Now we have a freshman in High School.   It is still too dark to be waiting for a bus at this time in the morning.

Poor Emily barely had a summer what with gym, camps, and of course, band! I think she’s negotiating with Mike to not send her to school and let her go back to bed!

At least she feels a bit comfortable about going to HS since she knows quite a few people from band.  Plus they took her around to all her classrooms so that she would know where to go.  Still, I  could tell she was a bit nervous.

Now this 2nd grader was not nervous at all; just plain excited!

She was up an hour before she had to get on the bus and considering she’s been waking up at 12 noon the last 2 days (literally!), that was some accomplishment.

She had her clothes all laid out, down to the kind of underwear.

She told me she had been having dreams all week about going to school.

She is looking forward to being with her friends and learning cursive writing this year!

Yesterday, we had a mini impromptu end of summer party with some of Rachel’s friends.  They put on their bathing suits and jumped on the trampoline with the hose spraying on them.

We had water balloons, made a bookmark and a card for their new teacher and of course ate lots of snacks, homemade cookies and ice cream!

Then they had a treasure hunt outside for their treat bag.  A pretty fun party, if I do say so myself!

I can’t wait to hear all about both of the girls’ day.  We’ll have the annual Back to School Treasure Hunt when they get home.

Austin still has another month before he starts college, so I’m not totally alone here during the day. I might have to sneak in his dorm to get his 1st day of school picture!  I wonder if he expects a Back to School treasure hunt at college!

This time of year brings mixed emotions for me. It’s exciting to see them go off on their own and experience new things.   They seem so big but at times I can still see that little baby I once held.  Even though they are growing up, I hope they will always want to come back to the nest and visit us two old birds.

Hmm, maybe we should get a dog….

Needless to say we love the trees around our yard but unfortunately, our Ash tree next to our house was showing signs of being infected with the Emerald Ash Borer Insect. Many Ash trees around the city and the state have been removed because of this terrible insect.

Today, Mike decided it was time to cut down the 66 foot tall Ash tree before it fell on our house.  It had been hit by lightning a few years back and showed signs of the Borer insect as well as carpenter ants.Not one to pay someone to do something around our house, Mike tied a line to his truck to help the tree fall in the right direction.  He used scientific calculations (he stood back, looked up at the tree, measured it with his hand,predicted where it could fall and decided it wouldn’t hit his truck) to predict where it would fall and began to cut.

The first wedge in the front of the tree showed ants scrambling up and down the bark of the tree.  They must have told the rest of their neighbors that Evacuation Plan Scramble was in place!More cutting of the tree.

Calculating where he should cut next.

It’s really just math (or using your imagination on what can happen)..

Um, kids don’t try this at home!

I’m really at a safe distance on the front porch with the door unlocked ready for us to run inside if need be. I’m sure OSHA would have  approved!

Then we heard the crack and….

TIMMMMM………

MMMMMM…….

BERRRRRR………….

RRRRR………

RRR….!!!

The tree fell precisely where he predicted!Success!!

We found out that the Emerald Ash Borer wasn’t the true culprit that was killing the tree but the Carpenter Ants!  This was a very dangerous tree that could have fallen on our house in a big wind storm! Although we hate to lose a beautiful tree, it was already dead inside and needed to be cut down. Now the real fun begins: cutting up the tree for firewood!

It did open up the front of the house to make room for some much needed landscaping!

While on leave at Christmas time, we celebrated with Bobby as he got married.   After a brief honeymoon, he went back to Afghanistan for the past 7 1/2 months.

The newlyweds are finally reunited…

What a  moment.

His parents are very proud of him.  They’ve missed him so much and have worried about his safety.

Bobby definitely has a very strong and supportive family.

Thank you, Bobby for serving our country.

We are all so very proud of you.

And now it’s…..

time for you to finally go home.

No longer a kid. A grown-up.

I knew this would happen someday; I just didn’t realize how fast “someday” actually arrives.

There have been lots of milestones up to this point…

birth,

learning to walk,

1st birthday,

1st haircut,

learning to sail,

1st day of school,

1st tooth lost,

1st day of middle school,

1st day of high school,

1st job,

getting his driver’s license,

graduation,

and turning 18.

Even though I miss having him as a little baby, I’m so very proud and amazed at how he is growing up into an incredible young man.

In one month, he completed his Eagle Project for Boy Scouts, which also included completing 3 necessary badges.  The project turned out great but what was neat to see was how dedicated and  committed he was in completing the project.  He did it all on his own.  Once he decided he wanted to achieve this ranking, he went for it and did it.  Just seeing the pride on his face when he finally completed the work was worth all the stress leading up to it.  It shows that whatever he decides on what he wants to do, he’ll succeed in getting it done.

What a great accomplishment before turning 18.

The milestones will continue. It doesn’t stop here.  There will be 1st day of college, then college graduation, 1st job, marriage, children…and throughout it all, he’ll still be our little baby boy.

