2007-09 SEPT ADVENTURE

1 Finally on our way! We're in a KC-10 headed for McGuire AFB, NJ. It will be a 9 hr flight. It's 9:30am at takeoff. We'll land somewhere around midnight. Sam has his earplugs in for the nap, and is holding travel buddy "Bear" and clutching the patch one of the crew gave him. Behind him are some racks where the air crew will take a nap. They're like little bat caves. You'd look back and see a hand or foot sticking out from between the canvas flaps.	2 One of four pilots, Capt Kellie invited us up to the cockpit. The boom operator took these pictures for us. The crew was amazing - so welcoming and willing to take a few minutes to answer questions from Curious George (me). Here Sam is pointing the way to NJ saying "ovah dayah!"	3 Sitting in a cockpit seat! To his right is the flight engineer (you can't se these people), then up front are two pilots.	4 Little buddy amazed by all the buttons and clouds. He couldn't stop talking abou the experience when he got back to his seat.
5 Happy traveler! He was SUCH an angel. I was floored. He never peeped, never had an accident in his pants, talked to himself for about 40 minutes straight while I read and watched him fly bear around...The crew was really amazed by the time we landed. They congratulated him heartily and gave him uniform patches right off their shoulders.	6 What I saw most of the flight - this is the "mess" where they make meals in a little convection oven. Dave hasn't seen this shot yet, but I assume this is much like NR-1's mess. The lunches we bought were MASSIVE - for $3.65 each, Sam and I feasted on sandwich, fruit, snacks, drink. We split one for lunch and saved the other to split for dinner. Our trip to NJ cost us just over $7 :)	7 In-flight "preschool" lesson about the KC-10's primary mission of refueling other planes with its boom. Sam was fascinated by the boom concept and kept spelling it out, pointing to the boom operator.	8 The fruit had a funny label - DO NOT OPEN UNTIL AIRBORNE. You could imagine all kinds of nefarious tricks this pear might pull if you happened to let it out before taking off. Hmmm...what would a pear get into....
9 Capt Kellie - note patch missing from her shoulder :) Sammy has it and we'll put it on "our" seabag (it was Dave's but it's ours now!).	10 Sam studying his patch collection.	11 The only shot of a KC-10 I can get for you. Not allowed to take pictures on the flight line. All the other pictures I took were approved by the crew.	12 First munchkins! I don't think there are Dunkin Donuts on the west coast, are there? I don't recall seeing any.
13 Hmmm...this is at Dad's sporting goods store. He works there part time and has proven to be indipensible to them. Nice store.	14 Bigger hmmm....what would a hunter need this for? I guess it depends on your prey?	15 In the fishing department where Dad works.	16 The guys :)
17 An impromptu visit to the John Deere distributor turned into a private tour led by Jose. Sam got to sit in the cabs!	18 Ohhhh - tracks!	19 Mommy had to come up, too :)	20
21 Levers!	22 Thanks Jose!!!	23 Jose hoisted Sam in and out of half a dozen tractors.	24 Turns out he has a 10 yr old son who enjoys taking the keys and driving one of the tractors around in the vast area behind the store. Hey - I'd like that, too! Sounds fun!
25	26	27 Little guy tractor inside was a big hit. Looks like Sam is calling his buddies, but there's no phone. Just a coincidence.	28 Look at the nice tractor the parts guy gave him! We found Frank, the parts guy, today when we brought some mac nuts to the store as a thank you.
29 Grandpa showing me all the features :)	30 It's called a skid-steer tractor. I hope some day all this tractor knowledge proves useful!	31 Wow. A long day. We just got back from a little jaunt around the neighborhood, finding leaves to crunch under our feet. Now it's off to dessert, bath and bed.	32 This is day 2 - Tuesday. We were up at normal time and off on adventures! We went to base to run some errands, including making sure all the paperwork was in order for our return trip. Then to Smithville Park to run on the nature trails that weave through woods, along a stream, and over a floating bridge on a lake. It was really a great trail. Very well done.
33 The floating bridge. These are cell-phone pictures, so not too clear. There is a large bird sitting on the rail, but I'm not sure you can find it!	34 Sam running part of the way. He did about a mile, actually. He's a little jogger, too!	35 His favorite is pushing the stroller just like mommy. But more off-trail than mommy...he weaves all over just for kicks. He enjoys having "accidents"!	36 I figured out how to feel cold again! Run in the rain then come home to air conditioning :) I curled up for a nap with all this on, UNDER the blankets. I rarely nap, but this rainy day seemed meant for it.
