Throwing the leaves.
Crunching them (her favorite thing to do).
We love fall!
Saturday, since the boys were gone, Jill and I decided to go to the zoo to meet the Cissells. After an unusually long trip to the zoo (I'll spare you the trip details), we arrived with only 27 minutes to get some candy and see a few characters (we had to be back on the road by 6:00 in order to make our next stop on time). Here, Princess Libby (Sleeping Beauty) awaits to enter the zoo.
Libby and Livy (Kayla's cousin). 
Livy with the two prettiest Snow Whites in the zoo!
We stopped for a photo op next to a Dwarf (you may notice the turtle from one of the partners at Gary's firm in the background). By this time, Jill and I were absolutely cracking up... I was pushing the stroller (you'll note we were in too big of a hurry to get Libby out of it for any photos!) and Jill was holding the girl's hands. We were (at some point) literally running--zooming in and out of wagons and strollers toting pumpkins, monsters and princesses. We skipped many of the candy booths in order to make it thorough in our allotted 27 minutes. 
The girls were such troopers during out "Zoo Trip on Speed". Kayla and Livy ran as fast as their little legs would carry them! Here they are with Belle from Beauty and the Beast (when you only have time for 1 picture, we don't guarantee that everyone--or anyone--would be looking at the camera). 
Common----you didn't really think you'd make it through an entire blog entry without seeing a picture that I edited with my new program, did you?
And of course, helped her get to the candy when it finally got busted.
Mama Sandy thought of everything! We had a great dinner, followed by a Spook Walk for the kids, a craft table (above) for the little ones, and lots of other great games. We finished the evening with Trick-or-Treat for the kiddos. Libby was wiped out when we got home---Thanks so much for inviting us, Sandy and Tony!
This one was too big to carry...we suggested that she find a smaller one.
Toting the white pumpkin that she chose.
Checking out the pumpkin patch (I love the hand on her hip--such attitude!) 
How tall this fall?
Our sweet little girl.
Gary showing off the one that we finally chose.
Thanks for taking us, Daddy!
Libby proudly showing off her pumpkins and gourds. 
Here, JP & Gary get ready to race. I've always wanted to start a race by throwing my hat in the air like that one awesome scene in "Footloose". Mission Accomplished. 
As you know, I have a total of 4 first cousins who are getting married within the a few months of eachother. Saturday was Kristin's wedding at the Overlook in Leavenworth, IN. It was such a beautiful day and was a really nice (and short) wedding. 
Before the wedding, Libby and I headed down to Nonna and Pop's camp to enjoy the beautiful day. Libby is such a "Pop's Girl" and didn't like it when he was out of her sight. Here they are at the wedding.
My sweet little girl.
Here is Mom and 4 of her sisters (Jeanne, Kathy, Judy and Nancy). Shena & Gibby's wedding will be the next and the last for a while. Stay tuned for November 15th wedding event of the year!
...and ate some chicken and dumplings and fish sandwiches....
After we left downtown, we headed out to Shena & Gibby's house so that we could try out their new toy (one of those personalized scooters that is controlled with your leaning). Libby & Ally thought it was so funny to watch us make fools out of ourselves.
After a long (but fun) night, the girls had to take a bath before getting ready for bed. Ally, you are welcome back anytime!
Mimi got Libby a "medical set" last weekend. It didn't take her long to decide that each of her animals needed a check-up (note she even got out Gary's old "Teddy" from his childhood).
Cheese (why does she always close her eyes when she says "Cheese"?)
Can you hear me now?
Since Daddy, Momma and Libby all have the same BlackBerry, we decided to put a sticker on the back of hers so we won't get them all mixed up. Here she is texting her daddy. 
As most of you know (and have heard us talk about for weeks), 6 of us headed to the Windy City this weekend to see The New Kids On The Block in concert! We left Friday while all of the kids were at gymnastics and drove up to Indy. Here we are at our Indy hotel, minus Jessica, who came shortly after this shot was taken. 
You will note that I have on my vintage 1989 The New Kids On The Block T-shirt! It's amazing that I kept it all these years! 
Me and Jill.....man, I loved that shirt!
Saturday morning, we got up and drove into Chicago. We wanted to get some Chicago shopping done before the concert, so we took (what was supposed to be a 45 minute) the "L" to downtown. Sarah, Amy & Jessica on the "Blue Line" Train. 
Me, Joni & Jill. A portion of the train was closed down, so we had to hop a bus and then get on 2 more trains before we made it downtown. What an adventure!
Common' ride the train (hey ride it)....
Sarah, Jill and Joni outside of Macy's on the Miracle Mile. We thought for sure we'd run into Oprah...we were a little disappointed.
Me, Joni & Sarah waiting for our train. 
The gang on the Miracle Mile...we Shopped until we dropped....
It was such a beautiful day!! Check out that blue sky!
After our long trip, we had to eat some "Chicago Pizza" and get ready for the concert.....we had a few drinks, too.
Joni & I were beginning to practice for the upcoming Beer Olympics. I am going to be a gold metal winner! 
