Fall, Family, and Caramel Apples

This past weekend, we had a mini-Metcalf family reunion at my parents' house in Indiana. TJ and Jennie and their daughter, Rachel, were even able to make the trip. It was so nice to have the entire family in the same house again! I don't think that's happened since last Thanksgiving. And contrary to what the above picture implies, Richard was around, too. He just wasn't close enough when this picture was taken!

Brad and I got to Crawfordsville at about midnight, but Richard and Dad weren't going to be home from work for another hour. Well, what do we do to pass the time? Toilet Paper Richard's house, of course! We got to my parents' house, dropped Chester off, grabbed all the TP we could find, woke Mom up, grabbed Trevor and ran. Well, Brad and I had never seen Richard's new house, so we didn't know where it was located. As we pull up, Brad says, "And right on the highway, too! I hope we don't get arrested!" We park the car across the street, grab the toilet paper and hop out. At that exact moment, a cop drives by, pulls a U-ey, and throws on the lights. Our first response was to run the heck out of there, but he knew what we were doing and he'd just chase us. So, Brad explained that we're visiting from TN and were just trying to pull one over on our brother before he gets home. The officer looked at his watch and said, "How long do you have?" When we told him that he'd be home at 1:00, he said, "Well you don't have much time, do you?" and he let us go! Richard still doesn't know it was us, so don't tell him. :)

Last year, my parents began some bathroom renovations. Well, the efforts have been rather stagnant for a while. So, Dad, TJ, and Brad spent all of Saturday and most of Sunday working on replacing the walls, installing a ceiling, and wiring and installing new light/ventilation fixtures. There's still a lot left to do, but they got a whole lot done.

The rest of us embraced the fall season and made some Caramel Apples! At first, I thought we'd just get those "caramel wraps" that you drape over the apple. Mom said, "no way," and we did the whole melting pieces of caramel from scratch thing. Mmmmm.... None of us had ever made them before. Can you believe that! Jennie, Trevor and I made quite a nice batch, don't ya think? Too bad Brad and I had to run out of town in a hurry (we were running late, of course) and I forgot to grab the specially arranged trio for the go! I guess that means we'll just have to make our own again!

We spent as much time playing with Rachel as was possible. I love her sooooo much. I didn't know I was going to love her so much! Every time I see her, I love her even more than I did the time before. She's walking around with her big personality and talking the whole time. I can't believe how happy she is. I mean, sure, she gets crabby when she's sleepy, but so do I! She loves to jump-jump on the trampoline with her grandma, swing high with her arms up in the air, chase all of the pets, and even play on the computer. Oh goodness, you've got to see all of the pictures of her. You'll melt right along with me! I sure hope we can love the next one (due in February) as much...

Overall, we had a great time spent with the family. After weekends like these, I realize how much I miss all of them. Luckily, we have the kind of parents that will always welcome us home, even if their schedule is already full. I am truly blessed.