October in a nutshell

November is here, and that means that Halloween madness is over, it’s time to start brining the turkey, and most stores have their Christmas decorations up. I managed to back-up all my pictures from October and realized how small a slice I’ve detailed for this blog; from my writing, one would think it has all been Sapelo Island and the Blue Ridge Parkway. In actuality, we only spent two days traveling. October in Greenville hits both temperature extremes, but we’ve really been blessed to be able to take advantage of a most beautiful autumn here in the Upstate, and I would love to share some of our mini-adventures with you all, especially the grandparents.

The Greenville Open passed uneventfully, with no trophies won but also no injuries sustained. This is significant considering a handful of toddlers were in possession of golf clubs and golf balls for a good hour… (We’ve frequented McPherson Park’s mini-golf course several times in the last month. It’s a bring your own equipment course that is rarely used – ideal for fall playdates.)

Oktoberfest in NOMA Square was a fun stop, but not worth the hype. Guess who won the schnitzel-eating contest?!! (Hint: it wasn’t anyone I know)

Lauris has been earning some money on the side working with a house-painting outfit. (Our CAT Studio time in the beginning of the month was well worth the Living Social deal!)

The tomato harvest was a total dud this summer due to the rain, and my vitelotte and red potatoes rotted in the ground, but in addition to a great cucumber season the sweet potatoes did well. What is it about living in the South that makes one want to put brown sugar and marshmallows on your sweet potatoes?

We tried out the open play at Greenville Gymnastics with a group of friends. I was told the boys could wear their leotards… needless to say they didn’t. It was fun, but required far more energy from mom than I was expecting; we might do this again on a rainy day.

We’ve made it to Paris Mountain State Park a couple of times also. We have the place almost to ourselves this time of year.

On some nicer days we’ve taken the trains outside while Mikus naps. The inspiration (in addition to a lot of our other “train play” ideas) came from this blog.

We made ghosts using cheesecloth, starch and balloons; a flashback to crafts in girl scouts. The boys preferred popping the balloons to anything, but the finished product is adding to the Halloween ambience on the front porch.

Mikus got a new shoe, courtesy of Lauris.

Another day, another playdate, this one in the butterfly garden. I was surprised at how many plants were blooming, and although we didn’t see any butterflies the garden was abuzz with bees.

We’ve been to the zoo several times outside of our Boo in the Zoo experience, and enjoyed all the animal exhibits and Halloween decorations in relative peace. Kiko, the baby giraffe born right here in Greenville, celebrated its one year birthday, and a handful of new birds have been added to the pond area.

Here’s to November!