Happy 18th Birthday, Austin!

Here are some pictures of our winter snowstorm:We’re living in a winter wonderland.

The pine trees are dripping with snow.

It looks as if they’ve gotten dressed up all in white to celebrate our anniversary.

Even the branches on the trees joined in the fun.

Who would have thought fluffy snow could be so heavy.

The snow makes our bushes look like icing on a wedding cake.

Winter lighting

and

Winter seating:

His and Her Snow Chairs.

It looks like the girls will not be jumping on the trampoline for awhile…

My mom’s lilac bush.

Is this the North Pole?I’m not sure how many inches we finally got but this table is a good indicator.

Beautiful snow.

Happy Anniversary, to my sweet husband!

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

We Love You!

Wow! Our little baby girl has turned 7 years old already. She’s such a delight and joy to be around. She makes us laugh and smile all the time.  We are so very blessed to have her in our lives.

Rachel decided to have a Puppy  Party for her 7th birthday.  She invited 8 of her friends to come over for an afternoon of games, crafts, food, and fun.  It may have been a bit extreme in the planning process but it was all worth it in the end.  This is the first party in a couple of years that I’ve planned a theme party at home.  This time I had Emily, Austin and his girlfriend, Mary to help Mike and I with running the party.  Austin turned out to be the hit of the party, having all the little girls fall in like with him!  My assistants were making fun of my agenda, however when it all worked out, they were impressed….at least I like to think that anyway.  I have trained them well!

As I was decorating the cookies, I asked Austin if he remembered me doing this for him. No! What!! That is NOT the answer I wanted to hear, but then Emily said she remembered the dolphin cookies and party and the spa birthday parties we had so that made it all better.

Weekend of Celebrations

It all began on Friday with a party in Rachel’s First Grade Classroom.  I made puppy sugar cookies for the class. 

She was excited to wear the class Birthday Hat all day!

Saturday: Friend Birthday Party

Saturday’s Puppy Party:  Rachel looked like her FurReal puppy, Biscuit!

All the girls brought their puppies to the party and Biscuit played Nanny to them at the Doggie Daycare while the girls played games and made crafts.

There were puppy games such as Trainer Says, Fetch Relay Race, Put Food in the Dog Bowl (which the big kids needed to try out too)

Doggie, Doggie Where’s Your Bone, and Puppy, Puppy, Cat.  Then the kids went on a Puppy Hunt to find a basket of puppies to adopt.

Once they named their new pets, they received an Adoption Certificate and then made some supplies for their new dogs, including dog bowls with jewels on them, Fancy Dog Collars, and picture frames, where we inserted their picture of them and their new dog.

Of course we ate Hot Dogs for lunch and ate  puppy cupcakes. Unfortunately, the fruit roll ups I used for the ears became soggy over night so their ears looked a little droopy and their mouths made them look French but they were still yummy!

Rachel and the girls then played pin the bone on the doggie, which Mike drew!

It was impressive. After presents, they took turns hitting the Puppy Pinata.  Poor little thing got hit a lot!

Austin commentated for the Flip Flash Video Thingy camera.

Finally Dad had to put the poor thing out of its’ misery!

Here are the remains of the little guy.These girls can really swing a bat!

They went home with lots of goodies including Puppy Chow that Austin had made for them.  Mary was such a big help at the party too.  She and Rachel have a special friendship.

Sunday’s Celebration: The Real Birthday!

Rachel was served breakfast in bed. She ordered her favorite, pancakes.

The family party was that evening with Grandpa Neumann, Grandma Judy, Grandpa Don, and Robin’s family.  Rachel loves playing with her cousins.  After a roast chicken dinner, we ate Puppy Cake!Rachel had a bit of trouble blowing out her candle.

She made several attempts but finally made her wish, pulled her hair back,and blew! Such concentration!

Rachel woke up on her birthday and said, “I’m 7! Oh, my goo gauze!”

It’s great being 7 years old!

Happy Birthday!

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We carved pumpkins!

Since Emily was in Washington, DC with her 8th grade, we waited until Halloween Eve to cut them and not on trick or treat night…of course, we never get trick or treaters so as long as they are carved by Halloween, I think we’re good.

Rachel loved pulling the guts out. She even played with them after we were done carving.

Emily carved her own.

Both drew their designs on paper first before drawing on the pumpkin & then cutting.

Rachel went for the traditional.

Emily went for cute little baby.

Austin was at work.

They both had a fun time.

Now we can say that they’ve carved pumpkins!

They won’t be able to complain about this on their psychiatrist’s couch

…or maybe they will.

With rain being predicted for the weekend, I grabbed Rachel and Emily, called Mike from work and said we’re headed to the pumpkin patch before they close tonight. It was 5:00 and we had 1 hour to find the perfect pumpkin. Note: I did beg Austin to come but he just wouldn’t have it, so we found him his own pumpkin to carve.