37 Playing with Liam, Marilou's grandson. It was great to see the wohle family - Bill, Janet, and sons Alex and Liam - last night for dinner. Liam played a troll for Sam - he hid under cushions and we lured him out with troll food - pumpkin seeds :)	38 Playing with Grandpa in the vast backyard!	39 Sam learning to catch - he's better with his feet!	40 Getting a hand with catching.
41 Liam and Sam were remarkably gentle with each other despite all the horseplay! No one got hurt :)	42 This is my old house in Princeton. It seems totally massive to me now compared to our Hawaii digz. Funny - usually people feel like things are diminutive compared to their childhood memories. This trip I feel like NJ is prettier and more spacious than I recall. That gives you some idea how jam-packed O'ahu is...	43 Princeton High School. I stopped in to see if I could find my bio teacher, Mrs. Sprague. Turns out she is the science supervisor. She was in today but we couldn't track her down. School was closed today, so we got to park in the visitor lot and leave the car there while we went for a jog down to the boathouse at Carnegie Lake, where I rowed.	44 We found someone had planted hibiscus in a container! Wow!
45 The docks at the boathouse. I remember steering carefully through that bridge and pulling up to the dock in a long 8-man shell. I think I recall they are 60' long?	46 Nice boathouse!	47 After the jog were were intent on finding a bagel place I remembered. I lost my way so stopped in Palmer Square and asked a couple ladies hanging out with their kids in the little garden. We started talking and within a minute, we realized we knew each other! This is Femke, a high school friend of mine! She is married with two kids, and lives nearby. How crazy! We enjoyed catching up a bit - hard to compress 18 yrs into 10 minutes, but I'll catch her on my next "deployment" to the east coast.	48 Sam lounding while finishing up his lunch.
49 Just a slice of Princeton. It's a gorgeous town, very busy with students, professionals and visitors all sipping coffee, having a nice lunch, talking intently about intellectual things....It was a gorgeous day there.	50 Such cute houses.	51	52 Sammy gets to ride Dad's tractor and do some mowing! He was so serious at first, but after a few minutes relaxed enough to steer :) He kept looking to either side, fascinated that the wheels were turning on their own!
53 Just us for dinner, so we made a "Dad concoction" - leftovers seasoned with some yummy spicy things. Sam likes spicy sushi, so I let him try one finger dipped in a drop of tabasco. He immediately said "I need some water!"	54 This is Dad's concoction - spinach salad layered over pulled sweet pulled pork topped with jabanero sauce. Yum! I had the same.	55 Sam basically did, too...just a tiny wee bit of tabasco for him.	56 Campfire and s'mores afterwards with the neighbors and their three sons.
57 Sam loves to make kindling.	58	59 Playing with Tita Bear and Tito Pig who came down for the afternoon. They're checking out Sam's "pipes" here :)	60 I suggested Doug try "donkey kicks" which is something Sammy and I mess around trying sometimes. Doug is game for anything and knew right away what to do!
61 Wow! Glad I had this on fast-frame sports mode!	62 Whaddya think of that?!	63 Sam wants to ride the donkey! Mary is saying "don't kick, Dougie, don't kick!" See his blurry feet?	64 Sam hangs on for the ride, though.
65 And feeds the donkey a nice piece of celery afterwards. See Sam's mouth? :)	66 We had a great time playing in the warm fall sun.	67	68 More tractor riding! It is the country, after all. This would take up a sizeable portion of our yard at home! See how Sammy keeps checking the wheels and the grass flying out from the blades?
69 I made Doug take a ride - he doesn't get to drive much in the City. Look at the mischievous face...Dana and Angel - I know you are certain now that it runs in the family :)	70 Ok if I just pull 'er into the shed? No - enough! Sure? (Dad is doing hand across the throat gestures saying stop!)	71 Some truck time.	72
73 The high hoop!	74 Super-pants :)	75 He did not want to be part of the photo shoot this time!	76
77 Whew! Tired!	78 See? Still not havin' it :) But at least you can see the three of us. Can you find Mary's engagement ring? It's gorgeous!	79 We got pops in the picture, too.	80 On the way back from the train station, Sam started saying "But I need cake with CHEESE in it!" The only reason I knew what he was talking about is because one of the air crew had Cheesecake Factory cheesecake dessert leftovers on the plane last Sunday, a week ago. I can't believe he remembered that. So we found a diner and stopped to get three slices to go. He loved it and had some tears when I pulled him away from it so we could save half for tonight. High class taste, huh? He likes creme brulee, too!
