Labor Day weekend fun, a birthday celebration, September flowers

Just couldn't find the time to blog this week so far.  Life is getting busier with the return of the Fall schedule.  We're so happy that we have not been having an overabundance of rain like we had last summer and fall.  My impatiens out front are happier too.

Remember when Austin begged me to buy a pack of sunflower seeds back in May?  The rabbits ate most of them as soon as they came up.  But now a few are trying to bloom.  They are dark red.  I think they're deformed or something.  And they certainly didn't grow tall!

Last Friday Lori and Hunter left by bus for a weekend with her parents in New York.  I got busy cooking and cleaning.  Sam and the kids were coming for the Labor Day weekend.  Dick put in a long hard Saturday working on his hunting shack over at Anthony's place.  

When Sam and the kids got here late afternoon on Saturday I had sloppy joes ready for them.  They had fun here at the house, then we decided to take their energy to airport park before darkness would arrive at 8:00.  I'm so sad that it's getting dark earlier each day.

We came home, the kids got showers, and then we settled in for a good movie.  

On Sunday morning we went to our service at GBRV.  The kids always enjoy going to children's church after the pastor's story, but on the first Sunday of the month we don't have children's church because of communion.  They did quite well.  Then we went to Calvary, where they LOVE the children's classes, but they decided they didn't want to go to their classes because they wanted to stay with Sam.  So they sat through two services that morning!  And I didn't even have anything along for them to do at Calvary's service.  Thankfully I had several Post-It note pads in my purse and some pens.  They made use of every little piece of paper!

Dick grilled chicken breasts and hot dogs when we got home.

There had been rain in the forecast for Sunday, which had really disappointed me, but after we finished eating we checked the forecast again and decided it looked like the chance of rain was actually quite slim.  Dick and I have been wanting to hike the nearby Spring Creek Canyon Trail ever since they put a nice parking lot at the beginning of the trail along Rock Road.   This was finally the day!  What a nice trail!

It was a little over a mile long one way with a pretty steep downhill, which would of course be uphill going back!  Dick's knee was giving him trouble, and Bianca was complaining of being tired.  So the three of us sat on the nice bench at the end of the trail while Sam and Sammy RAN that 1.1 mile back to get the van!  I couldn't believe it when he texted that they were already back at the van.

However, he got a bit lost while driving around to pick us up at the other end of the trail, so that part took longer, haha!!  

We came home to get a few things, then went over to Anthony's.  First off, we stopped to check out the hunting shack!  I stayed on the ground!

I had made cream of tomato soup on Saturday and brought that along over to Anthony's.  There I made grilled cheese on rye sandwiches to eat with the soup.  

We had a good time relaxing and hanging out with Anthony and Austin. 

It was a lovely evening for being on the porch too.  

Bianca and I stayed out till dark, just enjoying the sights and sounds of nature.  

On Monday morning, Labor Day, I made bacon, eggs, and English muffins for breakfast.   The kids pulled out the marble roller and Legos.  I caught a cute picture or two of Bianca with her Cookie.   

Around noon we all packed up, said our goodbyes,  and left, they for home in Duncannon and we for Manheim.  

Dick's dad had a riding mower to give us.  Dick will probably have to work on it to get it to run, but that's what Dick does best!  So we went in the truck to Grandpa Stauffer's where they loaded that mower up.  Dick had taken wooden planks to use for a ramp and then needed to bring them along home to use for a ramp to get the mower off the truck.  So it took some Stauffer ingenuity to get everything tied down securely, but he did it.  

We looked like real rednecks all the way back to State College, hahaha!

I took this picture at Anthony and Lori's place on Wednesday.  Yikes!  I see some red leaves.  Do you?

It's starting to look like we might get neighbors next door.  There's been a huge pile of dirt sitting there for months, weeds growing out of it.  I've been getting so tired of looking at it every time I stand at my sink, which is often.  But lately there's been some activity, especially today.

This evening we went over the mountain behind Anthony and Lori's and had a belated birthday celebration for Lori at our favorite place, Doan's BBQ.  For the first time I tried something other than my regular Dam Fish Sandwich.  I got brisket, mac and cheese and coleslaw, all of it absolutely yummy!!  We finished off with ice cream.  I got a peanut butter cookie dough cone.   Small.  But it was huge!

We saw this amazing sunset on our way home this evening!

Imagine my surprise when we got home and our kitchen light was on and the curtains wide open!  Yikes!!!  I guess I had left in a hurry earlier!  The whole world could see right into our kitchen!

I admit I love when I can see into houses when we drive by.  But I don't want to be one of those houses, hahaha!

Well, that's all for this week!