HELLO!

A quick 'hello'! I hope you all enjoyed a nice Halloween weekend! And I hope you are enjoying a wonderful Fall!

We were away on vacation for a few weeks, we took a road trip from New York to Florida, it was lots of fun and I will post about it either later this week or next week.

(I tried to do this Halloween post yesterday but the pictures wouldn't load, today is better!)

We had a beautiful weekend weather-wise and otherwise! On Saturday Ray took a trip to Calverton Cemetery with his brother Donald and his sister Susie (my father-in-law is buried there):






They also usually stop at the beaches they used to go to every summer (the family had a summer bungalow out in Smithtown on Long Island):



Ray didn't find too many shells, but he did find lots of interesting rocks and pieces of slate and granite that Jayden had lots of fun building with! ("Umma, did you see my creation on the kitchen counter?")


After Ray got home we took a walk around the neighborhood and then met my sister Diane and her husband Steve for a nice dinner at the Greek restaurant down the block from us. I'll have to do a post on that sometime, the food is amazing!

Sunday was Jayden's last soccer game for the season:


Erik, Lori, and Mia joined in the fun...


...and Mia came bearing gifts (I think dandelions are my most favorite flower!):


If you can't tell, it was a cold morning (I even had that shawl wrapped around my head for awhile to protect me from the wind, but Jayden was sweating bullets)!



Here the teams line up for the medal ceremony...



...and treats!


Happy and proud! (I think it's wonderful that they give all these little ones medals!)





Mia says that next year she wants to join soccer too!




Then it was time to dress up!

Here's Captain Jack Sparrow:




And here's Woody:




It was cold but sunny so it was nice for trick-or-treating:
(The little cat is one of Jayden's classmates)



And we were ready inside for lots of visitors too (this is one of two baskets, compared to past years, this year we had quite a few trick-or-treaters come to our door)!






I made an easy recipe that I saw that morning on Nigella Lawson's cooking show. It was a chicken, sausage, and potato dish, all cooked in one pan! And a simple salad. Very easy!
Erik, Lori, and Mia baked us some delicious cupcakes for dessert too!



It was a great weekend! And now, I'm off to catch up on your lives (I did get to visit a few blogs yesterday, but today I'll finish making my rounds).
(Becky, Lidj, and Jackie, I am still having lots of trouble trying to visit your blogs, let's hope today is better!)

Oh! And Happy Election Day! Don't forget to vote! Ray, myself, and Ellie were there when the polls opened this morning and I was so happy to see that a line had already formed!
God Bless America!
(One complaint, I could hardly see the print on the new ballot! I had to double up on glasses and use Ray's on top of mine! I guess it's time to see an eye doctor!)