it kept raining.

Yep, it's fall in Ohio and that means rain.  And lots of it.  And people wonder why I don't like fall.  I'm trying to keep a positive attitude but it's hard to do when the sun doesn't do anything but peek out for a few minutes each day and it's too wet and cold to play outside. And since I dread the season that follows fall, I can't help but to start getting cranky.  I'm trying... and to show you just how hard I am trying to be happy about fall, Noah and I made "acorns" for his class for the first day of fall.

Cute idea, huh?  :)  Thanks to Family Fun magazine for the idea.  (Now if they could just give me a way to get to the sun to shine...)

It wouldn't be a blog post without Josiah, so here are a couple pictures of him too.

 Reading with Dad

 This is one of those, "you took pictures of Noah, take one of me!  CHEEEEEZE!" :)

 And this cute picture is Josiah's latest "quirk" - when you ask him a question, he puts his hand like that on his chin and says, "hmmmmm... hmmmmmmm".  It's actually really funny and I'm trying to get a video of it and not just a still picture. 

For those of you just here for the pictures, that's all I've got.  For those of you who want to help me work through my new attitude about fall, continue reading!  lol
To combat the fall blues, I've decided to list the things I actually like about this beautiful season.  (did you like that??  I called FALL a BEAUTIFUL season!  It's a start. lol)

*It really can be beautiful.  Around here, the trees all change at different times, so it's not just a sudden burst of color but color scattered around.  Some trees are already losing their leaves while others are still summer green, but there are some oranges, reds and yellows mixed in.
*I love fall food: stews, chili & cornbread, all things pumpkin, you know what I'm talking about!
*I also really love some of my fall clothes.  I'd prefer not to have to cover up these sweaters and cute outfits with jackets and coats, but I guess I'll take what I can get.  Maybe what I need is a nice fall coat to perk things up.  :)  (I can always justify the need to shop...)
*Fall Festivals!  I love going to Suter's (or really any farm) and picking our pumpkins, riding the hay wagon, drinking cider, the corn maze and those fun activities.  Of course, I like to do those activities when the sun is shining and preferably if the temperature is above 65, but some years, that just doesn't happen.  Last year we wore shorts and it was HOT.  I liked it though I will admit, it was a bit weird.
*The routine.  By the time the calendar hits Sept. 23rd, we've settled into our routine.  By the end of winter, I'll be antsy with this routine and ready for something new, but for now, it's refreshing.

That's all I've got.  It's not such a bad list after all, though I think I need to keep working on it.  What do YOU like best about fall?  Leave me a comment and help me keep my new positive fall attitude!  :)

it rained.

It was a slow week with lots of rain and though we were supposed to visit friends in Cincinnati on Saturday, they got sick and had to cancel on us.  :(  So the boys and I went to Chuck E. Cheese's instead.  hmmmm... Chuck E. Cheese's or Cincinnati.... which would you choose?  ;)  Josiah loves Chuck E. Cheese's (as does Noah) and he especially loves the mouse himself.  Chuck E. came out for a birthday party and Josiah wouldn't leave the poor mouse alone.  Chuck E. was trying to do the birthday dance, etc. and Josiah kept trying to hug him or give him high fives or dance on his feet, which is more than I can say for the birthday party attendees.  They just sat there and watched, with no enthusiasm whatsoever... they didn't even crack a smile!  I guess they were as excited as I was to be at Chuck E. Cheese's on Saturday morning.  :)

Other than that, we didn't do much.  Noah had his first munchkins rehearsal and we had a hymn sing at church on Sunday night that was fun but that is about it for excitement this week.  The forecast ahead isn't looking any dryer, so I don't have high hopes for fun adventures this week either.  Welcome to fall in Ohio.

I did take the camera to Chuck E. Cheese's, so you have something to look at.

Chuck E. Cheese's

finding our groove

This week has been one of settling into routines with a class starting for Josiah (Tiny Tots Gym at the Y), volunteering at school for Amy, school musical and all the "regular" stuff for Noah and well, Michael is the same as always:  BUSY.  (somebody's gotta work...)

Josiah started Tiny Tots Gym today and, like his brother, loved it!  He especially loved doing the log roll and has been rolling all over the house since.  :)  And with a big grin on his face the whole time.  I really need to get a picture of it - that was one of the stations I did not take a picture of while in class today.  Josiah also gets some social time with 2 other almost-2-year-olds on Thursdays when I head to school to volunteer and he heads to a friend who does daycare in her home.  I think he enjoys going to "Miss Bicky's" house, since last week, when I told him we were going there, he said, "Bicky, Bicky Bicky!" the whole ride there.  :)  He's really starting to say words now, most of which we cannot understand, though he is getting better at mimicking words.  Thought I'd share this cute video of Josiah doing the Itsy Bitsy Spider:

Noah continues to take piano lessons and is doing so well.  Of course he is a star student at school and he found out on Monday that he was selected to be a munchkin in the school musical, The Wizard of Oz.  Over 100 1st-4th grade students auditioned for the 40 munchkin spots, so he is very happy that he got a spot.  

9-14-11

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Yes, the theme of this week's blog is our celebration of Michael's 50th birthday.  As he said, it was "simple and sweet" and nice and quiet, just the way he wanted.  I couldn't let a milestone like 50 pass without a little fun though - the boys made t-shirts that they both wore on his birthday.

More pictures are in the slideshow to follow.  :)  Michael & I dropped the boys at some friends' house and then made the trip down to Dayton for a grown-up dinner date.  The next day we celebrated again with birthday cake & ice cream.  One of Michael's gifts was a new grill.  Not only did he get to pick out his new grill, but he also got to put it together himself!  lol  The boys "helped." 

Other than the birthday celebration, it's been fairly uneventful around here.  We had a quiet weekend at home and that about sums up our week. 

9-7-11

forgot to add these!

Each year at Immanuel, 3rd graders receive a Bible with their name on it on Rally Day.  Thanks to technology (and my techno-savvy husband), I have pictures from the service.