Saturday afternoon Grandpa Stu (aka the baby sleep whisperer) took care of Reed and got him to take a nap while Beckett and Theo and I visited Cass Park in Ithaca. We had wanted to go to the anarchy zone but there was some kind of event happening there so we went to the other Cass playgrounds instead. This was our first trip since the boys were tall enough to hang on to the zip line themselves. It was very sweet to watch them helping each other.

Pumpkin picking

The Leibowitzes visited two weeks ago to help out with a night when we had two campaign events and school curriculum night. Greg held down the fort at home while Kathy went to school curriculum night and Jeff and I went to both campaign events. They stuck around for dinner Friday, when we celebrated a job offer for Bryn! (more to come!) The hibachi grill was a first for us, and a huge hit with Theo and Beckett.

Apple picking

Saturday morning the boys and I headed out for some apple picking at our favorite spot, Navarino's Orchard. It's where we pick raspberries all summer and apples and pumpkins in the fall. It was sunny and beautiful but cold on the top of hill with the breeze. We hitched a ride on the first wagon ride out to the orchard and Beckett and Reed picked twenty pounds in about seven minutes. They also scarfed up apple fritters (two each for Theo and Beckett and one for Reed) and ran around in the pumpkin field for a while before we hit the road to see Grandpa Stu in Ithaca for the afternoon.

Reed was a remarkably good picker. He found several apples at his eye level and put them dutifully in the bag Theo was holding. He has a hard time biting into a big apple himself but happily eats as much as you will give him if you loosen pieces for him.

Riding the wagon back from the orchard

It was pretty funny watching the boys trying to all get in position for a cut-out photo below. This was the best of the lot. Reed found it much more fun to try to climb off the apple boxes down to where Theo was than stay up and look out the face hole.

Reed and the sword

Reed on the stairs

kites

Jeff took Theo and Beckett behind their old school recently to try out their new kites. Jeff reports that both, especially Beckett, were naturals with the kites.