Anne and David!

So, we got extra lucky in October when ANNE AND DAVID, in addition to Ruth and Steve, came to visit. We had a fabulous time with everyone! A few highlights:

--Friday, Oct. 30, was their first full day here. Drew and I had cleaned the house and planned a Shabbat dinner before they came, so on Friday we all hung out until Anne accompanied me to Rachel's Halloween parade at school toward the end of the day. She helped me help the kids get into their costumes before the parade, and then she raced out front to catch pictures of Rachel marching behind the Swanson Middle School band, which again accompanied the kids as they walked through the neighborhood. I, of course, had forgotten my cellphone at home, so I raced back, grabbed it, and met Anne just in time to take a picture of Rachel, who was beyond adorable in her Betsy Ross costume of a Colonial-era dress we had gotten her in Williamsburg, a white mobcap, an apron that Ivy had given her, and an American flag ("Spirit of '76") that Drew had brought her from a flag shop near our insurance agent. I snapped a wonderfully iconic picture of her; she looked SO CUTE!!! Afterward I helped with the class party, to which I had brought candy corn -- the other parents were running games, and I could tell that Rachel just liked the fact that I was there. Then we walked home together and I started making dinner.

That night, we had roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and chocolate silk pie -- all of which everyone enjoyed -- and it was great catching up about our lives and talking.

--On Saturday, HALLOWEEN, Drew took Rachel to our neighborhood park for a Halloween parade and games while I showered, ate a quick breakfast and then headed over, hoping to find food, which of course was gone by the time I arrived. But it was a fabulous day weather-wise, and so nice to see all the neighbors pitch in with games and fun. We ran into Ivy and her grandmother going on a walk, and they invited Rachel along. So she ended up spending most of the day with them until she arrived back home at 6 because Sydney and her mom had extracted a promise from us that we'd let her and Rachel go trick or treating together. (Meanwhile, Anne and David and I discovered a great walking path from our neighborhood right into Falls Church near a bookstore and a restaurant that was separate from the bike trail; I can't wait to take Drew and Rachel on it.)

Syd and her parents arrived a little after 6, and I almost didn't recognize them -- Nicole was a zombie mom, Chris (Syd's dad), was a New Year's baby (completely with a costume diaper and big butt -- I am not kidding, we all laughed) and then Anne and David graciously agreed to go trick or treating with them while Drew raced out and got pizza for everyone. I stayed home, listening to "Peer Gynt," (is there a better soundtrack for Halloween? NO) while we got a bunch of trick or treaters and I let them have a lot of candy. Our neighbors across the street put up glow-in-the-dark cobwebbing, and the folks down the street had an open fire in a fire pit, and as I stood outside, I thought how wonderful it was that we ended up in this neighborhood. I call it "Mayberry-on-the-Potomac," and it's true, it's just like that.

When everyone got back, we spontaneously decided to feed everyone pizza, and Drew just loved having everyone sitting down and eating pizza, talking and laughing together. They all recounted how Rachel insisted on carrying Syd's trick-or-treat plastic pumpkin candy holder, even when it got really heavy. Each of the girls gave me some candy as a present, and I hugged both of them. There wasn't enough room for all of us to sit down together, so Drew and I stood and talked with everyone until Nicole, Chris and Syd left. It was a perfect Halloween, the best one yet!