Grandma Jayne for Columbus Day!

Against all odds, it seems that we have survived midterms, the AOC class Seth taught, and the first round of seasonal colds. (Although, to be honest, the latter are still in progress.)

By happy coincidence, we had much-needed help over the long weekend, and likely would not have survived without it. After a horrible day of travel complicated by Hurricane Matthew flight cancellations, Grandma Jayne arrived Thursday night. The kids were so excited, I let them stay up past bedtime to see her. This was the scene in our guestroom while we waited. 

(Yes, that's Finley's Sheriff Callie Halloween costume she's wearing while jumping on the bed. We pick our battles around here.)

And, although there was a fair amount of candle-burning at both ends for those of us with dozens of pages to write, we had a bang-up weekend celebrating fall and playing tourist.

Jayne and I finally made it to the apple orchard in Warwick I had been dying to check out, and- tired toddler tantrums notwithstanding- we had a great time picking apples and checking out the farm animals. 

Finley even talked us into a pony ride, which she adored (even if we suspect she wanted to wear the helmet as much as she wanted to ride the horse.) It was basically the cutest thing ever.

Saturday night, Seth got to drop the puck at the preseason NHL game at Tate arena. It was very cool.

Finley had the time of her life, minus this terrifying interaction with the Panthers mascot.

And both kids, it turns out, love hockey games. I'm hoping this is a temporary fascination and there is still hope for swimming, since I imagine that goggles and latex caps are significantly cheaper than pads and hockey sticks. 

Sunday, we trekked into the city in the pouring rain for an awesome personal tour of FDNY Engine 10, Fire 10 by one of the 9/11 first responders Seth had met.

And a trip to the 9/11 memorial and One World Trade Center.

True to form, Finley's favorite part was the ridiculous and not-at-all scenic skycam.

She refused to leave it to look at the city view, preferring the grainy images of cars below and her ability to hop "on" them.

Ford, as per usual, was a perfect little gentleman all weekend. Jayne sent me this picture of our smiley guy when I was in school on Monday (no Columbus Day at Columbia, oddly!)

We all loved (and appreciated!) Grandma Jayne's visit, and can't wait until next time. I'm getting a regular workout taking Finley to the calendar to show her when we get to see grandparents again, and we love having something to countdown to. 

A couple favorites from the week: