I know I have been remiss in not doing an update since July, and that wasn’t much of one. I was trying to catch up the processing of Kyle’s photos, which I finally did. So what have we been doing?
In July, Suzanne’s parents came up for July 4th. We had a nice time and did our normal fireworks (in Cranford, a couple of towns east of us). In August we finally managed to take a day down at the shore. We had been saying we were going to do this for a couple of years but never seemed to make it. We headed down to Point Pleasant Beach which is supposed to be more family-friendly than much of the shore. Most of the beach, etc., is owned by Jenkinsons, so it’s pretty nice, though not cheap as you have to pay to park, pay to access the beach, pay for the amusement rides, etc. There is also a small amusement park which Kyle really enjoyed.
As fall approached, we did a few things. One Sunday in September, the Watchung (Nature) Reservation (10-15 minutes from our house) had a very mice harvest festival. That same day, Fanwood was having it’s own festival, so it was a busy day. On one October weekend, it was time for our annual apple picking trip to Terhune Orchards in Princeton. Kyle really liked this, insisting on bringing his apple picking gardening tool. That next week, Kyle’s class went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch, and he had a great time. Of course, Kyle was very much looking forward to Halloween. Naturally, he was a fireman once again. (This made it easy for us as we could use last year’s costume. Next year, it will time for a new one as the current one is getting both too small and starting to wear out. He wears it far more than just at Halloween.) In addition to doing “stuff”, Kyle continued playing soccer throughout the fall. He enjoys it to a degree, but I’m not sure if we’ll sign up for next spring.
As most of you probably know, we’re heading back to Germany soon, primarily to enjoy the wonderful Christmas markets. We’ll also have a great opportunity to catch up with some friends from the time we lived there. We’re very much looking forward to this trip, though we’re not sure how well Kyle will handle the eight hour plane ride or the six hour time change. Our first few days are pretty laid back, so that should help with the latter. We’ll be spending a few nights in Frankfurt (where we’ll be visiting friends), then heading to Nürnberg (Nuremberg) for a few nights to visit one of the biggest and most famous markets, and then ending the trip with five nights in Munich. It’s likely we’ll also hit Bamberg (as a day trip from Nürnberg) and Salzburg, Austria (as a day trip from Munich). I’m hoping to post updates here as we go, so be sure and check back.
Of course, I’m sure what many of you want are new photos of Kyle. Here they are: