Pumpkin Carvers

Look at the view from our back window! The leaves here are changing and everything is so beautiful.

Last night we had so much fun carving our pumpkins! From my radio win, I got a gift certificate to a Halloween store, so we got this fun pumpkin carving kit with all the tools, etc. I must say, it worked much better than regular knives and spoons for cutting and scooping!

Camden had fun sticking his hand in the pumpkin and feeling the slimy inside. He also liked trying to put all the different tops on each pumpkin.

The finished product! Calvin's is on the left, mine's the middle, and Camden's (also carved by Calvin) is on the right. I hope they last until Saturday!

Perfect Fall Getaway

On Tuesday, we decided to take a fun, spontaneous road trip! Calvin needed some time to clear his head and gear up to finish writing his paper. This week is the Fall break for the law school, so they don't have any classes, but the first year students have to use most of their time completing their writing assignment.

So, at about noon, I headed over to the law school to pick Calvin up. On the way there, I was listening to the radio, and they announced a prize you could call in to win. If you know me, you know I love to win things on the radio! I have won things on the radio at least 10 times. So, I have had a hard time winning things here so far because I don't know the phone numbers for the radio stations, plus I have to dial the area code, and sometimes that doesn't work out. Well, I decided to try and call, and after a few busy signals, I was talking to the announcer and I had won! I won a $50 gift certificate to this Halloween store here in Durham, and a $25 gift certificate to Papa John's. I was so excited!

We then arrived at the law school and picked Calvin up. We came home, ate lunch, and looked at the map and decided where to go. We headed for Roanoke, VA. It was a beautiful drive, off the main freeways, and through the country. We loved being able to get out of the trees and see into the distance.

As we got in to Roanoke, we stopped for a treat at Krispy Kreme (started right here in North Carolina)! We had some really good, halloween-themed donuts-pumpkin spice, halloween sprinkles, and a pumpkin shaped donut frosted with a jack-o-lantern face. Yum!

Then it was on to our hotel for the night. We had fun watching Aladdin on tv with Camden before bed time. In the morning, we headed out to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was so beautiful! We saw a couple of deer and a lot of pretty trees! It was so neat to be on top of the mountain and look out over the valleys. We marveled at the beauty of God's creations. Here are some pictures from our drive! It was a perfect Fall getaway.

Here is a cute little store we stopped at on the way home to buy some pumpkins! It was such a fun trip!

October Weekend

We had a fun weekend! On Friday, we drove to Garner (about 45 minutes away) and went to this fun corn maze. Throughout the maze, you had to look for 12 punch stations in 3 different sections of the maze which corresponded with a card you carried with you to obtain the letters to spell Ken's Corn Maze. If you know me, you know I'm not the most patient person. At one point, we came to the next section of the maze but we were still missing a punch from the last word. Camden was getting a little whiny, so I said, come on, let's just skip that one. But of course, Calvin said, come on Ash, if we came to do this, we're going to do it right. So we backtracked and found the missing letter. In the end, I'm glad we didn't come out of the maze one letter short! After the maze, Camden had fun playing on this monster truck. They also had a cute tractor just like this truck.

On Saturday, we walked all around the mall looking for some new shoes for Calvin with no success. We then drove up to Burlington (about 30 minutes from here) and went to their factory stores. Again, no success. We did find this cute Sunday outfit for Camden for quite a steal! We also enjoyed lunch at Steak & Shake, yum!

On Saturday night, we went to a dollar (and a half) theater in Raleigh to see Up! It was really good! Camden did so good throughout the whole show, we stayed in our seats the whole time!

Overall, we had a very fun weekend! Now wish Calvin luck with his paper this week! Hopefully he'll get done before the end of the week and we'll have some time to enjoy his Fall break!

Fun Fall Activities

Fall is here! We are definitely enjoying the cooler weather and getting excited to see the beautiful fall leaves. Last night we went to Calvin's last softball game. I tried to keep Camden out of the mud and puddles, but it was a losing battle, so I gave in and let him have some fun. He absolutely loved it!

Last week Calvin took us out to Wrightsville beach. He got out of class early, so we headed east! We had so much fun playing in the sand and the water. It was such a nice day! Camden loved his shovel and bucket. We also found a couple of sand toys that had been buried and forgotten. They'll be fun next time! After the beach we headed to Five Guys for some amazing burgers and fries. Yum!

On Monday for Family Night Calvin made this amazing cake! It was inspired by some recipies, but ultimately, it was his own creation. It included marshmallows, carmel topping, chocolate chips, toffee bits, pecans, and more. It was so good!

We really enjoyed conference over the weekend. Calvin is getting ready to write a big paper (memo) which will finish up his legal writing class until next semester. He has all of next week to work on it before it's due. Wish him luck! Camden and I are just having fun walking in the mornings, going to play groups, and taking care of things at home and with work! We hope you're all having a nice Fall too!