How did I forget to post this? Taken on senior night, it Jack's last home football game. We were really proud to be standing up with him.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Day#343
We've been getting ready for Halloween around here for awhile. Caroline and her friend dressed up as creepy dolls for an event at school. Here's the Goodwill dresses after shredding and hanging to dry the fake blood, and then how they turned out. If the goal was being creepy, they totally scored.
Helpful tip: if you ever need a source of inexpensive, non-sticky fake blood, we found the flavored liquid you squirt into water worked great.
Day#342
The neighbors called upon Gary to help them get rid of a coon they accidentally trapped. When they baited the trap last summer to catch what was making messes on their deck, they never caught a thing. When they pitched the trap out in the backyard and forgot about it, they caught something! The wife did not want the coon killed so we loaded it in the mini van and took it for a ride. I will say it was the best behaved wild animal in a trap that I have ever seen.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Day#338
Today was the day of the future back in 1985's Back to the Future movie and look what I was driving behind today! A DeLorean. I couldn't ·not· take a picture.
Day#336
Ross took the little ones out the other night when Gary and I went to the football game with the big boys. Man, I'm jealous: Steak n Shake, Orange Leaf, and Target!
Day#335
Gary made replacement drumsticks out of old pear tree branches we trimmed last weekend. Grant and Sam have recently dusted off and revived the Wii Rock Band game, but since the original drumsticks are no more, Grant had been using wooden spoons. And was about to beat the drum kit to death so these should work better.
Day#334
My dad was in the hospital all last week after a high blood pressure episode, but home now and doing better, I guess. I hope. Him being in the hospital coincided with Homecoming Week for the big boys, but we managed to still get to do everything which included the parade, football game with recognition for seniors, and the dance, well, a modified version of going to the dance.
Jack and Megan and another couple got dressed up, did pictures, and had a night out to The Cheesecake Factory but skipped buying flowers and tickets to the dance. Later, they hung out at our house to watch a movie. I thought it was a smart idea for a special date without all the traditional dance hoopla.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Day#322
Jack is ready for the end of marching band. He's got so much going on this school year that to be done with band will be a great relief for him. He looks great doing it though.
Day#321
Marching band season is winding down. They won their competition at Collinsville, taking first in their class and overall champions. Grant sure enjoys his contra.
Day#329
Has anyone else been overrun with stinkbugs this fall?! I think they aren't even traditional stinkbugs because they are tan and large. I go to grab a Kleenex and there's one. I go to adjust my van mirror and there's one. Our grill had a bunch inside and darn, so sorry when I had to light the burners...not. They sound like horseflies when they are flying around in the house. Guess that's this year's nuisance insect.
Day#328
Ross texted, asking if I'd be interested in having Swedish meatballs on Sunday and I was all 'oh yeah!'' because I took that as 'are you interested in going to the newly opened Ikea on Sunday?' But then when he said 'ok, I'll bring then over' I realized my assumption was wrong. And how disappointing! But I shouldn't have felt that because it turned out to be awesome.
He had bought all the groceries before hand and came over to cook and it felt like Thanksgiving. We had quite a spread with two kinds of noodles, glazed carrots, streaked broccoli, mashed potatoes, chocolate cupcakes, and actual Ikea gravy/sauce and lingonberries to go with our two kinds of meatballs. The number of servings of the gravy/sauce was 18 so suffice it to say there were leftovers. Only Sam and Caroline were home so we had way much food. Eventually Gary and Grant came in and Ross had five take-home meals for the week so none went wasted.
Photo by Sam. He tried : )
Day#327
This is Caroline's latest room inspiration and thus the transformation begins. Wasn't it just last month that I fell off the ladder painting for her? I guess it was more like two years ago we painted over the purple but it feels very recent. She's gonna have her room painted twice before we ever get our bedroom painted once. I tell ya, one natural gift that girl has is coming up with ideas, oy.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Day#326
A day I'd always remember even if it wasn't posted here would be the day I took Bob to the vet. Actually it was Caroline and me, thank goodness for Caroline's presence.
Bob's previous exposure to car rides totalled two and his exposure to buildings other than his home was zero so you can probably imagine how that went. And he refused the pet carrier despite treats, steak, and an attempted forcing into so you can imagine the fun of transporting a panicked cat. The picture says it all. And this was on the way home when we were more relaxed.
He had an ear infection and was so dang stinky from it, he was not going to be allowed inside ever again if something didn't change so a trip to the vet was a must. After two shots and an ear treatment, he is doing great now.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Day#324
It was Gary's 48th birthday, believe it or not. I chose not, since I am right behind him. But it was a happy day since there was carrot cake and brownies and ice cream involved.
Day#323
Sam and Gary went scout camping this past weekend. Sam brought home a wooden pistol in a leather holster he made, this iron post we call Shook (get it? It's an "s" hook) that he made, and a wooden one-legged stool he made in case he needs to take up milkin one of these days.
Day#322
I went with the older boys to Washington, Missouri for a band competition on Saturday. I was a chaperone on one of the five school buses taken; we left by 7 am and got home after midnight. Tired campers for sure.
The band competed in a parade in the morning, the field competition in the afternoon, and made the finals, meaning another full performance in the evening. It was a bunch of hard work just as every day of practice has been since they started back in June (!), but the benefits were realized as they took home every trophy they were in contention for except one. They won fifteen.
They won the parade and it's subcategories except visual, their class and it's subcategories, and then the whole shebang out of 27 bands. The kids' mouths dropped open when the results were announced. I don't think anyone expected it, but of course everyone from E'ville was very proud of the outcome.
Day#321
And this is what I made onto our original coffee table, original meaning the one we used when we first got married. Thing is, I didn't really plan my project before I started it and now I find the acrylic I want to pour over the caps to make it a usable surface costs $70 a gallon and I was wanting a basically free project.
So now it sits.
In the dining room.
In limbo.
But looking like a bunch of cool-ly arranged bottle caps.
Collecting dust.
Do I put 'gallons of acrylic' on my Christmas list? Or scrap the project?
Day#318
Just realized I hadn't mentioned my latest project even though it's been in the dining room now for weeks. It started as an ice cream bucket and cooler full of beer caps I got from Ross's rental house. [They were accumulated long before Ross rented the house--I am sure of that. Some had a 2004 date on them.] This is the state between them drying after I ran them through the washer and my starting to sort them. I never did count them but I would guess more than a thousand?
Day#317
We went to our friend Bolton's party the other night and enjoyed a chimney log. It was his son's 21st birthday so this was like a big candle. Keep your eye out for hollow logs--they are fun to burn.
Day#316
I love crazy coincidences. I recently saw this album cover and it cracked me up just because *70's!* so I googled the name Jay Ferguson and realized I knew his song Thunder Island well, I just hadn't heard it in years. And then it came on the radio! You should listen too, you will know it. Well, unless you didn't get to *70's*.
Day#315
Girlie got her braces on. This is her Day 1 of approximately 730. She wasn't really that happy afterwards, but even her fake smile looks great.