Pink PJ's & Pink Guitar

She's 28!

Two days after Lori's birthday, we finally had a little celebration.  Her menu choices?  Parmesan Tilapia, Steamed Veggies, Rice, & Caramel Apple Cake ~

It's autumn time, it's autumn time, the leaves are falling down . . .

For this time of year, the weather was very nice - especially at first - while the Ellsworth & Joneses were here.  We all enjoyed a little walking and exploring at Rocky River late on Tuesday afternoon.  The kids loved walking in the leaves because it was so noisy.  Imagine that!  It was also fun to see the moon come over the mountain and then see it reflect on the river.

Fall Planting

The landscaping in front of the house gradually was removed, piece by piece.  It had either gotten too big or had just generally gotten ugly.  All summer there has been nothing there but dirt.  Joe tilled it several times, and our hope is that the snot grass has been eradicated.  Hate that stuff.  We shopped at three different nurseries and on the internet.  We got lots of questions answered and got lots of good ideas for what we wanted to do, with the plan changing several times, of course.  Anyway, we're very happy with the results so far.  The Ellsworths went to visit Gma and PaPa Hitchcock and while they were gone, the boys helped Joe and me plant a few more things. 

S'mores & Sleepovers

The Ellsworth girls could hardly wait for the Jones boys to get to Nonna & Pa's house.  They finally arrived right at dinner time.  I tried a couple new recipes and will definitely be making them again - my version, anyway:  Cream of Vegetable Soup & Garlic Cheddar Biscuits.  Yum!  While I cleaned up the kitchen, the kids went outside with Pa to pick up some limbs that had fallen from the big cedar trees down by the road.  They piled them in the firepit and we all enjoyed a beautiful November evening around a roaring fire.  Oh, and we enjoyed the s'mores, too.  It was so fun to watch the kids riding their bikes and driving the boys' gator.  Will drove and Ces held on for dear life.  They were sooooo cute.  Bedtime followed and Ceseley managed to squeeze in a little dress-up time and some snuggle time with Pa.  Sure love these kiddos :)

A looooooong walk with Pa & Nonna (mostly with Nonna)

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and Ceseley quickly agreed to go for a walk with us.  Before we reached the Vance House, she abruptly stopped and said that it was time to rest.  Which she did.  Right in the road.  Refreshed and invigorated, she began skipping/running and was delighted when shortly thereafter, a little dog (which she called a puppy and quickly named it Casey), joined us.  Which complicated things because it seemed not to understand what to do when a vehicle came through.  We made it as far as Amy's house and Ceseley stopped to play in the leaves in her front yard.  Joe decided then that he should take the dog back where it belonged and agreed to come back and get us in the truck.  After lots of leaf playing and checking out hay bales, we made our way to Mr. Woods to check out the bull calf that had been bellowing and mooing.  Ceseley would moo right back and then just laugh and laugh when the calf mooed again.  We also watched his goats for a while as they munched merrily on bushes down below the barn.  Thinking that Joe would be back any minute, we started walking again and had almost reached the assembly building when he FINALLY arrived.  Boy, were we tired and so happy to see him!

After Lunch

The first order of business for Natalie upon arrival 

was to clean out my cabinets.

Julee moved all the breakables to the top of the refrigerator.