Brothers

It is so fun to see the boys enjoying each other and the outdoors. This morning I read a post on "Fathers, Sons, and Sports" on our church's Family Room blog that really made me think about the role that sports will play - could play - should play - in their lives as they grow up. They ponder and play with this football now - what part might this football play in their hearts and in their brotherhood through the years? As their parents, we may have the opportunity to use this football to impart Gospel lessons that score much more important points than touchdowns. It is humbling and yet very exciting to think about!

Pennsylvania

Last week while Chris was away, we took a day trip to Pennsylvania to visit our friend Seville. David had not really met her before because when we last saw her, he was on his way to bed. It seemed like he had no trouble warming up to her!

And on our way home, we stopped to buy pumpkins! Hopefully we will have "The Great Pumpkin Bake" tomorrow...we'll let you know how it goes! Good thing Mrs. Brinson is coming to help again!

Ridin' the Rails Again

All Aboard!

Here we are back in Baltimore's Leakin Park, home of a local steam preservation society's miniature railroad. This time, some friends of ours came along for the ride! In the photo above, David is getting ready to take his first train ride behind a Western Maryland diesel. Below are the Johnsons enjoying the trip.

The Johnsons have three boys whom Joshua and David have enjoyed and admired since their very first meeting. Below from top to bottom along the rope are John Mark, Caleb, Joshua, and Nathaniel.

"Ooh! BIG steam!!"

Harvest Time!

Down on the Farm

Turkeys in the straw?

Joshua was pumped about the "big John Deere" tractors.

All five of us went to Larriland Farm to celebrate the harvest. We saw tractors, all kinds of yummy food, loads of pumpkins, drank apple cider, went through the straw maze, rode on a hayride, and visited the pumpkin patch. The highlight for Joshua was definitely all the tractor action. I think David preferred chewing on the pieces of hay.

Hayride

At the Pumpkin Patch

Harper's Ferry

Chris was away in West Virginia at a leadership training retreat all last week. We reunited in Harper's Ferry on Friday for some quality family time, including two of Joshua's favorite pasttimes: railroading and throwing rocks into the river. We were rewarded with at least 5 freight trains crossing bridges, going in and coming out of tunnels, pulling right up next to us and stopping for several hours, and even an Amtrak train stopping at the station. The rock-throwing wasn't quite as good because the bigger rocks were all up the bank out of reach, but we had fun looking at all the little minnows in the shallows.


Here we are waiting for Chris to arrive at our rendezvous point. (For the first time all week, his session went late, and he arrived nearly an hour later than planned.) Fittingly called "The Point," although you can't really tell from this picture, this spot overlooks the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers and three states: MD, WV, and VA. Below are the results of our impromptu fall photo shoot: