October 12, 2014

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DSC_0163I love Fall! The weather is so beautiful with comfortable temperatures and such pretty fall color. The days are perfect for spending time outside. And I love it because oftentimes we just jump in the car at the drop of a hat and go to any one of numerous fun places to enjoy Fall.

Sunday after church we were heading to Tim Horton’s to get some lunch (and “doe doe’s”). We were ready to go inside and Kevin said, “or we could go to Young’s and get warm pumpkin donut holes”. What a fabulous idea! So we drove there for a short afternoon of playing on pumpkin wagons and walking through the animal barn. They have a festival with outdoor tents where you can have lunch so we grabbed a burger, hot dog, and their famous cheese curds. It was a chilly day so we enjoyed sitting in the tent for a short bit and topped our lunch off with warm pumpkin donut-holes and some ice cream (the best reason to go there in my opinion!!).IMG_20141005_145426075 IMG_20141005_145258348 IMG_20141005_140729983 IMG_20141005_14155723920141005_13480720141005_13455220141005_14350320141005_144201

Last year we opted not do get the flu vaccine and this year we were back and forth on whether or not we would have Finn get it. In the end we decided to do it, in fact, we all did it together at our pediatrician’s office. We were in the OSU room (which was cool) and it took less than 5 minutes for all three of us – Finn first (he didn’t even whimper or cry), then me, then Kevin. This photo was after the shot 🙂 He is so patient he just sits on our lap and watches the needle go in – and barely flinches. So to celebrate Finn’s toughness we stopped conveniently at Jeni’s for a sweet treat on our way home. IMG_20141007_155202937 IMG_20141007_161711746_HDRWe headed back to Young’s for a weeknight trip too, not realizing that the activities end at 6 pm, oops! We did arrive in time to go through the corn maize so the kiddos enjoyed running around and we then grabbed dinner with the Kessler’s. Finn loved carrying around a corn cob. He actually sat down several time so he could play with them rather than walking through the maize!DSC_0099 DSC_0107 DSC_0116 DSC_0089 DSC_0118 DSC_0112The Howard’s invited us down to their cabin in Hocking Hills, where we enjoyed some time in the woods and on the campus of my alma mater, Ohio University.  Turns out this weekend was Homecoming! We arrived in time to enjoy a lovely tailgate of yummy foods prepared by the Howard’s. They even brought their grill 🙂 Of all places, after talking to a few parking attendants at different lots we ended up in the parking lot behind Pickering Hall – my freshman dorm! I have many fond memories of my freshman year and the friendships I formed on the second floor. After Fall quarter my roommate moved out so I had my double to myself, and Jaime (who lived next door at the time) basically moved in. Oh, the fun we had, I love that place! We walked through campus to the Peden Stadium for the football game and also the highlight of watching the Marching 100 perform at halftime. The alumni band performed during the halftime show too, there were SO many people playing it was awesome. They sounded great, and loud, and Finn kept clapping and saying “more”. There are lots of new buildings on campus and we didn’t spend too much time walking around but I would love to go back with the OU girls sometime soon and spend time being nostalgic!IMG_20141011_125119308_HDR IMG_20141011_134328660_HDR IMG_20141011_134433564 IMG_20141011_142002353 IMG_20141011_142322385 IMG_20141011_143634185 IMG_20141011_150855540 IMG_20141011_152749969 IMG_20141011_154105787_HDR IMG_20141011_154929170 20141011_155903 20141011_161747 IMG_20141011_170058759 IMG_20141011_171035115On Sunday we hung around the cabin. Cameron, Cydney, and Casey were so great playing with Finn. He loves to play with the “durls” (girls) and definitely soaks up the attention. He is shy for about 5 minutes before he comes out of his shell and dances so fast he twirls and ends up on the floor. The adults played a monopoly spin-off game, in which Chris put us all to shame in the end. It’s been so long since I’ve played board games – let’s just leave it at I’ve got lots of room for improvement! In the afternoon we went on a family hike – all 8 of us, plus Clarence. We walked from their cabin all throughout the woods up and down hills, we saw ponds, watched Bubba (aka Clarence) bounce through the water and fields, played with sticks and rocks, petted the horses and barn kittens, and Finn even got to “drive drive drive” the “taktah” (the ATV, but Finn calls most fun large pieces of equipment or vehicles “tractors”).  It was a wonderful and fun, low-key day and it was so nice to be able to enjoy the woods with Finn. He was so exhausted that he was asleep before we left their neighborhood – which, if you don’t know already – he never falls asleep in his car seat until we are 5 minutes from our final destination! IMG_20141012_112647975 IMG_20141012_114902488 IMG_20141012_114925694 20141012_074917 DSC_0123 DSC_0124 DSC_0127 DSC_0128 DSC_0132 DSC_0134 DSC_0135 DSC_0143 DSC_0145 DSC_0149 DSC_0150 DSC_0152 DSC_0159 DSC_0162 DSC_0169 DSC_0172 DSC_0175 DSC_0177 DSC_0181 DSC_0186 DSC_0187 DSC_0190 DSC_0192 DSC_0195 DSC_0199 DSC_0200 DSC_0204 DSC_0205 DSC_0207 DSC_0213 DSC_0215 DSC_0219 DSC_0220 DSC_0221 DSC_0214 IMG_20141012_161106264

