Sarah Annie had an amazing day. We all thoroughly enjoyed it.

Here, from Mary Beth's computer and camera, are our memories.

We spent the afternoon at Cox Farm, a very nearby autumn amusement. We ventured there last week when Linda begged me to meet them there. It's ridiculously expensive and, of late, very crowded with school groups. Back in the day, when our small town was a country town, we had a tradition of spending Patrick's birthday there. Slides and hayrides and country fun--we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Over the years, it's grown to a ginormous autumn destination and very much lost the local feel. Even the Obama daughters came out this way in October. So, I was reluctant. I'm not big on crowds.

Linda was persuasive, even when I warned her that it looked like rain. Didn't look like rain at her house, so she overruled me. It started raining as I pulled into the parking lot. We stuck it out about an hour and then a very kind farmer-type handed me a free bag of Kettle Corn and suggested I take a raincheck. Then we left town. That left one day to redeem our raincheck: Halloween.

We moved Bible Study from the afternoon to the morning and cleared the afternoon for Cox Farms, Take 2.

It was pretty crowded when we got there at 1:00, but cleared out nicely by 2:00 and we had a beautiful afternoon.

We returned home, full of fresh air and sunshine, and made Sarah's requested birthday dinner: Pizza Rolls. Recipe tutorial forthcoming, I promise.

After dinner, it was costume time. Stephen decided he was too big to Trick-or-Treat. Nicky was a bit adrift at this news. He threw together a boxer costume at the last minute.

The Colonial Doll, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Birthday Princess were decidedly not the last minute types. They've had their costumes all laid out, right down to the hair ribbons, since last Wednesday.