Homecoming Parade

This week was Lakewood's homecoming. The parade is just down the street from us so we walked down to the curb at the beginning of the route and waited for the fun to begin. I forgot that last year the kids got TONS of candy and I was not prepared. The nice little man, that lived in the house behind where we were sitting, brought us out a grocery bag to hold all of their candy for a tootsie roll in exchange.

Cars that go....MEOW

This afternoon we all loaded up in the car to go down the road to Kroger for some groceries. It takes about 3 minutes to drive down the road to the store, just a quick trip. So we get parked and pile out of the car. As the kids are unloading I notice the car making a wierd sound. I think "oh great, what's wrong with the car! I can't deal with this, we just bought the thing." Chuck notices it too. The more we listen the more it is sounding familiar. The lady loading her groceries across the parking lot must have thought it was familiar too as she ran across the parking lot to the rescue. So I head inside with the kids, sure that when they (Chuck and the animal loving lady) open the hood there will be a mangled cat or squirel or some other creature. A few minutes later I peek out and a small crowd has gathered. They are all cuddling with a small cat that is now scared to death from its race down Highway 40 on top of my engine. The cat is fine and has a new loving home with a teenage girl that was one of the first on the scene. I needed my groceries and I was sure not going to return the cat back to our home. And she was thrilled to death to have a new pet. She lives nearby us so I made her promise she would keep an eye out for anyone with a missing cat. The lady didn't look too thrilled, but she didn't volunteer to drive it home either. I need a nap!

Weekend Fun

What a busy weekend. Friday we spent the evening making ghosts and decorating for halloween. Halloween is definitely Eli's favorite holiday. He spends hours looking through magazines with spooky decorations and party ideas.

Saturday was the first annual Hebron Music and Arts Festival. We watched a parade of high school bands, saw a chalk drawing contest, looked at old cars, and ate aND ATE! Abby even lost her front tooth while eating a hot dog! After we were done with the festival activities we headed over to Pigeon Roost Farm down the road. It is a wonderful little pumpkin farm set up with tons of fun things for the kids to do. We went through a corn maze, saw the enchanted forest and spent the rest of the afternoon playing on the toys and games they had there.

Adventures in Canning

This is the first year I have attempted canning. Really, it's not too hard, I actually enjoy it. So far I have done 30 quarts of tomatoes, 3 quarts of apple sauce, and Chuck and I did 10 pints of salsa. We will definitely modify our garden next year for more canning. Too much squash this year. Way too much squash!

YIPPEE ABBY!

So you all know how miserable the first days of school are. Not for the kids, for the moms! ALL of the mountains and mountains of paperwork that has to be sent in. Emergency release forms, medical forms, address verification, surveys from the teachers, and the good ol' handbook that has to be reviewed with the kids and signed. Normally YUCK, or in our case YIPPEE! It literally paid off this year as I received a phone call from the principal this morning. When I saw it on Caller ID I was sure someone would need to come home because of sickness or something, then I was more leery when I discovered it was the principal. 'What did Eli do now' you ask. You're Wrong! It was Abby. She won a $100 gift card to the mall in a drawing because I spent hours filling out paperwork and I got it back in on time. So off to the mall later with the kids. Abby has been eyeing new pajamas with her new crush, Bobby Jack (a cute little monkey, apparently all the girls LOVE him) on them.

Sunday Drive...and a swim

After church I got really stir crazy so we set out on the open road to explore Ohio. After getting mildly lost we ended up at Clear Creek (not our intended spot, but fun none the less). We went on a small hiking trail and ended up at a small sandy beach on the creek. I told the kids they could roll up their jeans and play. I think it took 2 minutes for them to end up completely soaked. The hike back was in underpants and their shirts.

What does Eli think of School?

I was checking Eli's school work he brought home today. He did wonderful on all of his worksheets. He said that after they finish Mrs. Carignan has them draw pictures on the back while they wait for the rest of the class. So I flip it over to see this picture. On the left a tractor being driven by Eli with a wrecking ball in full motion, on the right, his school.