October snow and Birthday #4

Every day is an adventure and this month has been full of them!  Nothing like a freak snowstorm to throw you into winter!

We had a very busy weekend planned.  Saturday was Giada's 4th Birthday but we have learned that having her birthday so close to Halloween means we have to juggle it with other celebrations.  At this age, she loves that it means lots of parties and I hope that she continues to love it as she grows older.

Saturday meant we had to pick up our CSA share but with the predicted storm, we knew we needed to get there early. Pick up included:

• lemongrass (woo-hoo!)
• Jerusalem artichokes 
• salad greens
• garlic
• swiss chard
• carrots
• acorn squash

On our trip back home we thought we'd swing by the grocery store to get Apple Cider and napkins.  What should have been a 5 min. run, in and out, turned into 40 min. easily.  Th place was packed and all abuzz with storm chatter.  By the time we left the flakes were staring to fall and stick.

birthday girl  feet at the start of the storm

misc. Birthday Girl pics....note the 4 fingers to indicate her age :) and the falling snow streaking through the shots

We had to leave for a Halloween Party as soon as we got home so Giada and I  headed over to the neighbor's where Halloween was in full swing!  Our neighbor remembered that it was her Birthday so she gathered all of the kids, turned off the lights and they all sang Happy Birthday to her.  When they went to turn the lights back on, we all discovered that the power was out!

Giada as Olivia the Pig

Giada being silly like Olivia the Pig

The power company predicted that the power would be back on by 8:45pm.  Unless we fired up the grill to boil water, Giada was not going to get the Ravioli Dinner she requested.  Thanks to Facebook and smartphones, we knew that a restaurant we like was open so we get in the truck and hit the road. It took a bit of time but we got there safely and enjoyed a yummy warm meal and Giada substituted her ravioli for flatbread pizza.  There was even someone at the next table celebrating her birthday so it mush have been the place to be that night!

our four-year-old at the 'olive restaurant'  for her birthday

We still didn't have power when we got home so we sang Happy Birthday to her again at her request.  I think that is her favorite part about her birthday because she absolutely glows when you sing it to her.  She says that it makes her feel happy. She opened her gifts from us with light from flashlights and then we all bundled into warmy-warms and lots of blankets since it was down to 57 deg. inside the house.

When we woke up it was sunny but we still had no power. We packed bags just in case we needed to shower somewhere else and went exploring.  No power, but very little damage that we could see in our neighborhood. As we left town we started to see what the storm had done elsewhere. With the extra weight of the snow on leaves, there were may trees that were missing limbs or had completely fallen. We ended up at my parent's house to shower, eat dinner and have an impromptu celebration for Giada and our power returned Monday morning. As of Wednesday, there are still people without power in the Northeast.  Fingers crossed that this isn't an indicator of what will come this season.

photo credit to my friend Jen on these Trick or Treating shots of the kids

Some of the neighboring towns rescheduled Trick-or-Treating but by us, it was on-schedule.  Our town is like none other when it comes to Halloween and living here has renewed my love of the holiday.  We got to share the festivities with good friends and their families and it was a reminder how blessed we are to have these people in our lives.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."~Ferris Bueller