81 Getting a tour of tanks from Dad - Ft Dix.	82 Big tracks! This is the Infantry Park.	83 This is a 105 self-propelled howitzer - WWII vintage. Cool that Dad knows what this is. It was in Dad's first firing battery assignment after commissioning.	84
85 This means: 2nd Armor Division 78th Field Artillery	86 Learning to march :)	87 The goose step. The guardian goose step. That's what dad said I should name this.	88 It gets better! He just told me he could have done "walk like an Egyptian" too! Who knew!?
89 Colors is at 5pm regardless of sundown. I guess the Air Force and Army do things that way. Navy and Marine do colors at sundown.	90 Sammy stands at attention for colors.	91 Even a little salute :)	92
93	94 I really really enjoy the groundhogs. They are FAST though. I tried to chase one down for Sammy but he got into his hole too quick! This is as close as I've gotten - with full zoom! How can a chubby ground hog move that fast? They are all over Ft. Dix. Too much fun!	95 The local farm produce stand has this tractor out for display. We couldn't resist. No hay rides this year. Too bad...	96 But I want the wheels to turn!
97	98	99 Morning lounging. Note the wintery clothes!	100
101	102 Where I've been going a lot lately...this is the medical clinic at McGuire. Very nice, huh?	103 THIS is the wee surprise that came along space-a with us! We had no idea there was a baby Krug #2 in there, but alas, here he or she is! I'm 5 weeks. Say some prayers this one stays put :) We are hopeful, and I've had the kindest people work me into their clinic schedule this week before I head out on the road again. Amazing people I've met along the way. I couldn't ask for better medical care.	104 Feeding ducks at a little park.
105 Now just one bite at a time for them!	106 Dad stands guard to keep the LARGE goose from attacking our behinds. He said "I've got your 6" then proceeded to walk down the little walkway away from us. Fortunately the only geese who approached had no beaks. There were some scraggly characters down there, so they got some special treatment.	107 YUM! Phase 2 as Dad calls it! Sammy is sharing with Grammy, or is Grammy sharing with Sammy?	108 More Grammy! As he pulls her down.
109 Both licking their lips :)	110	111	112
113	114	115 We're on Long Island now, visiting Sam's great grandma in the hospital. She is home now and doing very well!	116 In front of Richie and Diane's home - they always throw open the doors and welcome us for however long we can stay. Jen gave us her room, and Stacie helps me wear Sam out by showing him some volleyball moves :) Sam loves Uncle Richie's "ra-ra's" and Richie's monkey noises!
117	118 A little trip to the playground after picking pumpkins out for the front stoop.	119 He did really well on these - all by himself! They move around a bit - they're not completely stationary.	120 Concentrating here, mom!
121	122 Lots of new stuff to try out!	123 Getting some ra-ras!	124
125	126	127	128 Watching Stacie's volleyball game. He really liked cheering!
129 Getting the meat ready to make kalua pig. We had to do some home-butchering first to get it to fit. We were both thinking - never again! I don't know how Gail does it...Notice I graciously allowed Aunt Diane to have the honors? :)	130 Mommy and son at the nearby park. We had a picnic lunch then playground time.	131	132 Still trying to get a shot of me in one of these pictures...ah well! :) Caught me mid-hoist this time.
133 Video games with "little" Richie! Sam loves this time in the man chair watching cars race.	134 Dessert time! Sam is so loved - he has had EVERY one of his favorite desserts while here - cheesecake, carrot cake...	135 Do you want to pull the string?	136
137 You can poke it!	138 Really?	139 Jen and Sam :)	140 Off to NYC to visit Doug and Mary (Pig and Bear).
141 Wow!	142 He has been dying to ride a "big fat bus" for months, so I promised him we would in the City. Here's our bus :)	143 Sitting with Doug and taking it all in.	144 Listening to a well-meaning lady tell us all about how to use a metro card to get around. Doug has one in his pocket that he just used to get us on the bus :)
145	146	147 Out for some brunch at Cowgirl. Mary joined us!	148 Drawing some plants. Sam said this is a "hibiscus" tree! Mary almost fell over :)
149 "A HIBISCUS tree???!!! Oh SAM!"	150 Mary carried Sam ALL over NYC so that she could snuggle him. Her little arms were pretty strong! Here we are dashing home in the rain.	151 Big boy haircut at a NYC salon!	152 He got to sit in a boat!