While most of the remodeling is complete I haven’t taken any “final” photos just yet. We’re hoping within the next 2-3 weeks we’ll have some artwork on the walls and everything will look complete.  For now, I’ve got a few pics of the trim work in the kitchen. It’s so pretty!IMG_20141009_075605174_HDR IMG_20141009_075620318_HDR

 

October 4, 2014

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DSC_0800It seems hard to believe that earlier this week it was 80 degrees, and today it was in the mid-50’s! Fall seems to have arrived and the tree leaves are beginning to change around here. This week was a lot of fun as I was lucky to be home using up some of my vacation time. I loved being home, especially in the mornings, as I was able to get Finn up each day and enjoy some family time every morning 🙂  I made some progress on “purging” some of our belongings from a couple of rooms, primarily the loft. We are in a clean-up mode around here and it feels pretty good to pare down “stuff”! Finn and I drove up to Mansfield Thursday evening to deliver a load of giveways to mom and dad for their church rummage sale.

Debbie, Sam, Finn, and I went to Audrey and Samantha’s 5th birthday gathering on Friday. We were originally going to pick apples, but due to bad weather, stayed local and picked pumpkins instead. Finn was a champ and insisted on carrying his pumpkin (5.5 pounds, btw!) for a good stretch out of the field. IMG_20141003_135302180 IMG_20141003_140850145 IMG_20141003_140945103 IMG_20141003_141126940_HDR IMG_20141003_144028886

We enjoyed lots of pajama time in the mornings. Kevin purchased Griffin a set of farming equipment, almost identical to the combine we rode on a week ago. When Finn wakes up, he immediately says “taktah” and points to the tractors. He loves to lay on the floor (or our bed) and play with them – he has to have all three pieces, too! Putting our new kitchen to good use, Mom and dad were able to come down on Tuesday to make yummy applesauce from our apple picking adventure and also to have dinner, for which the Bethune’s joined as well. Then Friday evening Pat and Jim came to play with Finn while we went out to dinner with friends. After a temperamental start, he had quite a bit of fun (as did we) and he even had a fun bath! He loves seeing all of his grandparents so often!

Since the cold weather arrived this weekend, we broke out the t-ball set and had some indoor playtime too.  He was pretty happy about that as you can see. Then we headed to check out Pigeon Roost Farms, in Hebron, on a very brisk late afternoon. Griffin loved the “ride” in the wagon the most. He’s also begun saying “yah” for yes. Now when you ask him something he often replies, “yah”.  Pretty cute.  And all 4 of his molars are now through, though not entirely in.  He officially has 12 teeth!IMG_20141003_082606470 IMG_20141004_195444950DSC_0763DSC_0774DSC_0754 DSC_0731 DSC_0744

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And here are a few more from the week, including a fun selfie of Debbie, Finn, and Sam riding the “choo choo” at the zoo, playing with clay, Finn being silly playing in the office, and a fun video of Griffin playing with Lily. photo(1) photo DSC_0836 DSC_0831 IMG_20140929_180617829

Kitchen update: Brett installed the crown molding and part of the baseboards in the kitchen this week. And I think I failed to mention last week that the entire first floor (kitchen, dining, family, hallways), foyer, loft, and upstairs hallway were painted last week [Collonade Gray] as well as the laundry room [Pewter Cast] and office [don’t know the name – but a bluish-teal]. We are nearing the end of the project, but still some fine details to wrap up!

