Fall in Ohio.....

I love Fall...the changing leaves...the cool evenings...and the smell of the first fireplace fires of the season. It's great that even while at work I get to take in the beautiful fall colors from my office (pic is view from office). For as long as I can remember we have gone to the pumpkin patch in search of the "perfect" pumpkin. The perfect pumpkin to display in celebration of fall...the perfect pumpkin for carving into a jack-o-latern to light the way for all the little trick-or-treaters. I love seeing all the little ones in their costumes! When we go we always pick out an extra one so I can leave it out until Thanksgiving. This year since Marissa was not able to go with us Michaela picked out one in her honor...it was so stinkin sweet! Picture of the one she picked out is below :) I love watching the kids search for their pumpkins. The place we go (Lynds Fruit Farm) has wagon rides, a corn maze, huge pumpkins the kids can climb all over and the kids favorite a HUGE pile of dirt that they climb and then slide down. So yes we go in the oldest clothes we can find! LOL There are also various types of pick your own apples, fresh apple cider and my fav....kettle corn made in huge black kettles....yummy. I look forward to going every year...it's one of our favorite ways to kick off the fall season. Although this year pumpkin picking was in 86 degree weather so it was hard to rember that it was October! LOL

A bit of the season from the front of our house....Pumpkins and gourds from our visit to the pumpkin patch decorate our front porch....check out the shadow on the side of the house....

Josh found this winner in about 2 minutes....he says because he's not "picky"! LOL
Michaela picking her perfect pumpkin from the vine....

Michaela said we had to take this one because it looks like one "Sissy" would like! :)
Looks like he's ready to kick his pumpkin but really he is scraping dirt and bugs off...note he is using his foot not his hands. LOL

Michaela and Her New Bunny Chocolate....

Michaela has wanted a bunny for a very long time. I told her she could get one with her Birthday money like Josh did with Charlie. She lucked out though...Chocolate, his cage, litter box, food and some carrots were free! One of the girls I work with heard about him through her friend. See Chocoloate was purchased at a fair for a pre-school. But when Chocolate was brought to the school the director did not want the bunny in the center. So when it was mentioned he would be taken to the pound one of the teachers said she would find him a home and took him home with her. Michaela was so excited when she found out I found a bunny for her. All she had to do was buy him a hut to sleep and hide in when he felt scared. New litter for his litter box, yes he is litter box trained, how cool is that?! Hay for lining his cage with and to eat. Bunnies need lots of grass hay to eat for their digestive system (loads of fiber). She also got him a water bottle but he hasn't quite gotten the hang of that yet. It will give him more space in his cage once he learns to drink form it. Although right now he doesn't spend much time in it since Michaela has him out every chance she gets. She loves to take him outside on his harness and I do to because he loves to eat dandelion leaves! lol He is so cool to watch hopping around investigating everything. KC our cat, a natural predator of bunnies is afraid of Chocolate! lol Whenever Chocolate hops over to say hello to him KC can't get away fast enough! lol Josh has even introduced him to Charlie...Charlie could care less except for when Chocolate nips at his tail then he takes offense! lol Of course Chocolate is the neighborhood attraction for now...and Michaela eats it up! lol He is a great addition to our menagerie. We are all very attached to him already!

Chocolate checking out his new digs...from his litter box! lol
Moving is thirsty work!
Chocolate...King of the Hut!
Kids outside with Chocolate getting some fresh air....doesn't he look like a toy!
Chocolate modeling his new harness for "hopping outside". Doesn't him standing like that remind you of something you would find in an Easter Basket?! I always start at the ears! lol

Charlie And The Story of How He Came To Be Ours....

Josh decided last year that he would like to have a Bearded Dragon for his Birthday. So I told him that afer we researched online about the care and needs for these very cool creatures that I would decide. At this point Josh had not really shown much interest in being involed in any extra curricular activities and I thought it would be a good thing for him since he was showing such an interest. So after researching Bearded Dragons, their care, life span etc. I decided this was a perfect match for him. Their care is easy even though it is daily, they are gentle and tolerant of being handled. He will grow to about 2 feet long and their life span is approximately 6 years. So off to the pet store we went and by the time we found Charlie, bought all the stuff a Bearded Dragon needs we couldn't wait to get home! All four of us were in Josh's room getting Charlies new home set up for him. He settled right in...and we sat and watched him do his thing. It was so cool watching him! Never would I have thought we (especially me) would get so attached to a reptile! What can a lizzard do? Can't play fetch, take a walk with you, cuddle in your lap! But he doesn't need to do all of those things because he is just way cool the way he is. One of the things he does if he is startled is he will puff out his beard. He only seems to do it around me even though I feed him when Josh isn't home. I think he does it because he is a brat! lol Speaking of eating he eats crickets...which Marissa doesn't care for especially when her brother would let a few get out while feeding Charlie! They always seemed to find her wherever she was in the house! lol It was kinda funny until one day I was sitting on the couch and I saw one move out of the corner of my eye...thinking it was a spider I squealed like the girl I am! lol One of my favorite things to do is bring him down stairs and let him run and stretch his legs...he is really fast. KC is so funny when we bring him down....he follows him everywhere! When we first got Charlie we brought them together on serveral occasions to make sure KC wouldn't try and hurt him. KC has never tried to eat him...hopefully he never does!! lol Anyway he is a great addition to our family and Josh has done a great job with him...of course there are times I have to remind him to clean out the cage or make sure he has water. Michaela is now working me...wants to get a bunny. Looks like we have a line on a free one and all that comes with a bunny so stay tuned!!! lol KC (our very entertaining cat) is waiting for Charlie (Josh's Bearded Dragon) to take off again...

