What’s Been Going On

This past weekend was a busy one. Once again Ella had soccer. Watching these gals play is so fun. I’m not sure why they all want to be the goalie.

At one point over half the team was in front of the goal. Ella had her back to the other team because she was chatting up the goalie on the field behind them.

Later that evening, my niece was cheerleading for one of the youth football teams. The kids were like 5-7 years old and they were playing tackle football. That was really cool to watch.

The game was at the high school in our district, but my niece was cheering for the visiting team (who won). After watching her cousin, Ella wants to cheer, too.

On Sunday, we finally got out and “Falled up” the yard. Sam had me run up to get hay bales. I took her car and hay was everywhere. Needless to say, I went to the car wash to vacuum it out.

Sam put out the mums that she ordered, had me drag out the pumpkin inflatable, and moved her goose to the front porch. At some point we need to get some corn stalks, but it looks nice.

Our older cat, Maizey, has been scratching a lot. She’s also been licking herself. It’s been so bad that she’s missing hair on her back and the upper part of her tail. She’s also got scabs from where she was scratching.

Monday I took her to the vet. They were running behind because of a new computer system. She waited patiently for the doc.

They think it’s an allergy. They gave her steroids, an antibiotic and her rabies shot. Hopefully, it will get better in a day or two.

Andrew’s teachers are very good about posting pictures on their classroom page. Every now and then one will crack me up. Like this one…

I’m really not sure what he’s doing!

Yesterday, I was on my way to work and bumped into my old morning show partner, Steph. We chatted for about 45 minutes catching up and laughing. That was so nice. I hope it isn’t roo long before we see each other next. It’s always good to laugh!

Gourd Ahead, Make My Day!

Saturday morning, when I got home from work it was raining. I had hoped to come home and take the kids to the local orchard to pick up pumpkins. I love going there because they do a hay ride that takes you out to the pumpkin patch and you can go get your own pumpkin. Along the way they have wooden cut outs of super heroes, cartoon characters, and things the kids get a kick out of.

The rain let up in the afternoon, and we decided that it was probably too muddy to go to the pumpkin patch. Sam, however, remembered that there was a local stand that had pumpkins, corn stalks, hay bales, and more near her mom’s house. We had to head that way, so we decided we’d make a stop.

As soon as we were out of the car, Ella began her search for a pumpkin. I grabbed a wagon and once she found the one she wanted, we put it on the wagon. Sam picked out one for Andrew and that went on the wagon next. Sam saw these “stacking” pumpkins she wanted for the front porch, so we picked up some of those, too. On the way out, Ella found a table with little pumpkins and she started throwing them on the wagon!

It was the first time Andrew has ever seen a real pumpkin! It was fun to see him look at all of them.

Because of all the pumpkins, we didn’t have enough cash to get corn stalks or hay, so we may have to go back out to get those another day. I still hope to be able to get to go on our autumn hay ride.

For now, the various gourds make the house ready for fall.

Busy Weekend

The “baby watch” was definitely on this weekend. A week ago Thursday Sam’s doc thought she’d go into labor by that Sunday. This past Thursday, her blood pressure was high and she was told to rest. Her doc was on call last weekend, so he said to come to the hospital this weekend if “conditions were right.”

Saturday, I woke up and Sam was having some contractions, so we kept watching and waiting. Nothing. Sunday, same thing. Sunday night, she had to work. I thought for sure that I’d be getting a call from her in the middle of the night. I had her bag, my bag, and everything we’d need to take to the hospital at the door – ready – just in case. Nothing.

So we enter another week and we continue to be on edge!

They say that walking helps bring on labor, so we went to one of the nurseries this weekend and picked up a few mums and fall decorations for the porch. Ella loves the pumpkins and has been crawling up on the hay bales to watch cars go by.

Monday turned out to be a nice day. Ella has so much energy, but I’m just not comfortable taking her to the mall or the store yet. Sam suggested I take her to the zoo. There is a small zoo just north of us that is perfect for kids. There are plenty of animals to see and you can be through it in an hour or so. They have a carousel and train that she can ride on, too.

We got there just after it opened, and while there were some other people there, it felt like we had the whole zoo to ourselves. I brought the stroller, but she walked most of the time we were there. The highlight for her (and me) was the otter exhibit. There was this one otter who must have saw us coming. Once we were in front of the window, he jumped in the water and began swimming around in front of her. She was giggling so loud.

Monday was National Sons Day. I am certainly blessed to have to fine boys (and another on the way). My oldest is gearing up to start college in the winter and my youngest is enjoying the beginnings of his freshman year. I am proud of all that they have accomplished and look forward to the things they will do in the future! I’m truly a lucky man to have such wonderful kids!