Our first week of September

 

Time to catch up here!  Last Saturday we went to DelGrosso's Amusement Park near Altoona, about 45 minutes from here.  We met up with Lori and Anthony and the boys in the parking lot.  When we entered, a lady asked us to take a picture of her family, and then she took one of ours!

The first thing I noticed was how beautifully kept the park was, with beautiful flowers and plants everywhere. 

Lori had rented a cabana, which was a great place for keeping our stuff and for people who didn't feel like going on rides to sit and chill.  Anthony and Austin were those two until we went to the water park later.  The rest of us had a blast. 

Destiny said she regretted getting on this one, but it was tooooo late, haha!

When we went to the water park we locked our valuables, including our phones, in a locker.  So I wasn't able to get any pictures of us there.  Dick and I were with Elizer and Hunter in the kids area (lower picture) while Destiny, Lori, Anthony, and Austin went on the crazy water rides (top picture.) Elizer is just crazy in water!  He has a floaty jacket and has NO FEAR!  I found out later, when I looked at the website, that some of the things he was on were to be with adults.  We were just sitting in the water watching.  

They finished off in the big wave pool, but I was in the cabana trying to clean up before they kicked us out, so I didn't get any pictures of that either. 

After the water park closed we got pizza.  It was such a lovely evening. And what a beautiful setting!

Elizer slept here that night because Destiny had to work on Sunday and he would be going to church with us.  I was READY for bed!!

On Sunday after church I made BLT's with our own tomatoes.  I looked into the living room while I was preparing things and thought it was so cute how Elizer was getting Grandpa to help him take care of the babies. 

We had a lazy Sunday and even took afternoon naps, something I haven't done in ages!

Monday was Labor Day.  Dick finished up his weekly mowing over at Anthony's.  I did some church work here at the computer.  In the evening Destiny and Elizer and I went to the pool for our last time this season.  It was such a hot day and it felt really good!

On Tuesday morning after I dropped Elizer off at preschool I went to pick up some shoes from a person that was selling them on Facebook Marketplace.  Seven pairs of shoes for $15!!  They're SO cute, and just the size Elizer is growing into.  

I got my hair trimmed for the first time in five weeks.  It was TIME!

We went to Spring Creek Park after I picked him up at 3:30.  It was so hot, and I thought he might enjoy wading into the creek like other children were doing.  We both walked in with our shoes on, but he was not a fan.  He wanted to swing instead.  

There was also a sweet doggie named Stella that he was allowed to pet and give a treat to.  We walked through the covered bridge and looked at the creek through the opening in the bridge.  And we played in the sand for a while. 

On Wednesday I made a beef stir fry  and took most of it over to Anthony and Lori's place.  I just had to take pictures of her gorgeous plants!!

On Thursday I had my annual mammogram.  We actually got some rain that afternoon for the first in a little while.  I took Elizer to Rural King after I picked him up from daycare.  We had fun looking at the baby chicks and ducklings.  There were also a few rabbits in cages.  One of them was way too energetic, and we laughed and laughed watching him hop and jump around his cage. 

I didn't take any pictures because my hands were full as we ate the delicious FREE freshly popped popcorn.  I love that place.  After we checked out we were watching the CUTEST Shih Tzu in a man's shopping cart.  We waited till he came by us to ask if Elizer could pet it.  No problem.  The man was so friendly, and the dog was just adorable!

We had fun hanging outside after we got home.  He loves to ride his bike around and around the driveway. Then we enjoyed eating some cantaloupe the old fashioned way! 

On Friday I made burritos and all the fixings for Anthony and Lori and for us.  I took their things in a cooler bag to Dick at work, because he was going over to their place anyway to start this week's mowing.  Destiny had picked Elizer up from preschool because it was her day off work.  She dropped him off here for a bit while she went to an appointment.  He seem quite low-key, we noticed.  I played a little card game that he'd gotten with his Chick-Fil-A meal.  Then he wanted to go for a walk.  

By the time we got back I could tell he had a fever.  We enjoyed looking at the sky, then I took him home to Destiny.  Thankfully, he's all better today.

I've been having a rather lazy day here at home today (Saturday).  We just had a storm and saw a rainbow afterward. 

I just can't stop taking pictures of my flowers!!  The roses especially.  Here are some from this week. 

I do have a few lilies blooming.  And the zinnias are making a comeback after almost dying from the heat.  I wasn't careful enough about watering them since they are kind of out-of-sight-out-of-mind.  

That's all folks!  Have a great rest of the weekend!

Last week of August

 

Can you believe we have hit September?  Each day this week I would say to myself, "It's still August, it's still August, it's still August."  I wanted to hang onto summer with all my might!  It's not that I hate the beauty of Autumn.  I just feel the dread of what might be coming - driving on potentially slippery roads.  And what WILL be coming - darkness before we have even had dinner.  

But for now, we are still enjoying this:

Last Saturday I had a day at home to catch up on blogging and other things.  Dick was mowing over at Anthony's.  In the evening we had a date night! 

We went to Axemann Brewery about 15 minutes from here.   There is a huge abandoned factory to which  businesses have gradually begun giving new life.  And right along a lovely stream!