September 28, 2014

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Check out that boy on the combine! We are in full-on Fall-fun mode! We had a pretty low-key week until the weekend, when we started our Saturday morning by taking Finn to a Build-and-Grow workshop at Lowe’s. This project was building a firetruck, so Finn was pretty excited, especially with the end result!  He made lots of noise hitting the hammer and then ran around the store like a happy boy once we were finished.  We enjoyed the beautiful afternoon with lunch at Northstar at Easton and then walked around a shopped for a short bit. Later the Ackerman’s joined us for dinner and Piper came along to play with Lily.  It took them awhile to become buddies, but here they are enjoying a good game of tug. IMG_20140927_102233317_HDR DSC_0509 IMG_20140927_102125360 DSC_0519 DSC_0527 DSC_0532 IMG_20140927_124738618 DSC_0544

Sunday was a jam-packed day. After church we attended the lunch for kiddos and parents of the NPC Nursery. It was SO hot outside, Finn was a hotbox. But he enjoyed playing on the playground for quite awhile. I think we were one of the last people to leave!DSC_0558 DSC_0552 DSC_0567 DSC_0561 DSC_0572

Finn grabbed a brief nap on our drive to Richwood to visit Chad’s family’s farm for the fall-harvest of corn. I must say, I was really excited for this visit, and so was Kevin. Even though I work at a nursery around all sorts of equipment, I still miss the farm I grew up on.  All of the open space and exploring, driving the machines, you just can’t beat it. This was an experience I’ve never had before – riding in a combine! When we arrived, Nancy, Chad’s mom, greeted us and showed us around the main area of the farm that included barns and grain elevators, chickens, ducks, and even a pig! We watched a semi full of corn pull in and get emptied into the floor and up into grain elevator. I climbed up the back of the trailed and peaked in the trailer to see the enormous amount of grain being unloaded. The moisture content of the corn is determined during the harvest, and the corn goes through a dryer as it is being unloaded to remove whatever moisture necessary. We walked up the steps to the top of the grain silo, and, I’m not gonna hide it – I was stoked, until about halfway up. Kevin was holding Finn and he was half way up when I began following and I got a bit freaked out!  It is super high up there, and so dusty from the grain – all I could imagine was Kevin falling with Finn or Finn moving abruptly and falling out of Kevin’s arms.  Phew.  All was well and I even managed a few photos. I’m not sure where this fear of heights is coming from, but I was a nervous twit there for a minute!!DSC_0711 DSC_0712 DSC_0575 DSC_0577 DSC_0578 DSC_0581 DSC_0585 DSC_0587 DSC_0593 DSC_0597 DSC_0598 DSC_0600 DSC_0601 DSC_0603From there, we all piled onto the Gator and Elizabeth and Will took turns driving us down to where they were harvesting corn for the day. Dave, Chad’s stepfather, was just coming up a row shortly after we got there, so Kevin, Finn, and Elizabeth hopped up into the combine and went down and back a turn. Then we traded, and Will, Finn, and I went on the next round. The equipment is amazing! GPS guided and electronically controlled all from one joystick that has about 22 options of things you can do! There is a screen that shows read-outs of the moisture as the corn is being harvested (it updates every 3 seconds) as well as the number of bushels per acre. Anther screen shows fuel, MPH, amongst other things. One of their new pieces of equipment is a weigh-trailer, which can drive alongside the combine and receives the harvested corn. It has these crazy tracking tires which allows it to spread the weight-load  out a lot more (versus a traditional tractor tire which would not be able to haul this much weight without creating big divets in wet ground) . The weigh-trailer weighs the load right in the field can hold a semi-worth of volume and can empty the contents into a semi in 2 minutes. Dave told me for the field we were in, it’s about 60 rows (so 2.5 trips back and forth) to fill the weigh-trailer, which fills the semi. He said they like to do about 15-18 semi’s a day.  Wow. It’s a pretty cool view from up there! I learned all kinds of tidbits, like last year corn was yielding over $7 per bushel, whereas this year he said it is right around $3, or actually $2.98, due to the overall higher production in the US. They don’t expect to have higher yields this year as the spring/summer was so wet – he expect it will be about the same as last year. Definitely not good for Ohio farmers! At the end we had an ice cream treat and Elizabeth released one of her grandma’s Monarch’s! We had so much fun, thanks to the Wiley’s and Ackerman’s for letting us tag along!

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And here are a few other random shots from our week, including a video of Finn being goofy in the backyard.

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