Happy Halloween

Fire in the sky

This was our sunset last night. Absolutely gorgeous. The whole sky looked like it was on fire.

Apple picking

There are apple orchards aplenty here in Central Virginia. Over the weekend, we ventured out with some friends to a nearby orchard. It was a hot day for apple picking (over 80*F), but it's hard to complain too much, especially when the orchard is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains!

Part of the B family!

C and the B girls picking some apples. These little girls were too cute!

Don't they look delicious?

A sure sign of fall

Husband's first time apple picking

Husband and his new friend M (if you look closely, you can see they are holding hands!)

I'm a pro apple picker!

J and R, (who is probably running in this picture. Kids have BOUNDLESS energy!)

Part of of the Blue Ridge Mountains

Richmond, VA

Recently Husband had some military business that had to be taken care of in Richmond. I tagged along for fun. We stopped at the Virginia War Memorial and Maymont Park. The Memorial is very moving. It lists all the Virginians who have given their lives serving our country from World War II through the ongoing war in Afghanistan. It was sobering to see all those names, and realize that they were from one State! My eyes filled with tears and my heart filled with gratitude as I read the names of the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of freedom.

Part of the Memorial

Downtown Richmond (from the Memorial)

After the Memorial, we went to Maymont Park. What a fantastic place! They have a small aquarium with fish, turtles, eels (nasty, ugly creatures!), blue crabs, and river otters. We had a great time watching the otters swim. Husband enjoyed "playing" with a blue crab: the crab's claw would follow his finger as he moved it along the glass!

The park also has a petting zoo/farm animal area and a wildlife exhibit. The wildlife exhibit had deer, a bear, a fox, a bobcat, and birds of prey. 

Peeping Tom...I mean Mantis

Husband came home from church yesterday to find this on the outside of our living room window. This is the third year in a row that a solitary praying mantis has shown up at our house. Just last week we were talking about how we haven't had our annual visit yet. I'm not sure what draws them to our place each year, but I am still convinced that they are trying to find a way to eat me.  I think this one was going for the sneak attack because it was on the window and not the door like the previous two were. They are getting smarter. I better watch my back!

Dinner Diasters (yes, plural)

I decided to try a new recipe tonight. It did not go well. The recipe sounded delicious and was easy enough to make. However, when it came time to eat it, it was apparent that the amount of onion in the recipe needed to be drastically reduced. We're talking eye-watering onion here, folks. Husband woke up with a slight cold this morning, and after one bite of dinner he stated that his sinuses had cleared! He wasn't joking. Tossing that dinner in the trash, with the determination to try it again in a few weeks (with less onion), we decided to pop a frozen pizza in the oven. After the suggested cooking time, the pizza crust was still slightly doughy. I had already turned off the oven, but we put the pizza back in, figuring that the heat in the oven would cook the dough. We set a timer and sat down to watch some TV. A couple of minutes later, Husband exclaimed "I smell burning!" I smelled the burning as well, and we both sprinted to the kitchen where our pizza was now a blackened mess. It turns out that I did not turn the oven OFF, but had, in fact, turned the oven to broil. Oops! After opening every window in the house--and praying that the smoke detector would stay silent--I scrounged around for something suitable for dinner. Since it was 8:00pm and Husband had banned me from cooking anything else, I pulled out the peanut butter and jelly. Thankfully, my third attempt at dinner went off without a hitch! 

Bottom Creek Gorge

With the end of summer looming (boo!), Husband and I decided to go explore nature. We headed out to Bottom Creek Gorge to hike to a waterfall (hiking to waterfalls seems to be our thing here in Virginia). It was a perfect day weather-wise with the temperature around 75*F (about 25*C), and we enjoyed a fairly easy hike as the trail wound its way through trees and meadows. If you ever find yourself near Bent Mountain, Virginia, check this place out. It's a little hard to find and out of the way, but I think it's worth the effort.