That roll saw us through several sets of wonderful houseguests, two brutal colds, several weepy nights - and it's not even two-ply. A recession is no time for a pampered tush.We kicked off October with a trip to Connecticut, Sleepy Hollow and the Hudson Valley with my cousins and their kids. It was a day of apple cider donuts, famous graveyards and no fewer than 4,000 handcarved pumpkins arranged into dinosaurs, beehives, pirate scenes and UFOs. Plus, one utterly terrifying picture of Allison:
Then it was off to Pennsylvania with the Cromars for a fall tour of the Keystone State's finest. Unfortunately, we were a little ahead of the leaves, but we made it to Philadelphia, Valley Forge, Lancaster County, Hershey and Gettysburg in record time. Highlights included the famous Vest hospitality and french toast breakfast, whoopie pie, football in the apple trees, peanut butter M&M's with Leslie, anything involving the adorable Sorensen kiddos and calculating the odds of random events with Cromars.
Lowlights included not getting these pictures off my camera before it was stolen and the restaurant we picked for dinner Saturday night. It was total mom-and-pop operation, so I would feel like the worst person on the planet calling them out on this blog (you know, in case they have their Google Alerts set up) - but know before you go. Seriously, ask me and I will tell you where NOT to eat in Amish Country.
We welcomed the Porter family to the Riley home and somebody must have forgotten to teach this trio about how to negotiate a fair trade. Because in exchange for one pan of butternut squash lasagna, we got a delicious dinner and all the cheesecake our little hearts and tummies could handle, a personal yoga session with my new favorite instructor, wonderful company at the perfect time that did our hearts good and all the snuggles we wanted from this perfect little guy.
Ashley and Heather were the next delightful guests to grace the Riley household with their presence. We didn't see them much, which makes me feel like a sub-par hostess (sorry ladies!) - but WOW! talk about travel stamina. They hit up both NYC and Boston during their trip and saw it ALL. I was asleep when they left for Boston, asleep when they got back to NYC and asleep when they left the next morning for home, if that's any indication. I don't sleep that much - these ladies were go, go, go. I love it and I loved the beautiful pictures from their trip. So much so that I stole one. Or four. All photo credit is due the lovely Ashley Stolworthy.
Somewhere in the mix, we engaged in a new apartment hunt (found it!) and celebrated our anniversary by seeing In The Heights. Since our upcoming vacation is our actual gift to each other, we didn't have anything planned for the 20th. It was fun to decide last minute to, oh, catch a Broadway show. 
(Another photo that deserves Ashley Stolworthy mention... how convenient they saw the same show we did when we are non-iPhone-camera-less!)
Before the calendar could flip from month 10 to 11, Noah's parents and brother came to town for a wonderful week and a trip to Ohio/upstate New York. Stay tuned...
9 comments:
Can you please put my little mind at ease and tell me you found a place within the ward boundries?
You have crushed me. You say you're not breaking up with me but crushing is more damaging.
We went to In The Heights this summer - and it was UH-MAZ-ING. didn't you LOVE it?
I am so envious of all of your fun adventures!
holy cow. i had not read your mugging story yet and just wanted to say that i am glad you are ok. and you handled it like a champ. you are so brave.
and just know that your close proximity to the parade this morning has left me thoroughly dripping with envy. i would PAY someone for some of that ticker tape. and i'm not even joking... i'm completely serious. i just may have given my right arm to be there. so where's the new place? when do you move?
You are so super strong girl. Amazing. I love all your visitors.
i like the amazing roll that could, as well as the fact that you decided not to disclose the mom-and-pop eatery. how very kind of you. sounds like you've had a full month! i've never seen In the Heights; i'm curious how is it?
i love all these updates! you guys are so wonderful about having so many guests. ash and heather were crazy busy! i was so happy they came to boston and suprised, it seemed like they barely had any sleep but they were hardcore! we need to come down to nyc soon to see you guys. post some more pics of your cute new haircut when you get a chance ;)
happy anniversary!!
happy anniversary! australia, right? i only know its your big day because ours is a month later. just like our proposal stories. you probably get this all the time when you post about your steady stream of visitors--people making connections--but i love ashley stolworthy! i assume you knew her from logan. chad and i knew her in salt lake, pre and post china. looks like her photo business is doing well. good luck with the move. sounds like a move is in order after your ordeal.
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