153 He did the clippers just fine, then product in the hair, then blow dryer!	154 Not so much, mom!	155	156 The policemen turned the lights on for him!
157 A street fair...	158 The oldest continually operating drug store in the US - pretty cool inside. One of Mary's friends was promoting her own line of skin care products, so we popped in to support her.	159 Going out to sushi with the girls :)	160
161	162 He's still trying to figure out how to "make" a smile, vs just smile. You never know what you're going to get when you say "Smile, Sam!"	163 Shrimp paper or something...very tasty!	164 Mary and Tricia! Trish just adored Sam and was so much fun to talk to. I hope we get to see her on her next trip to Maui.
165	166 Eating Mary's caviar! He loved it!	167 Going back for more!	168 Now we're in line at Magnolia, waiting for cupcakes! He started talking about "gokwit cwupcakes" after nap - before dinner. Well, Mary knew exactly where to take us. But the line is about 30min long or so. We made it, though!
169	170 Watching them ice the cupcakes.	171 Doug trying to figure out how to hold the big guy without hips!	172 Sam started slipping all over! Pig has nowhere to rest him!
173 Ok - we'll fly you!	174	175 Getting closer to the door!	176 We got our cupcakes and now we're at home enjoying them.
177	178 Messing around with Mary and Trish in his big boy bed. He was doing sommersaults and roundhouses all over the girls. I think Mary got a foot in the head! He was laughing and laughing!	179	180
181 After baff and ready for bead :) Mommy is tired, too!	182 This is a gorgeous dress Mary gave to me from her closet! We are going to figure out if I can borrow shoes from Aunt Diane or Jen so I can wear it this weekend to the wedding in Boston.	183 More romping before going out to brunch.	184 We're at a cute little Belgian cafe - and we found a book on pirates in French! Fortunately Mary is learning French for her new job at Yves Saint Laurent, so it was fun to teach Sam some words. He says "c'est magnifique" very well!
185	186 French toast! All the food was really outstanding.	187 Teaching Sam how to propose (so that we could put Mary's gorgeous engagement ring back on). He got down on one knee and said "Will you Mary me?" and Mary was so cute saying "I will! I will!" then he immediately picked up her blackberry from the chair and said "Here's your blackberry"!	188
189 Goodbyes - we're on our way back to Penn Station.	190 On the train home - he got a little wild!	191	192
193	194 This is "prim and proper" boy...	195 Sammy is wearing his aloha shirt for a party Jen threw for her parents to celebrate their 26th anniversary.	196 Here's the happy couple with my little buddy :)
197 Great grandma enjoyed lots of good snuggles with Sammy. He got good scratchies from the scratchie queen, too :)	198 Jen's panna cotta (did I spell that right?) - it was delicious!!!!	199 The whole dessert spread for about a dozen family members. Do you note the special cake for Sammy? They are so thoughtful picking up all the desserts he loves!!!	200 Waiting for Nana and PopPop to arrive. See the little box of toys? That's all we have for toys for the trip! Good little buddy finds ways to stay interested in them.
201 Here they are!!!	202	203 At the diner for lunch!	204 Sammy napping with his new Thomas pillow. Thanks Nana and PopPop!
205 Playing golf with Nana and PopPop. We're on a walk around their townhome community.	206 They got him a nice train set puzzle, too.	207 Riding the PopPop horse to bathtime!	208
209 We even got Nana to do bunny hophop!	210	211 These are the biggest pigeons you've ever (EVER) seen.	212 We're at Captree where we found a patch of sand to play in, and even a big playground!
213	214	215	216 PopPop watched Sammy like a hawk. I don't think he was sure whether or not to believe me that Sammy climbs all this stuff on his own. Lucky buddy to have so many watchful eyes!
217	218 Having fun on a shaky bridge. He ran back and forth, back and forth.	219	220 Nana soaks up the nice sun, some coffee, and all the fun.
221	222 Lunch afterwards in a nice restaurant overlooking the marina.	223 Sammy likes PopPop's motorcycle!	224 PopPop has a wonderful voice and plays the guitar very well. He sang one of his own songs at our wedding - This Very Day.
