South Mountains State Park

Our weekend plans of installing our dozen plants from the Wing Haven Nursery Sale were thwarted early in the process by the discovery of a nest of ground wasps, one of which stung Chris between his thumb and index finger. Until we can kill the aggressive wasps, outdoor work is out of the question! On Saturday we ended up visiting a quaint small-town fall festival ("Autumn Treasures") in Waxhaw.

On Sunday after Mass, Chris took John to South Mountains State Park for the first time. I stayed behind with Mary, as I've been feeling pregnancy "ooginess" (that's a technical term) for the last couple of days.

John found small caves twice and said eagerly, "Look, Daddy, a grotto! We should pray!" (which he then did). The only thing he knows about caves is that Our Lady of Lourdes appeared in one (and we have visited the replica nearby at Belmont Abbey).

I enjoyed my quiet afternoon, baking three loaves of bread and a batch of cupcakes (I had success with the frosting this time!), and watching a marathon of "Hoarders" on the Internet.