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I would like to think that what enticed Warren to spend his Labor Day weekend in Illinois was a return visit to the farm but that is just not true.  Even though he was here almost exactly two years ago for Suzanne and Heath's wedding, I think the real reason he came with his fiance Katie was to visit with Suzanne and Heath.  As Katie is has been a friend of  Suzanne's since high school, I am pretty sure that is the real reason they came. 

Suzanne and Heath made sure they did the obligatory St. Louis touristy things with Warren and Katie like visit the ARCH and eat at Lulu's, one of the ten best vegetarian restaurants in the city with the best Ping Pong bar in the city.  But later in their visit, the itinery included some Illinois activities.  And that's when Laura and I joined them. 

All of us, including the dogs Finn and Pongo, participated in a fundraiser 5K Run in Edwardsville.  It was called Run, Wizards, Run and had a Harry Potter theme.  Most races give you a shirt as part of your entry fee.  This race gave you a shirt based on which Hogwarts house you registered for and a magic wand.  According to the race results, Laura, our only runner, came in 4th in her women's age group.  I came in 5th in my women's age group which is for the 60 and over.  As for other members of our group, let's just say that I knew the people who came in last in both the women's and men's 20 to 29 age group.  I have to say I am disappointed in this poor showing.  Finn has been in other 5K's and I thought he would do better. 

However, for the first time every, members of my 5k party did not even complete the race.  It seems that Pongo smelled a deer and left the race trail to pursue his own trail.  Heath, naturally, went with him.  I hope they both got a Krispy Kreme donut at the end anyway.  I'm sure they exercised just as hard as the rest of us.  If not more so. 

After the race, we regrouped at Suzanne and Heath's house for breakfast.  Then we got to do the activity I suggested.  We head over to Mill's Apple Farm to pick our own sweet Gala's and Ginger Gold apples.  We had a good time riding the hay wagon to the trees and getting a tour of the farm.  I was a bit more focused on the picking of the apples than the rest of the group.  They were more into taking engagement pictures of Warren and Katie.  Since the Farm is also a wedding venue, they even had some props we could use. 

Suzanne also had some other ideas for places to shoot engagement photos.  As the matron of honor for this happy couple, she was taking her job seriously.  She whisked her group off to a local winery for some photos and fun while Laura and I headed back to the farm to prepare for their visit on the following day.