Touchdown!

While watching the Army-Temple game, David captured an Army touchdown and the subsequent cannon firing to celebrate the score! It seems like the sound cuts out, but that's just the BOOMS of the cannon!

Football season!

Another one of our fall favorites -- football! We headed down to West Point for the Army-Temple game (37-21) on Saturday! GO ARMY!

We arrived early (around 8 am) so that we could see the Corps of Cadet review on the plain. In addition to the General, the alumni from the classes of 1962 and 1967 reviewed the cadets. Seeing this was...simply stated....impressive.

This is the plain where the cadets march. The Cadet Chapel is in the background.

"Hmmm...what's going on?" he seems to be thinking.

Mr. Football

A group of cadets marched right in front of us.

After the review, each regiment exited the plain.

Once the review was complete, the Black Knight Cadet Parachute team buzzed the crowd, and the jumpers waved! According to Daddy, Mommy got very excited... she exclaimed "look William" when the helicopter flew over. In her defense, it was only because she knows how much William loves helicopters!!

One of the jumpers coming in for a landing!

After each jumper landed, the helicopter flew over again. The crew on board waved to the crowd!!

The crowd was invited to walk onto the plain and visit with the jumpers and cadet. This is Jen from Vermont. She was gracious enough to take a picture with us!

We walked back to our car and took a shuttle to the stadium for the game. William LOVES school buses. He watches the buses pass our house each morning and exclaims "'cool bus!" Lately, he has asked, "sit cool bus?" (Which actually sounds like "snugglebus"). He finally got the opportunity to sit in a school bus at the game! He was so excited! In fact, during the third quarter of the game, he saw the shuttles lining up for the end of the game... "snugglebus???"

He didn't want to leave the "cool bus" -- bye bye cool bus, he said.

Going to our seats... note the sea of cadets with their white hats on!

The view from our seats... Cadet Chapel and the reservoir are behind the visiting bleachers.

Go ARMY!!

Fall Color!

With the change of season, it was time to bid our summer flowers adieu and add some fall color to our landscaping. On a recent morning, we packed the Pathfinder full of orange and yellow mums!

These orange mums were huge... the hatch was full, William was completely boxed-in, and Mommy had to hold some on her lap in the front seat. For the record, William was miserable (note his expression!)

Daddy watered the newly transplanted mums!

Our scarecrow...just doin' his job!

The boys enjoying the fruits of their labor!!

What becomes of freshly picked apples?

A homemade lattice-top apple pie!

(It didn't make it through the afternoon!)

Fall is Here!

Fall is our family's favorite season! The daytime temperatures are cooler, the nights are crisp, the mums and foliage are colorful, and the harvest of pumpkins and apples mean yummy pies and goodies in our house!

On a recent weekend, we headed to a local farm for apple and pumpkin picking. What a wonderful way to welcome our favorite season!

We arrived at the farm market before our "picking" began... William loved seeing the pumpkins.

"Mom said she wanted some gourds for decorating...bet she'll love this one!"

The best way to eat an apple... right off the tree!

Here Mom, take a bite!

Running in the apple orchard... William would say "fun" as he ran by!

Helping Daddy cart our harvest of apples and pumpkins back to the market... what a helper!

Sampling another apple while playing in the antique horse cart!

We walked over to the barn to see the horses. William was a bit unsure of these creatures especially when the horse snorted and he could feel the breath on him!

William warmed up a bit to the horse and started picking grass for Daddy to feed the house... William didn't try that!

Chasing Daddy in the hay maze!!

...Priceless

Visiting the Cape Cod Lighthouse is one of the absolute highlights of our vacation. The weather was perfect - beautiful blue sky with a cool breeze...just the kind of weather that makes you want to be outside all day.


William was captivated by the lighthouse - he's not stopped talking about his "ba-house."


When leaving the shore, we crossed path an artist en plein air painting our beacon. When asked, she agreed to sell her work - she even personalized the piece with the inscription, "For William, September 12, 2007."


After returning home, we learned that the artist was trained at Yale in painting and sculpture and later received her doctorate - her work is sold at galleries in the Cape.



Our lighthouse painting is safely drying at home. In a few weeks, we'll frame William's first piece of art. It will hang in Will's bedroom - we hope it reminds him of the time when his parents took him to the Cape Cod shore on a perfect, sky-blue day!

So..what does all this cost?

• Week at Cape Cod Beach house: $1,000
• Lobster dinner for two: $70
• Touring a 150 year-old lighthouse: $8
• Giving our boy a custom painted lighthouse: priceless

Day One

We woke up early on our first morning in Cape Cod. The day was overcast and cool. We walked on the beach, walked to the wharf and looked at all the schooners as they prepared for the regatta later in the morning, and relaxed on our deck. What a day!

The sun rising over Cape Cod Bay, and this is view from our deck.

David and William share a father-son moment during our first walk on the beach and look at the water up close.

The schooners docked at the wharf prior to the regatta. The Pilgrim Monument is in the background.

The Parade of Sail prior to the start of the regatta.

Dave is relaxing and reading on the deck. The regatta is going on, and Mommy is cooking up little treats.

Fresh fruit, brie, gingersnaps, Pinot Grigio, and homemade marinara ... a yummy and relaxing first day of vacation!

Cape Cod National Seashore

Race Point Beach

Race Point beach on the Cape Cod National Seashore is amazing. We spent a late afternoon walking on the beach, looking for rocks, and playing in the surf. The afternoon was overcast and breezy, but we enjoyed this quintessential Cape Cod experience.

William loved finding rocks on the beach!!

A bit of sand writing... William added his two cents! HA!

The boys are watching the waves crash on the shore!

Mommy and William were busy running from the surf. William was quite surprised the first time the surf covered his feet! He was a bit unsure about that!

The boys played in the water. William giggled while Daddy got soaked!

Cape Cod Potato Chip Company

Well, so much for the no-junk food rule. You can't go to a chip factory and not have a bite!!

Ever had one? Wow! One rainy afternoon, we drove to Hyannis to tour the factory and try the free samples!!

You can take the virtual tour at http://www.capecodchips.com/visitors/factorytour.aspx

Yum!!

Cape Cod Light

Cape Cod Light, Truro, MA

A trip to Cape Cod is not complete without a visit to a lighthouse. We woke up one crisp cool morning and headed to Cape Cod Light (Highland Light).

William was completely enthralled with the experience. As we approached the lighthouse, he called out "ba-house" repeatedly! He was so excited!! When we left, he said, "bye bye ba-house!" For the remainder of the trip, each time we saw a lighthouse, he exclaimed, "ba-house! ba-house!"

The lighthouse had to be moved to prevent it from falling into the Atlantic. The erosion continues today, but the light should be safe for another century.

A bit of history about this lighthouse:

• Cape Cod Light, was first lit in 1797. It was calculated that the light would stand for 45 years, and in his book, Cape Cod, Thoreau fretted that the light would soon fall, due to the relentless erosion of the approaching sea. However, the same light stands today, still threatened by erosion with approximately two to three feet of land lost each year to erosion.
  
• In 1797 Highland Light stood 510 feet from the edge of the Truro Bluffs. One hundred years later, that distance had shrunk to about 300 feet, and in the 1990s, Cape Cod Light was less than 125 feet from destruction. Over 40 feet were lost to one winter storm in 1990.
• The lighthouse was successfully moved in 1996 to prevent it from falling into the Atlantic.
  

William enjoyed running down the path to the observation deck that overlooks the Atlantic and is 2900 air miles from Portugal (trivia we learned when we climbed to the top!)

It's a steep climb to the top!

Anyone see Mommy in this photo??