Fall in a flash!

Late August to late November has been a bit of blur for us. School resumed (yay!) and my work became insane (boo!) and now here we are. Nonetheless, we've had a wonderful fall, complete with Indian summer (60 degrees on Thanksgiving and again this week!), so we can't complain. I'll do my utmost to summarize the past few months succinctly and share our best pics!!

First day of school! Our district had its usual staggered start, so everyone had a different first day...

Then FINALLY they all left me with some peace and quiet! Ha! 

Soccer resumed, too! Brie's team was even better this season! 

Looking fierce!

B'nei Mitzvah season resumed, as well, which has meant many parties for the kids. Here's Bas doing his best "Johnny be good." 

We spotted the Bearcat in the hotel lobby on our way out! 

Brie was invited to a Bar Mitzvah with a "cocktail chic" dress code and we had the best time putting together this outfit for her. Love the 90's vibe!

One more with buddies!

High on my list? Coffee with the gals. We've been meeting at The Park Pour for a year now--it's our #1!!

Also, my neighbor Maggie turned 40 and invited the Storybook ladies to her favorite dance class. It was HARD WORK, but we all had a great time!

The 8th graders got to join the high school marching band at the opening football game in our beautiful new stadium. 

Such an exciting night! Yay, for the clarinet section! 

Go, Aves! (Though, unfortunately, we lost.)

Brie, Samuel and I went to see Hamilton at the Aronoff. No surprise...it was FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!

We enjoyed outdoor eating as much as possible with our late summer/early fall warm nights! 

Fall means...a trip to Iron's Fruit!!

Tony and I had a cool night out at TQL Stadium where he (and other Children's Hospital employees) were honored for their service and work anniversaries. We couldn't believe it's been 10 years!!

My dear friend and former coworker from Baltimore Mary Beth came to visit and we had SO much fun catching up and eating yummy things. (Her last visit was in January 2014...before Bas was born!) The kids loved her. Such a perfect little reunion! 

Tony made some A+ pizza!

A few days later was the anniversary of Samuel's Bar Mitzvah. He did an outstanding job of reading his portion again!  

Then Granddaddy Rob and Gammy came to visit. Blossom said, "They came to see ME."

But, in reality, they came to see Brie! She played Snow White in the junior high play The Brothers Grimm! Here she is ready to head to her first show. She even put on a little makeup for the occasion. 😉

The program!

The show! The Brothers Grimm was a hilarious parody--we laughed the whole time. As you can tell, Brie was fearless! 

This might have been the part where Snow White says, "I don't need a man, I'm a modern woman." Hysterical!

Flowers and praise after the show!

Granddaddy Rob and Bas made a beautiful sign for Veteran's Day with Great-Granddaddy Bob's Arlington Cemetery wreath and a pic of active duty Major Krebs on it. 💝

He also got a shout-out at the Junior High--they created a scrolling slideshow for V's Day! 

And we got to visit Bas on Field Day! 

We hit the zoo with Sunday School and had a blast!

Baby Fritz was just hanging out!!

A Fiona sighting, too! 

Did someone say, "Cute hippo!" In honor of Baby Fritz...

And...were you in the room when this happened?? Happy Hamilton-ween!

We love all things Halloween and this year was no exception. My friend Jenn turned 40 and had an 80's themed party. You know me and dressing up!

There was also dress-up at the JH...

And at home! Samuel and his friends had a party...

While Brie and her friends trick-or-treated in two neighborhoods. We tracked them on Google Maps later and they walked over a mile!

Can you tell that Caroline, Brie and Paige were the Hocus Pocus witches??

And Ninjago Bas (with Blossom) in the neighborhood...

One of our neighbors turned their front yard into a haunted Bengals tailgate!

All of our carving work (that's Spiderman in the top middle)!

Shortly after Halloween, Blossom started limping, so we took her to the vet. We weren't certain, but their best guess was that she tweaked a knee (dogs have knees, apparently). So we had to drug her, so she laid around and healed. It was so pathetic, as you can see...

But then she started to HOP on her injured leg! Was she trying to fool us?? Then we saw that one of her paws was injured and that her knee seemed better, so the long story short is she's all good now and says Thank you for the sympathy and extra snuggles--they were much appreciated!

Other fall fun?? Nonno and Nonna came to visit! As always, we ate tons of delicious food, drank lots of excellent wine and played!

On a certain Tuesday in November, we voted! The results were better than we expected! 

My lovely neighbor Lisa gifted this homemade tea towel, which I LOVE...

We had a surprise snow! It was on a weekend--so no snow day--but we had a great time and it was perfect for snowballs...

And snowmen!

Sebastian had the brilliant idea to make Lego versions of his three favorite dragon stuffies. Aren't they cool??

Oh, poor dog.

Brie teaching her to bow. 👏

Blossom rolling over and splooting with joy!

And being SO proud of herself when she graduated from puppy school! She's now (slightly) better behaved. 😉😉

Blossoms says, "I told you. It wasn't me. I have no legs." 😅

The Junior High 7th and 8th grade bands had their fall concerts recently. As always, the music was beautiful! Here's Brie on flute...

And Samuel on clarinet...

Samuel was asked to introduce the final song. He did really well!

It's no secret that Thanksgiving is one of our favorite family holidays. You can't beat the meal and we love to make every bit of it, including the...pineapple?? Kroger threw the biggest pineapple into my Click List order the day before Thanksgiving. I will never know why, but it was super sweet! 

Here are my pies from heaven.

Brie crocheted a mini turkey for the table. Ha!!

And the real deal!

Our yummy spread!

Digging in!

We hosted two new members of Tony's department and their families. For newlyweds Satoko and Kazuhiro, it was their first Thanksgiving. We had the loveliest afternoon!

Then we got ready for the holidays! 

We did a lot this fall. Phew!

P.S. Sadly, fall also means hurricanes these days. This is our beloved Sandarac in Ft. Myers Beach. The storm surge took out the first floor of the condo complex and, as you can see, the entire parking lot. It also destroyed 99% of our favorite restaurants and shops. Just devastating. 

P.P.S. Luckily, fall also means gorgeous foliage!

P.P.P.S. Would you believe that Brie randomly found the mini Squishmallow of her Hocus Pocus character? So cute!!

P.P.P.P.S. When Blossom's in her new jacket (thanks, Nonno and Nonna!), it reminds us a bit of Virginia's governor. Tony keeps calling her "Glenn Pupkin." Ha! 

P.P.P.P.P.S. Beth just returned to her office after nearly 3 years. Look at her time capsule! 

P.P.P.P.P.P.S. With Sebastian's help, we got Wordle in two words the other day!!

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. Last pic! Tony's parents finally got to enjoy time in Italy (it had been 4 years). They traveled all over, saw lots of family, and even celebrated some milestones while there--Zia Maria turned 85 and Zio Luigi turned 96!! Amazing!