225 Nana cooking a yummy dinner!	226 We even made some apple cobbler!	227 Reading time with Nana. PopPop is watching baseball.	228 Another diner for second breakfast! Sam is a real hobbit :)
229 Drawing with Nana!	230 Doing a nice job coloring.	231 Yet another diner!	232 Nice job, PopPop!
233 A great playground across the street.	234	235 PopPop kept a watchful eye on the little guy the whole time.	236 But took a few minutes "off" :)
237	238 Waiting for Dave at JFK. Poor guy flew 12 hrs, 4 hr layover in LAX, then had to wait 45 min just to taxi up to the gate at JFK. He was really ready to get off the plane.	239 It was so good to see them together again.	240 Had to stop at a loca deli for an egg sandwich before heading out to the ferry to CT. We're on our way to Boston for Dave's cousin's wedding.
241 Are we going the right way Sam?	242 Waiting for the ferry. In enough time, these rocks will turn into sand, right? We'll take what we can get :)	243 Messing around with Daddy on the ferry.	244
245 Cousin Richie and Jen speeding their way up to Boston. They passed us on the way...	246 Lake Massapoag where we had a family BBQ (luau!) while everyone else was doing the rehearsal dinner.	247	248
249 Playing with uncle Tim!	250	251	252 Aunt Lucille and Uncle Charlie. This is Dave's grandfather's sister.
253	254 This is the best I could do for a northeast fall luau. Note the plastic leis?	255	256 Aunt Susan and Uncle Gerry (seated, back to you).
257 Cousin Chris and brother Tim.	258 Cousin Jen (well - Aunt Jen to Sam, that's what we decided made sense!).	259 Richie and Sammy messing around.	260 The little guy ran ALL OVER that night.
261 What's under Richie's shirt?	262 It took a while to get it out :)	263 Stacie and Tim playing volleyball. Sam wanted to play so badly.	264
265 Come back here!	266	267	268 Dave grilled up enough burgers and dogs to feed 24 people. We had a great time! I think he's on the phone with Bill here, trying to help him find the park. Bill realized he had directions in his wallet after making about 5 phone calls to us - we were juggling greasy hands and starving boy while trying to vector him in :) "Just head for the lake!"
269 Coffee for mommy and Sammy in the morning. (OK - he had a "latte")	270 Sammy got to sleep on a big boy bed at the hotel. Our room was set up so well for us to sleep with him in the room. He did a great job sleeping on a bed with "no sides" for the first time.	271 Just before Cousin Jack and Jackie's wedding in Sharon, MA. This is Uncle Richie, and Jen and Steve.	272 Chris again - all suited up this time.
273 Jen and sister Stacie.	274 In the church. Sam was so great. He was the youngest by about a dozen years. The only toddler. He uttered not a peep th entire time. Well, not out of his mouth at least. Shall I reveal this on the web? Ok...I will. He...ahhhemm...let fly with a very long, loud, emission from his rump during a quiet part of the ceremony. We were in the last row, thankfully. But our whole row and the one in front of us was just heaving with laughter. We were trying so hard to be quiet! Dave bit his lip until he drew blood just to stop giggling. Sam knew it was a good performance. He looked up at me with a quiet twinkle in his eye :)	275 Ahhhh....	276
277 Watching the recessional.	278	279 Congratulations!	280 Thanks for the great dress, Angel! Now it will have a good story to tell when it "travels" to the next lady.
281 Jen's "date" :)	282 Brothers, and nephew.	283	284
285	286	287	288 Krugs - Jen, Richie, Diane, Richie, Stacie. We had a great time staying with them for a week. Thanks again, guys!!! Jen gave us her room for 5 days!
289	290 Playing guitar and drums (on a waste can) with Tim.	291	292 I want to do another one! With Steve :)
293 OK, last, LAST one!	294 Showing Aunt Debby the rock on sign :) He learned that in New York.	295 Breakfast at the hotel. He liked the buffet :)	296 Romping with Daddy after breakfast, and before I hit the road again to Saratoga. It was really hard to part ways.
297 Leading a hike with the brothers near the hotel. It was a short trail, but offered a lot of fun nevertheless.	298 "Troll bridge"	299	300 Knocking on the bridge with his hiking stick.
301	302	303	304
305	306	307	308 Dan...reflecting on his two deployments to Iraq while in the Army.