It's a wonderfully family-friendly place.  

The weather was delightful, so we chose to eat outdoors. 

On Sunday we had another lazy afternoon, then we drove a little over an hour to meet Alex and his dad to get Elizer back from them.

We were thoroughly enjoying the amazing cloud formations on the way home. 

Destiny got home from work a little bit before we got to her place.  We hung out for a while.  Elizer was playing a game on Grandpa's phone.

 

Monday was the first day of school in Reading, PA.  Here are V'anni (preschool), Jada (6th grade), and Alaya (2nd grade).

I had a good bit of church music prep and computer work for the church (I'm in charge of the Facebook page).  But I found time to check on my roses. 

Destiny had to work until 11:00 that night, so Elizer was here for the rest of the day after I picked him up from preschool.  He stayed overnight too.

It was a good evening for Grandpa to mow the lawn and then take Elizer for another ride around the neighborhood.  It never loses its thrill!

Tuesday was a really crazy day. I had two appointments on my calendar that I had to take care of for Destiny while she was at work.  One was an appointment at a vet to get her new kitten neutered.  She got Koby a few weeks ago from PAWS.  They had set up the appointment.  

The other appointment was with WIC, and for this appointment Elizer had to come along to be weighed and measured.  

So Elizer and I left here bright and early to go to Destiny's house to pick up the kitten.  I was aware that it was the first day of school in our local district, so I anticipated school busses. But I did not anticipate a BLINKING red light at the very busy intersection in Bellefonte that I needed to go through.  The line at the traffic light was LONG as cars going the other direction kept right on going, never getting a red light.  Quite a lot of cars in line got tired of waiting and maneuvered a turnaround.  Two of the cars almost hit each other in the process, and there were kids standing in front of a house right there.   I gasped.  Eventually a few cars got through the light, and after a long time it was finally my turn.  The car coming from my right had stopped to let the car in front of me go ahead.  I looked at him and he seemed to be indicating that I could go too.  But just as I did go, a car coming from my left did not intend to stop.  I had not seen him until we were both in the intersection slamming on our brakes.  Whewwwww!!!  We did not hit each  other, but my heart hit my throat!  

We got to Destiny's place and got Koby (in his carrier) and all the necessary papers I would need for the two appointments. Dropping him off at the vet was an easy process.  

Elizer and I had time to stop at the nearby Sheetz to go to the bathroom and get some food.

The WIC appointment went just fine, and then I took him to preschool.  He arrived about two hours later than the usual 8:00.  Here are a couple of pictures his teacher posted that day.

I was home about an hour when I got the call from the vet that Koby could be picked up.  I was so surprised to find out from them that he would not be allowed to run and jump for a week to ten days!  They suggested keeping him in a small room, like a half bath (which Destiny does not have), or getting a large dog crate that his litter box and food and water would fit inside.  

I put his litter box in her bathroom and put him in that room for a while.  Then before I left I put him in his carrier in the bathroom.  He wasn't supposed to eat or drink till around 6:00, and he had not had anything that morning, so I didn't think it would be disastrous if he couldn't access his litter box until Destiny got home.  

(Long story short, she tried to buy a dog crate from someone on Facebook Marketplace, but she missed it.  So I'm afraid Koby did some running around that evening.  The next day she was able to get one from someone for $20.  It's HUGE, and his litter box and everything fits inside nicely.  He cries to get out, poor baby.)  

When I picked up Elizer from preschool that afternoon he did not feel like he had been there long enough and did not want to leave.  We tried all kinds of persuasion, but in the end I had to carry him all the way to the car, kicking and screaming.  UGH!!  That had never happened before.  

Like I said, it was a CRAZY DAY!

While I was away there had been tree cutters up the street.  They cut down three huge evergreens.  Makes me sad.  Elizer and I walked up the street to take a look at these big logs. 

On Wednesday after preschool Elizer and I went to beautiful Talleyrand Park in Bellefonte.  Enjoy!  We certainly did!

And back at home I got a picture of this perfect rose.

The day even ended beautifully!  

Thursday was another gorgeous day.  I opened windows and let the breezes blow through the house.  At one point I needed to shake out a rug on the side porch and looked down at my begonias and coleus.  Sometimes I almost forget they are back there, so it's a nice surprise to see them blooming even when no one sees them!

They posted pictures on the preschool portal of the kids playing in the church gym.  There's a program called Hoop Stars, and a fun guy was there to introduce it to the kids.  A paper with info was sent home.  We're going to sign Elizer up for it.  I think it's once a week during the preschool day.  They teach them the skills of basketball!  The teachers said that Elizer LOVED it.  No surprise there!

More pictures of our lovely Thursday.

And now it's Friday.  I've been getting caught up on some things around here.  Lori didn't need me to cook for them this week, so I had time to work on choir music prep and other things this week too.  

Here's one picture from preschool today.

And how about this?  Pastor Jim sent me some pictures today to post on the church's FB page.  Like he often says, "It's gettin' real, folks!"

 

Have a good Labor Day weekend!