Fall Fun in NY and NC in October 2017

We drove up to New York for a long weekend to kick off the month of October and ended the month with lots of Halloween festivities.

Rose's selfie October 2017 at 3.5 years

Farm visit in upstate NY October 2017

Girls on the bus at the farm

Indoor playground fun in NY

Because we dove back on a weekday, we came upon a lot of traffic in DC. Normally, when we travel on Sundays we leave NY between 1-2 am and get around DC by 8am. This time, the traffic started around Baltimore and we were bumper to bumper by 7am. Instead of staying in the car, we decided to drive into the city for the morning and check out the National Mall. It was a warm October day and the girls alternated between the stroller and running around.

They passed out before we could get lunch, so we took food to go and got home in time for dinner.

Walking around the National Mall on a nice October day

Girls passed out in the stroller as we order Shake Shack to go

In October, the girls' school had their semi-annual picnic. We look forward to the potluck lunch where the classrooms display the children's projects. Rose had a huge portfolio of 6 months of work. They had done lessons on the body, planets, super heroes, and so much more. Zoe's projects were also displayed, but because she had transitioned to her new class that month, she didn't have as much to show.

Rose and Zoe showing Rose's display at school

In October, Rose finished out her soccer season. After her amazing debut the first week, she struggled a little bit with getting involved in the game. There was one team in particular that had a few boys who were pretty aggressive. Rose ran off the field crying in her second game and it took a few more games for her to get back in the action. She was wonderful at participating in the practice and did a good job running around during the games. She just wasn't that into pushing her way through to get the ball. The final game included a celebration at the end to recognize each child's participation and a potluck lunch.

Rose celebrating the end of the season with her team

The second half of October was all about Halloween. We painted pumpkins, carved pumpkins, attended some Halloween parties, read Halloween stories, and went trick or treating.  The final weekend of the month I was lucky enough to be asked to present at a conference at the Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte. Colin and the girls came with me and we all enjoyed the waterpark (as much as two parents can while somewhat tethered to two toddlers) during the evening of the first day. There was a trick-or-treating event at the lodge that evening, so the girls wore their costumes and got candy along a set of stations. While I presented at the conference, Colin took the girls back to the water park, and after we had lunch we went back for a little more fun. It was enjoyable, but we were all a bit limited in what we could do. I think we'd all have a little more fun in a few more years when we could ride the bigger slides together.

Painting mini pumpkins

Rose and Zoe's painted pumpkin creations

Arriving at the Great Wolf Lodge in October 2017

Rose in her peaock costume at Great Wolf Lodge

Zoe having her snack at the Great Wolf Lodge waterpark

Enjoying our stay at Great Wolf Lodge

Carving our 2017 pumpkins

Our creations L-R are Colin, Rose, Zoe, and Nicolle

Smiling for the camera after the Halloween walk at school

Zoe reading 5 Little Pumpkins

Ready to go trick or treating

Rose reads 5 Little Pumpkins

Zoe helping to read 5 Little Pumpkins

Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party in DC

The weekend following our trip to the Outer Banks, I was off again on another adventure!  This time it was a weekend all about girls gearing up for a wedding!  My friend, former colleague, and former roommate is getting married Labor Day weekend and I am honored to be one of the bridesmaids.

Another bridesmaid lives here in Raleigh, so we were able to drive up to DC together to join Laural, her family, and her future in-laws for the weekend celebration.  With all of us getting in at various times of the afternoon and evening on Friday, and needing to rest up for a busy Saturday, we kept it low key with a relaxing dinner in the Maryland suburbs of DC.

Waking up Saturday morning, it was all hands on deck to prepare for a day of festivities.  The bridal shower started around 1pm, so we did have time to enjoy a leisure breakfast before setting up the house for the event and getting ourselves ready.  It helped that most of us stayed at Laural's sister's house together, and several family members arrived early to get things in order.

The intimate gathering of about 15 people was perfect, allowing us all to celebrate with the bride and "oh" and "ah" over all the wonderful gifts she received.  There were some very sweet moments that brought Laural to tears and few surprises to keep her off-guard.  The event was a wonderful reminder of all the love and support that family and friends can bring each other.

The bridesmaids (minus 1) hosting the bridal shower

After the bridal shower, we had just an hour or so to get ready before our driver showed up for the evening bachelorette festivities. The first stop of the night was the Mexican restaurant Bandolero.  The restaurant was a bit pricey (small tapas), but the food was very good and very filling.  Their guacamole, fish and pork tacos were the highlights of the meal. 

At Bandolero with the bride-to-be

I'm glad we decided to go to a lounge after dinner because it gave us places to sit and play some fun bachelorette games before it got crowded.  We heard good recommendations about the Eighteenth Street Lounge and the place was pretty awesome. There weren't any signs outside, and the we had to ask to make sure we were in the right place, but the inside was huge and felt like a Victorian-era home. There were 3-4 separate rooms with DJs spinning different music and a patio area. We enjoyed the music in the patio, but had to move out of the area when it filled with people smoking.

Playing bachelorette games in the lounge

The crew at the club

As the evening came to an end, the bride decided she wanted to see some of DC's monuments before going home.  Our driver, Sonny, served as our photographer for some of those end-of-the-night pictures!

One final picture in front of the Washington Monument 

While we were tempted to stop for some late-night grub (one of the three dietitians recommended it), we decided to go back to Laural's sister's house instead. There we indulged in some of the "healthy" leftovers from the bridal shower.  The highlight for me was taking off my high heels and getting into pajamas before our feast!

Overall it was was a very fun, albeit long day.  With all of us bridesmaids living all over the east coast and the bride working on her PhD, it was difficult to find a weekend that worked for everyone.  I think we all would have loved to take a bachelorette party trip to a beach location, but we'll get to celebrate the wedding at the beach instead.  I know it's going to be fabulous and I can't wait to share it on the blog!

What's the best thing you've done or the best place you've gone, for a bachelorette party?