Charlie is checking out all the space he has to exercise his legs....

Some of My Finds at Feather Your Nest.......

Feather Your Nest is my favorite store in Old Pickerington Village. It is in one of Pickerington's original old houses which is part of the appeal. It is exactly the type of store you would expect to find in an old quaint town. They carry everything from wall art, Vera Bradley bags, iron garden furniture to dip mixes. When you walk in your senses are awakened by the smells of the various candles and all the wares they have to offer. Even though the store is small and literally cram packed full of goodies it is all well displayed for your brousing pleasure. I love when the seasons change because the store brings in specific items for that season and they are different each year. They also bring in various holiday items. My favorite finds are usally in Fall or Christmas. They have some of the most unique and quirky Christmas ornamets! As you walk through the store you will find a door to the outside patio full of wonderful items for your garden, patio or front porch. They have a room in the very back that has items for 50% off or even more. The bowls pictured below I found in that room at 50% off. I had been eyeing them since the store brought them in but was not willing to pay full price...I'm very cheap!! lol So to my very happy surprise I found them at 50% off! The had some in red too and now I'm wishing I would have gotten one or two of them as well...but i am very glad to have gotten these. I found the cat and jack-o-latern the same day I found the bowls...although I didn't get it on sale but I didn't want to risk it not being there later! I have found many times in the past that seasonal & holiday items do not last! So if I really, really like it then I usually grab it. Well now after posting this I think I will have to go brousing tomorrow on my lunch break! lol It happens to be right down the street from where I work! If you'd ever like to visit Feather Your Nest give me a shout and I will be happy to meet you there!!! LOL I love decorating for the holidays and this will be a great addition to my collection.....

These will be great for mixing and serving....

A New Project....

On my way to work a couple of weeks ago I saw this armoire sitting out on the street waiting to be carted away by the trash man. I work in downtown Pickerington in a house that has been converted into our office space which is awesome because it doesn't feel like an office. Ok back to my story...the house next door was being cleaned out to be rented and there sat this big ugly children's armoire with nasty paint and stickers all over it. When one of the guys Bill came in that morining I talked him into helping me put it in my Jeep and guess what...it was too wide to fit into the back of the jeep. But Bill came to the rescue...he offered to put it in the back of his brand new truck and take it to my house and help me get it into the garage....my hero!! So there it sits waiting for me to clean, sand, repair and paint! I am looking forward to this project but it is going to be a time consuming one. But hey it was free and I already have everything in the garage I need to get it into shape. The thing I am the most concerned about though is it has an "old" smell. So if anybody reading this has any ideas to get that smell out that would be great! Right now I just have the drawers and cabinet doors open to try and air it out. Once it is complete it will be going into Michaela's room. Because of the shape it is in imagine my surprise when Michaela was very excited to find that it was going into her room. She even asked if she could help refinish it...I am soo excited that she wants to share the project with me! I will post our progess as we go along....wish us luck! Feel free to share any ideas or suggestions through the process.

Pickerington Rib & Jazz Fest

Last weekend we went to the Pickerington Rib and Jazz Fest. It was the first time we have gone. It was really hot but a lot of fun. While walking around checking out the different rib vendors we listened to the different bands playing jazz. There were craft vendors as well. So while the kids were trying to decide on which vendor to get their ribs from we checked out the different crafts. Since we were there we had to go and see what was new in my favorite little shop in downtown Pickerington called "Feather Your Nest". They have all kinds of things from crafty knick knacks to handmade jewelry to Vera Bradley bags. I found some awesome pottery bowls for mixing and serving with and a new Halloween decoration to add to our collection. It's a jack-o-latern with a black cat standing ontop made of paper mache. The kids loved the food and even shopping with mom. We will have to check it out again next year. Mmm-mmm finger lickin good!!
Josh "piggin out" lol!

Josh & Michaela taking a break....

Violet Festival....

