are truly a sight to see. Afterwards, we headed over to Victoria and met up with the kids who were staying with Jim's parents.
The next morning after breakfast, we threw everyone back in the car and headed back to Falls Church. Ben is desperate to get his 45 hours behind the wheel, so he volunteered to drive the whole way back! It wasn't crowded on I95, so we let him drive. He is doing a great job!
The next week I went to the zoo with two friends of mine from Japan that live nearby. We wanted to check out the pandas before they have to return to China. I am not sure I have ever been to this zoo, but it was a wonderful day weather wise and my friends are always game to do an adventure. Boy were we NOT disappointed. The pandas were of course a big draw, but the other animals/exhibits were equally entertaining.
But the pandas were the star of the day. We jokingly said that it was a zoo worker in a panda suit. He was for sure putting on a show! Every few minutes he would run back to the enclosure to check to see if his coworker was ready for their shift, and after being told no, he would run back out and do some more tricks!
The very next day my sister called me and told me that Mom was on the way to the hospital for a suspected heart attack ... I told her I was on the way! I made it to Swansboro in fairly good time and we spent the following day with her at the hospital trying to get a handle on her condition. Gregg and I made it home in time to wish our father a Happy 83rd Birthday! He was a little irritated that he had spent his birthday alone - even though he was with my cousin and nephew all day. We tried to explain to him that his wife was in the hospital and that her condition trumped his birthday, he wasn't buying it. The cupcake helped to soften his anger. Sorry Dad!
Since I was in Swansboro, I wasn't able to attend Ben's last home regular season game. Jim gave my ticket to one of his friends and they spent the evening cheering on the Mustangs. It wasn't enough for a win, but they sure did have fun!
Busy weekend for Jim, he also ran the USMC Marathon on Sunday morning. For the end of October it sure was hot and humid. So hot in fact, the course was shortened for those runners who didn't get through a certain mile marker by noon. This was a bucket list item for Jim so I am glad he finally got to check it off his list!
Speaking of Jim, his tower garden is still pumping out plenty of produce. I asked Jim what his plans were for the winter. I wasn't sure if we were going to move it to the basement and invest in a grow light. He assures me that will not happen. He had really good luck with greens and herbs. I am interested in seeing if he can crank out some peppers or cherry tomatoes in the spring!
We were told Halloween on our street isn't heavily attended, so I decided to dial back our normal routine. Lucy disagreed with me, so at the 11th hour, we found some lights and picked up the only pumpkins left in Falls Church and did the best we could. We ended up with 4 trick or treaters (so lame). Which is 2 more than we had the last 3 years so we are calling that a HUGE success!
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