Fall has Flown!

It seems like just yesterday we were heralding the end of summer, and now we're trying to sort out how many turkeys to fry for Thanksgiving. The fall sure has flown! 

We were just delighted by a fall visit from Ana & Ata

during which we explored Annapolis, 

had tea parties at funky bookstores and paddled the Severn,

took lots of walks,

and played all the baseball.

We drowned our sorrows upon their departure with a quick trip up to one of our favorite places (Rhode Island, in a hurricane but with some of our best people)

and a stop by one of our longtime favorite aquariums.

Downtime isn't exactly our falltime hallmark, but somewhere in there we also discovered Gaelic sports,

attended a Washington Commanders game (seriously, with that necessary but seriously atrocious rename),

expo'ed and ran the Army Ten Miler,

picked pumpkins and discovered creameries with baby cows in Pennsylvania,

and welcomed Grandma and Grandpa back.

And Seth won a poker tournament.

Because fall-ing hard is a Nieman thing, this past weekend we also crammed in a State College run to see our girl Chandler

at the truly once-in-a-lifetime Penn State Whiteout Game (Gophers loss notwithstanding).

Now we are scrambling on Halloween costumes, lamenting our less-than-spectacular leaf-peeping year, and enjoying what may be our first and last fall in Maryland. More on that when we know. For now, s'mores and justice!

Corn Mazes and County Fairs.

It may be post-Labor Day, and we may be up to our eyebrows in homework and sports and Halloween costume planning, but it is still warm enough here to make hayrides and pumpkin patches seem vaguely ridiculous. (To say nothing of Thor helmets.)

And yet here we find ourselves. We sweltered at the #mdcornmaze (right down the street) this weekend. 

To be fair, it was pretty cool. And will be slammed in a month, when the weather is bearable.

Surprisingly, no one had a maze meltdown

or caught rabies.  (Farm festivals are not my fave.) 

We're full into the school ratrace now, having survived a Jackie/ April/ Gunnar visit somewhere in there;

and with grandparents in North Dakota, we are in tag team/ zone defense mode.

(Karate and baseball and dance, oh my!)

Plus the absolutely delightful Gaelic sports (football and hurling) on the weekends.

Sunday we hit the Anne Arundel County fair, also right up the street, and also fiery hot and terrible/ charming.

And now we're counting down until Ana & Ata arrive (and we have a high below 80, allegedly both this week.) Until then, it's ice cream and sunblock all 'round.