309	310	311	312
313 Throwing rocks into the stream.	314	315	316
317 No shortage of photo ops!	318	319	320
321	322 Love seeing these two together.	323 "I'm a rock climber!"	324
325	326	327 Popping little seed pods that turn into wormy-like things.	328
329 Mommy and Sammy on a dinner date in Saratoga. We went to The Parting Glass, an Irish pub. We had fish 'n chips, and bread pudding. Yum!	330	331 Romping at Saratoga Spa State Park.	332 Heading toward the Gideon Putnam Hotel where Dave and I had our wedding reception in 2002 (Dec. 28).
333 Chasing squirrels!	334 The "Garden Room" where we had our reception. There was about 3' of snow outside. It was awesome! The hotel was all decorated in Christmas decor.	335	336 My favorite part of my old running route. Sam and I enjoyed loping along pretending to be horses. You'll see all his "galloping" moves.
337 Using his hands to hold the reins, and give the "horse" his head to run. He has the right lead most of the time :)	338	339 "I miss running, too!"	340
341	342 Out for a lunch date at another favorite place - Scallions. They have really neat decor inside, and a gallery for the artist next door.	343	344 See the calendar on the wall?
345 Busy for lunch...	346 Turkey, brie and fig jam on olive bread. YUM! This is what we have every time we come back.	347 Loved this. Pig and Bear - I thought of you as well. I know you have enjoyed your stays here in Saratoga.	348 Maureen makes delicious dinners every night. And dessert. This is meatballs for spaghetti.
349 There she is!	350 Now we're on a little walk behind Skidmore College. The trail system back there is awesome.	351 Look at all the leaves!	352 This is for you, mommy!
353 On Tuesday we went to Stockbridge MA to visit with aunt Christine (my dad's half sister) and my friend Connie, from Merck. CC brought Sammy a wonderful book - Make Way for Ducklings.	354	355 Then we met Connie and went to the playground to work off pancakes and eggs :) He's doing a good job hanging and getting his feet back on that platform. A new skill. He did it over and over again!	356 There's Connie! She worked really hard to juggle her schedule so she could meet up for just a few hours. She tacked on I think 200 miles to her busy day to drive over.
357 Look at how much fun they're having. Connie is a blast (not a breath) of fresh air. She's so much fun. We were in Merck training together six (or is it seven?) years ago. Stuck in a hotel in Phila for 9 weeks. What a crazy time.	358 Learning to shaka!	359 The drive up to the Adirondacks. Leaves all over!	360 Hanging out after a good breakfast at one of Mo's favorite places.
361 Here we are! Ready to hit the trail.	362	363 Pointing out a "Y" root. He's been finding lots of letters on the trail lately.	364
365 Still not sure what to do with his mouth when you say "smile, Sam!"	366 Never sure what you'll get...	367 There. That's better.	368 Bouldering - we're almost at the top now. It was 700' elevation and 2.5 miles. He did great. Tired at the end, but so was I (from being his human parachute as he jumped off every possible rock).
369 "I did it. All by my self."	370 The view from the top - Heart Lake with the big peaks (4,000'+) in the distance. I've hiked many of these with Maureen. I think I'm 25% done with my winter 46 (46 peaks over 4000 ft). This is Amy, Maureen's daughter. We haven't seen Jenni this trip - she is living on her own now, in an apartment. Oh, and that's Molly, the puppy.	371	372 Mo with her "baby" who was very tired after the hike.
373	374	375 A Lincoln Log bridge.	376
377	378	379 Sammy will plunk down in anything that looks remotely like sand.	380 Sammy's Mount Jo patch! Yeah!
381 Driving through Lake Placid.	382 A favorite haunt after a big hike. We have chomped down a whole "Marcy cut" of steak. And multiple bowls of clam chowder.	383 That's where we usually sat.	384 Some little buddy was tired. He slept on the way home, but not as long as I thought. See the patch still in his hand? He was very proud.
385	386	387	388
389 Riding the new tractor with Tim!	390 The fall festivals are huge - this one at a farm in Saratoga had a little train track, corn maze, hay ride, haunted woods...	391	392 And a butterfly house!
393 We squeezed onto a hayride with 120 preschoolers on a field trip.	394 Sam just chillin' and checkin' it all out. He wanted a hay ride so badly!	395 The haunted woods.	396 He liked the pirate ship :)
397 Climbing up the hay "mountain".	398 And surfing on a hay bale :)	399 I picked my OWN pumpkin!	400 Riding on a little train now.
