Rocky Mountain camping in Sept - It was truly beautiful, but we froze. We found a campsite right next to the river which was gorgeous and fell asleep to the sound of the rushing water. Had a cookout dinner with a new-found smore idea = take miniature nilla wafers, roast miniature marshmallows, and break half a section of Hershey's rectangles, and wa-la - the perfect sized smore with no mess. It came to be due to lack of real smore supplies and we won’t be able to go back. The truck tent made it all worth it, especially when there have been so many bear sightings and worries about other critters in these parts. I still can't believe that I'm the Mom - it seems my own mother or grandmother should pop out from the bushes and set up breakfast. Life rushes by sooooo quickly.
Oktoberfest - 2nd annual Oktoberfest for the Berrys and the second one to be snowed out too! Kids had a blast. Also had fun at Gardner’s village petting zoos, pumpkin patch, and homemade goodies to enjoy the fall season.
City by the bay...the city that rocks, the city that NEVER stops! (Anybody remember the great song from the 90's "Built this city on rock and roll?" ) And what a beautiful city it was. We met up with our dear friends Curtis & Nettie (and kids Annie & Spencer) from the good old NY days who now reside in San Francisco. We went to the Discovery Museum first thing taking Lomband Street - the "curviest" street in the US. Had to do it twice just for fun. Came back across the famous bridge and had lunch on the wharf
at SF Boudin's - famous sourdough bread bakery. Went to the aquarium, watched the sea lion community while waiting to board a catamaran for a sail out to Alcatraz and under the bridge. One could get used to life on the sea, the salt, the wind, the moist air, it was great. We wondered if Rachel and Jared would get woozy on the waters, but ended up running up and down the length and width of the boat, then putting their faces through the netting to get just THAT much closer to the water. To church the next morning, then to an amazing French bakery, whose food we took to Baker's Beach before heading to the airport. It was a very quick 48 hours, but well worth it. Thanks Atkissons for being such great tour guides and friends. Makin' memories is what its all about.
Tarrytown, NY - Darren had a leadership conference in Tarrytown (20 miles north of Manhattan) for the week. It wouldn't have been that big of deal except that this exact week in October marks our 7th wedding anniversary and Darren's big 43rd birthday (I know, he looks 32 and dashing doesn't he?) So as a surprise I arranged to fly out and join him for his birthday. It was quite an ordeal actually to mastermind and keep it a surprise. But the kids were great about it, and Darren's reaction was worth it all. He was in shock for about 30 minutes, seriously. (Here he is in one of their training exercises. They worked together as a pit crew and he was the “jack”-man and hand-jacked up the car for every wheel replacement). Tarrytown is the home of Washington Irving and Sleepy Hollow (surrounding area) the location for his legend of the Headless Horseman. It looks JUST like you would expect and mostly unchanged from 150 years ago. I went for a run on the paths through the forests to arrive at several large manors and estates from the era. You know the kind with the iron gates and the family name in the high arch and at least another half mile to the door of the manor (…the Mor-ley Manor……Blake is probably the only one that will get that). It was kind of spooky actually. The air was so thick with moisture, the trails foggy, and you weren't sure if it was raining because you were just wet: ) The trees were large and hung down along the roadside with those long vine-y branches that in cartoons would have come to life and wrapped around you. My imagination was running wild with the history of the place and I would laugh at myself when I continually jumped at the squirrels, birds, and rabbits rustling around in the piles of leaves....sometimes I never even SAW what made the sound, so yeah, I got a little creeped out sometimes. I pictured what it would have been like in the early 1800's driving a horse and carriage down these overgrown dirt paths with smoky fog moving through the trees, gu
sts of wind that left as quickly as they came, and pumpkins on the pillar tops as you arrive at your cottage estate by the Hudson River.....ohhhhh spooooky! It was a slice out of time and fun to do. We had a great time together while there. Upon our return we had a great birthday party for Darren. It was a lot of fun even though he was so against the idea (precisely why I didn’t tell him until the morning of). It’s always good to see family and friends, thanks to all who came! The kids chose a superman cake for him since that’s what they think he is….and they are right!
Oktoberfest - 2nd annual Oktoberfest for the Berrys and the second one to be snowed out too! Kids had a blast. Also had fun at Gardner’s village petting zoos, pumpkin patch, and homemade goodies to enjoy the fall season.
City by the bay...the city that rocks, the city that NEVER stops! (Anybody remember the great song from the 90's "Built this city on rock and roll?" ) And what a beautiful city it was. We met up with our dear friends Curtis & Nettie (and kids Annie & Spencer) from the good old NY days who now reside in San Francisco. We went to the Discovery Museum first thing taking Lomband Street - the "curviest" street in the US. Had to do it twice just for fun. Came back across the famous bridge and had lunch on the wharf 
at SF Boudin's - famous sourdough bread bakery. Went to the aquarium, watched the sea lion community while waiting to board a catamaran for a sail out to Alcatraz and under the bridge. One could get used to life on the sea, the salt, the wind, the moist air, it was great. We wondered if Rachel and Jared would get woozy on the waters, but ended up running up and down the length and width of the boat, then putting their faces through the netting to get just THAT much closer to the water. To church the next morning, then to an amazing French bakery, whose food we took to Baker's Beach before heading to the airport. It was a very quick 48 hours, but well worth it. Thanks Atkissons for being such great tour guides and friends. Makin' memories is what its all about. 
Tarrytown, NY - Darren had a leadership conference in Tarrytown (20 miles north of Manhattan) for the week. It wouldn't have been that big of deal except that this exact week in October marks our 7th wedding anniversary and Darren's big 43rd birthday (I know, he looks 32 and dashing doesn't he?) So as a surprise I arranged to fly out and join him for his birthday. It was quite an ordeal actually to mastermind and keep it a surprise. But the kids were great about it, and Darren's reaction was worth it all. He was in shock for about 30 minutes, seriously. (Here he is in one of their training exercises. They worked together as a pit crew and he was the “jack”-man and hand-jacked up the car for every wheel replacement). Tarrytown is the home of Washington Irving and Sleepy Hollow (surrounding area) the location for his legend of the Headless Horseman. It looks JUST like you would expect and mostly unchanged from 150 years ago. I went for a run on the paths through the forests to arrive at several large manors and estates from the era. You know the kind with the iron gates and the family name in the high arch and at least another half mile to the door of the manor (…the Mor-ley Manor……Blake is probably the only one that will get that). It was kind of spooky actually. The air was so thick with moisture, the trails foggy, and you weren't sure if it was raining because you were just wet: ) The trees were large and hung down along the roadside with those long vine-y branches that in cartoons would have come to life and wrapped around you. My imagination was running wild with the history of the place and I would laugh at myself when I continually jumped at the squirrels, birds, and rabbits rustling around in the piles of leaves....sometimes I never even SAW what made the sound, so yeah, I got a little creeped out sometimes. I pictured what it would have been like in the early 1800's driving a horse and carriage down these overgrown dirt paths with smoky fog moving through the trees, gu
sts of wind that left as quickly as they came, and pumpkins on the pillar tops as you arrive at your cottage estate by the Hudson River.....ohhhhh spooooky! It was a slice out of time and fun to do. We had a great time together while there. Upon our return we had a great birthday party for Darren. It was a lot of fun even though he was so against the idea (precisely why I didn’t tell him until the morning of). It’s always good to see family and friends, thanks to all who came! The kids chose a superman cake for him since that’s what they think he is….and they are right! 