Emily informed me on the way to the patch that she’s never carved a pumpkin for Halloween at our house only in school. Now I find that hard to believe and in fact, I said I’m sure I have a picture to prove that but she was adamant that yes, we’ve carved pumpkins but no, SHE has never done it. I guess that means holding the knife.

Anyway, while waiting for Dad to come to the farm from work, we took pictures among the pumpkins up front near the store.

Usually we go to the pumpkin patch in Newark with my dad, but this year time ran out with all the soccer games on the weekends and the kids sick on the one day we had off from school.

We’ve been to this pumpkin farm with the preschool. It was kind of nice seeing so many people we knew at the pumpkin patch.

I love our small town feel where you can see your child’s eye doctor and her young son and husband there taking pictures of his first pumpkin patch and friends from our church and school all in the last hour of business! I guess they looked at the weather report too.

Emily thought this was a neat gourd.

Finally Mike arrived, we grabbed a knife, and a wheelbarrow and followed the signs to the pumpkin patch.

This way!

We walked and walked to the back of the field looking for the perfect one.

Emily knew just the one she wanted.

We passed a lot of pumpkins on the way that could have worked.

In fact someone drew on this one to show what it would look like as a jack o Lantern!

We discovered a large section of unusual pumpkins.

White,

black,

green,

We almost bought the black one until we noticed that a little mouse who ran under the one beside it had been nibbling on it.

Rachel pointed out several pumpkins but they didn’t pass Emily’s inspection.  Rachel would run behind Emily who was definitely on a mission to find the perfect pumpkin.

Even Mike got into the act of looking for pumpkins.

At last we found several perfect pumpkins.

Rachel’s

Emily’s, Dad’s and Austin’s pumpkins and finally

Mom’s  pumpkin.

After taking lots of pictures, I realized I wasn’t in any photos. Since Emily argued that we never carved pumpkins, I needed proof that I took them to the pumpkin patch, so I made sure I got in a picture.

After loading up our finds, we headed back to the store to make our purchase.

Now we just need to remember to carve them before Halloween.

Last night was the Homecoming Dance at Austin’s High School. It was his last one!

Here he is at his first Homecoming Dance as a Freshman.

He’s so grown up now…or maybe not as he still needed help getting dressed. After putting on his tie, he realized it needed ironed!

It’s a good thing Mike had him take his pants off first before he ironed them!

Mary brought her little accessory, Suki!

Austin with his sisters at his first homecoming dance….

and today before his senior homecoming dance (of course, Emily would have nothing to do with the pictures).

Mary and Austin went to dinner at Macaroni Grill and then on to the High School for the dance.  The theme was “Carnival Time”.

Where did the time go?

It was a warm September afternoon for OSU football but they were calling for rain showers. Mike got some last minute tickets, so we bundled up, grabbed our rain suits and headed to the game.

It was fine until the end of the pre-game show when it started to rain…and rain…and rain. Once you get wet, it really doesn’t matter how much it rains. In fact at one point it was coming down so hard that Mike looked up to the sky and yelled “Is that the best you can do?” It stopped raining…and then the wind came to dry us off…and then it rained again and rained…and then it stopped so we could dry out, can you visualize the cycle here?!

During an official review of a play, it was raining and we were cheering OH- IO around the stadium. With 105,000 people cheering OH-IO, it’s pretty impressive. As a side note: they said that attendance was 105,000 but there were a TON of empty seats. Obviously that was tickets sold and not those who attended the game. Even during the first quarter, people were headed home.

Now back to my story: When the review was done, they were ready to start the game again but then the guy in the red hat on the field called a TV time out. An uproar of boo’s was immediate. The red hat guy was pretty lucky that the entire crowd didn’t attack him! We’re sitting in the rain here. Why do we need a TV time out? Couldn’t they have done that while the officials were reviewing the play? The guy at home in his lazy boy doesn’t care! Why are we tied to the whims of the media when TV time outs should be tied to the fans who are sitting in the rain! It’s a little unfair that the game is played based on when the TV guy decides it should be played. It should be determined by the fans at the game!

Ok, I’m done. The game was actually a lot of fun, especially since we won. We felt like kids playing in the rain. Of course, if we didn’t have nice warm rain suits that kept us dry, or the buckeyes were losing it would be another story.

Kind of like the USC vs OSU game. It was a lot of fun too…up until we lost.

Here are pictures from that game:

We arrived early enough to eat some Schmidt’s brats,

watch a little bit of the Skull Session with the band, and then sit and watch the stadium fill up.

Our seats were in C Deck, 4 rows down from the top!

The Goodyear Blimp went by and asked us to buy them a hot dog!

Once I got over the height factor, we stood up thru the entire game and cheered! It was so incredible the camaraderie you feel with 108,000 people for the night. It was loud all through the game…until we lost.

Then it was extremely quiet as everyone hung their heads in shock and disbelief and walked back to their cars. Hopes dashed, until the next game.

That’s our Buckeyes!