The Rest of November

We took family photos before the fall colors went away!

We went to a farm nearby that had lots of fun things to do. We rode on a hayride out to the field where we picked mini pumpkins and gourds, then we picked lots of collard greens, kale, and swiss chard to feed to the friendly farm animals. We also fed them wax beans and apples for the pigs. The girls also got to try a fresh lima bean off the vine (much tastier than the frozen kind). We fed the goats, sheep, donkey, pigs, and scottish highland cows, and got to pet and see baby calves, bunnies, and ducks. There were several bins of dried corn to play in like a sandbox, and also a fun slide that ended in a soft pile of hay. We got two ears of popcorn that we'll get to eat once they're a bit more dried out in a couple months. The girls had a hard time leaving, it was so much fun! Afterwards we played in the leaves. This was the last warm day before winter.

The week of Thanksgiving it snowed just enough to play in! Brielle was in heaven!

My perfectly delicious pecan pie I took to a Thanksgiving Potluck for Partners in Medicine. On Thanksgiving day I made rolls and twice baked potatoes and we had a potluck with a bunch of families from the ward. It was delicious and so much fun!

We went to DC so Brandon could present a poster at the American College of Cardiology headquarters. While he did that I met my cousin Jared and his family at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. I hadn’t seen them in person in at least 8 years, so it was fun to finally meet their three kids. Their youngest just turned a year old and is named after my dear Grandpa Heal. The girls had fun playing in the kayak and building a pretend igloo out of giant foam blocks. After playing and having lunch we walked through the national Botanical Garden, which has replicas of the government buildings/monuments made out of wood nestled among all the beautiful plants. I liked seeing what the yerba mate plant (what they drink in Uruguay) and a cinnamon tree looked like. The girls had fun seeing the giant topiary bears.

 Couldn't wait to wear our Christmas dresses from Mama Judy, so we gave them a test drive in November!