5th Annual Columbus Day Picnic

In five years, our Columbus Day weekend picnic has grown from a relatively small get-together of college friends into a big family event. This year, we had more kids at our party (13) than we had grown-ups at our first party.

All in all, this year's head count reached 27 people, ranging from 5-month old Gianna Carapazza to some guy who was hobbling around at the ripe old age of 39 years/5 months (hmm... wonder who that could be?). Thank you to the Bonsteels, Carapazzas, Chiaverinis, Colettis, Frickes and Garbulinskis for making this year's party bigger and better than ever.

Once again, the Fall weather in South Jersey was perfect this year, which meant that everyone could enjoy their appetizers and beverages outside. Gwen was digging the meatballs.

Meanwhile, inside the house, Morgan, Katie, Andrew, Annie and Marissa showed off their cupcake decorating skills. Candy corn, gummi worms and candy bones and bugs make for tasty Halloween treats.

Having more "big kids" (7-9 years) at the party this year was really fun for the "little kids". Lucas couldn't wait to get his hands on John's big-kid Star Wars Legos.

Who are we kidding? Everybody couldn't wait to get their hands on John's big-kid Star Wars Legos.

So it only makes sense that John, Mikey and Cooper couldn't wait to get their hands on Gwen's little-kid car.

Annie (9) and Marissa (8) impressed Cooper and Morgan by building a rocket, while Gwen had fun with her old pal Katie (8)... those two go way back (like, almost 15 months).

Gwen also got to experience the feeling of being a "big kid", too, compared to little Gianna. She stood by her stroller and yelled "Baby! Baby!" Luckily, Gianna is a really good sleeper.

Getting 13 kids to pose for a photo together is easier said than done -- especially after a long, fun afternoon.

Soon, it was time for everyone to put on their pj's for the ride home. Another Columbus Day picnic is in the books. Hope everyone can make it again next year.

Fast-forwarding through Fall

It seems like we just got back from our Summer vacations in New England. But then we looked at the calendar and saw that Halloween is just a few weeks away -- and looked at our back yard and saw the leaves piling up. So it must be Fall.

So, let's fast-forward through all the stuff that's been going on in the Saucier household over the last month or so.

September 11: Uncle Sam thinks kids should be in rear-facing seats until they're 2 years old. Gwen vehemently disagrees. So rather than squish our not-so-little girl into her baby seat for another 9 months, we decided to get her a big girl seat to match Morgan's. We've never seen Gwen so excited to get in the car before.

September 17: Gwen's birthday gift from Nanna and Grandpa arrives -- a new stool for little kitchen helpers! Now Gwen can help Ariella and Morgan cook -- and Ariella and Andy can stop worrying about Gwen falling off a chair. It's a win-win situation.

September 20: Brrrr! It's our first chilly morning in South Jersey. Perfect opportunity for Morgan and Gwen to try out their new purple puffy vests. Practical and stylish.

September 25: Never mind... put those puffy coats back in the closet! With temps in the 70's and 80's, the girls were excited to get outside to play in the sandbox, ride their bikes, and draw with sidewalk chalk.

October 1: Now that the Red Sox have blown a 9.5-game lead and missed the playoffs, our sports attention switches completely to Syracuse football. During a visit from Andy's family, the girls all donned their Syracuse gear to cheer for the Orangemen against Aimee and Russ' alma mater, Rutgers. Sadly, the Orange lost the game on a fumble in double overtime. Oh well.

October 2: Fingerpainting!! We can check another item off the list of "Stuff Morgan Gets to Do that Gwen Really, Really Wants to Do But Isn't Old Enough Yet." (Seems like that list gets shorter and shorter every day.)

October 3: Oh, deer! We spotted this little guy walking around the yard. He got spooked by the cars, ran through the fence gate, and then jumped over the fence in the back. Morgan asked, "Is he looking for Santa?"

October 9: Morgan decided to decorate the back yard for Halloween. Nice touch, Morgan.

October 10: Morgan pulled the giant Elmo out of Gwen's toybox and begged me to take a picture of her snuggling with her furry friend. Then, she convinced Gwen to take a picture, too. Gwen obviously isn't as much of a snuggler as Morgan. (Don't take it personally, Elmo.)

Sesame Street After Dark

After skipping-out on most of the summer at Sesame Place, we're finally putting our season passes to good use this fall. Two Saturdays ago, the park held a special "night parade" for season pass holders only. Not only did the parade sound like fun, but it also sounded like a perfect opportunity to take advantage of all the rides without waiting in long lines.

We arrived at the park a little after 3pm. Morgan and Ariella headed straight for Elmo's Cloud Chaser (a.k.a. swing) ride.

The first time we came to Sesame Place, Gwen was just 7 weeks old. This time around, she was big enough to go on some of the rides.

Gwen was very excited to ride on Elmo's Flying Fish, Big Bird's Balloon Race and the Sunny Day Carousel (all above). Unfortunately, she was a little freaked out by the giant slide (below) so we had to send Morgan in after her to get her down.

After we rode on just about every ride in the park and grabbed dinner, it was time to claim a spot along the parade route.

This weekend marked the start of the "Halloween Spooktacular", so all the Sesame Street Characters were dressed up in Halloween costumes. Elmo was a skeleton. Murray wore a karate outfit. And Super Grover dressed up like... umm... Super Grover.

After the parade was over, there was still one last ride that Morgan had to try before the night was over: "Blast Off!" For a kid who still gets terrified watching Disney movies, Morgan has no fear whatsoever when it comes to amusement park rides.