401 Then we found a new trail through old-growth hemlocks in Saratoga. I couldn't resist going for a little jog :) Sam loved picking out all the blue trail markers on the trees!	402 Hiking friend and legend, Ron Lester.	403 And Tim with Sammy...	404 Ron brought Maureen a rock from Everest base camp! He trekked it all 37 miles back to civilization to get it onto the plane.
405 I had him sign mine - I can't believe I got one, too! WOW!	406 Dan and Heather at their new place in Albany. It's very cute.	407 The great gourd fight of 2007!	408 Heather thought it looked more like a swan...not a weapon!
409 Yummy breakfast at Cafe Madison, a few blocks from their home.	410 Then some log rolling to aid digestion...look at Dan's hair! They went really fast down this steep hill.	411 "Dan! Please catch him!" Sam's head was flying all around! He loved it!	412 Their home. They live upstairs.
413 Time to go again. Off to NJ.	414	415 This is the Koehler's place in the town where we used to live - Northern NJ.	416 We found another patch of sand!
417	418 And friends Josh and Ang were flying through northern NJ to see family on their way back from Germany. It was so great to catch up with them for some great diner breakfast! Thanks again, Josh, for my outrageous double-decker platters of food!	419 Here we are with Josh's grandma, and his brother Adam and girlfriend Holly. Look at the food piled high!	420 Our old barn...
421 But the cottage is in good repair and overlooks the river.	422 The stairs up to the old 3-story house which is totally gone now!	423 Sammy enjoyed watching this guy roll around to get an itch :)	424 Here's a picture from long ago. Can you find Doug and me? We were on a trip with 4 moms and 12 kids up in VT.
425 Here's my childhood friend, Virginia, and her family. We had such a fun time reconnecting. Virginia has a good memory - she told me about many things I'd forgotten :)	426 Sammy enjoyed a canoe ride on Koehler pond!	427	428 Mary Jo is a good paddler and the colors were beautiful. Thanks for taking pictures of us, Elizabeth!
429 Sammy loves sitting in a dog bed any chance he gets!	430 The whole family enjoying a bbq dinner. That's Mary Jo, sister Elizabeth, Mary Jo's husband Ben, and Elizabeth's son and his friend aka the "big boys" to Sam.	431	432
433 Yummy pancakes on the deck then a walk through the woods.	434 See the leaves falling?	435 These are properties on the big estate. Such a neat stone house.	436 Sammy's hiking stick that we collected somewhere on this trip. I have it packed away to take home to Hawaii :)
437 Silly buddy making funny faces for our picture!	438 I found some moss, Mommy!	439 And a leaf for you, Mommy! (Yes I have this exact one stowed away.)	440 Such a fun swing in the woods! He loved it!
441	442 Back at McGuire AFB now, for our second ultrasound to check on Baby Krug #2.	443 Sammy got his own picture of "Thumbelina", as he is calling the baby.	444 There's BK2!
445 Funny shot - see the bottom? and the stuff on the slide? It's not what you think!	446 A visit to Aunt Kate and Uncle John in Delaware.	447 We went to Assateague Island to see the wild ponies.	448 They were more interested in munching than sticking their heads in our car.
449 We took a little hike through the sand hoping to see more ponies.	450 There was going to be a development here, then a huge storm wiped out that idea. This is one of the last vestiges of the plans.	451	452 These pine needles smelled great!
453	454	455 The "tree horse"!	456
457 Sammy checking out the Delaware beach. He was like...huh? It's cold! And the waves were loud, crashing right on the beach vs out further at the breaks like they do at home. He just stared for a long while.	458 We made a sand angel before we left.	459 Snuggle time before bed.	460 At Aunt Kate's just before leaving for NJ.
461 Sammy's fuel cell vehicle :)	462 Dropping off the rental car - there were fire engines at the Exchange so Dad and Sammy had a good time sitting in one and "driving" and seeing Smokey the Bear.	463	464 At the McGuire AFB terminal the day we flew out.
465 My friend Michelle - the boom operator on the KC-10. Here she is making cookies for the crew!	466 Our room at the Davis-Monthan AFB where we got stranded in Tucson.	467	468
469 Sleeping in mommy's bed in Phoenix before flying out on Hawaiian Airlines. I rolled up some towels as barriers to keep him from flopping over onto my side :)	470	471 We're home!!!!!