The Violet Festival has become a tradition for us. We look forward to going every year. It's your typical small town fair....rides, games, and fair food...yuummmmy! This was our first year without Marissa...it was very strange not having her there...not to mention I couldn't steal her fries with vinegar and ketchup! lol This year Josh and Michaela's cousin Shea came with us...which was great for Michaela because Josh and I don't like the really fast spinny upside down rides so she had someone to ride with. My favorite ride is the scrambler and it's the only ride that all of us like to ride. Josh loves the lemon shake ups and they have this shack called "Bubba's" which have the best sno cones ever! Michaela doesn't have a favorite fair food...she just wants to ride the rides! They each get to pick 1 game to play...Michaela and Shea chose the most difficult one of all. They had to climp a rope latter to win the big prize...I think the furthest either of them got was to the 4th rung....I don't think I would have gotten to the 2nd one! lol Josh chose was popping balloons with darts...he hit every one. On Saturday afternoon of the fair they close down one of the streets and muscle, vintage and modern cars fill it. That is one of Josh and my favorite things to do. My favorites are the muscle cars...I've always had a thing for mopar...Josh likes them all. Maybe next year Chris and Marissa will be back in time to go with us! Josh can't wait to ride this one...can ya tell?! lol

This is one of those fast spinny rides Michaela and Shea love...Josh actually rode it with them! I didn't...someone had to take the picture!

Michaela and Shea love these kinds of rides...Josh and I say no way!

Michaela and Shea waiting to ride the Paratrooper.

Michaela and her cousin Shea riding the Paratrooper.

Muscle car heaven....I love these old cars!

Just liked the color on this one.

Josh thought Chris would like this one!

Professor Randy Pausch....An Inspiration...

Several months ago I was channel surfing when my attention was caught by this man giving a speech. What caught my attention wasn't necessarily what he was speaking about but in the way he was speaking. He was a very eloquent speaker that caught your attention immediately. He was Professor Randy Pausch of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg. Diane Sawyer was conducting an interview with him on Dateline. Randy Pausch was a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in September 2007. Every year Carnegie Mellon has select Professors speak. Randy Pausch's was titled "The Last Lecture". It was so incredibly inspiring listening to this man who was dying speak of his life...to hear him speak of living. I was so absolutely blown away by his words...his spirit...his outlook on life. His love and absolute devotion to his family. I continued to follow his story by visiting his personal website. Whenever I would struggle with an issue, or specific goal I would remember Randy Pausch. Friday July 25, 2008 he passed away at home surrounded by his family and friends. "The Last Lecture" can be seen on YouTube. When you have some free time it really is worth watching...it is so inspirational...it will touch your heart in many ways!

Harrison Lucas

On Sunday June, 22nd Harrison Lucas, age 14 and two of his friends left the Pickerington community pool to eat lunch at their favorite place across the street, Sonic. While crossing the street a driver swerved while trying to avoid the boys hitting Harrison. The driver had the right of way and tried to avoid hitting the boys. Harrison was critically injured and is currently being treated at Children's Hospital in Columbus. There has been an incredible outpouring of support from the community as well as from across the country. As he is close in age to my own son and a classmate of Josh's cousin Kristen Bramlish this tragedy has hit close to home. Harrison's mom Colleen posts his progress on a non profit site called "CaringBridge". I have posted the link at the bottom of my blog. I ask that all who visit my blog to please take a minute to visit Harrison and get to know this incredible little boy and his family. To pray for him and his family.

My first attempt at blogging!

My daughter Marissa has been blogging for several months and I love checking it out to see what's new. I especially love it now that she is married and living in SoCal with her new husband Chris. This gives me another way of keeping in touch and seeing what's going on with them. So when she suggested I start one I had her help me set it up and here I go! Marissa and Chris were married on May 10th at Chris' family home. The day couldn't have been more perfect for them! It was held outside under a beautiful sunny sky in front of family and close friends. Of course once I saw her in her wedding dress ready to walk down the isle I started crying and couldn't stop. I even cried every time she tried it on for alterations! You think about the day your little girl will get married and how proud you will feel, how happy for her you will be but I was not prepared by the overwhelming pride and joy I felt for her! Just when I thought I had the tears under control she began to read her vows to Chris...it was all over then!

Josh is 12, loves cars especially "old day cars" as he calls them, video games, playing his trombone and recently started skate boarding. Reminds me of growing up in SoCal, all the guys we hung out with were "boarders" as we called them in the old days. I guess they call them "skaters" now. He has a bearded dragon named Charlie...we are all pretty cazy about him even though he isn't soft and cuddly!

Michaela is 11 , loves to be the center of attention and wants to be like her big sis but won't admit it. After the wedding sissy got her hair cut fairly short and a week later I took her to get it cut just like sissy's. She wants to start shaving now too. WOW, where does the time go. She is also trying to talk me into a bunny.