Fall Yard Clean up-a Bittersweet Time

 Today is the day that John got our yard ready for winter.

It was time to put all of our yard decor away till spring.

It is such a bittersweet day for me, it means that snow, cold, and winter are just around the corne and it will be a long time before we will feel this warm again.

 A lone bird was enjoying a snack this morning.

 The garden is done for another year. 

I didn't get one ear of corn from the Indian corn I planted, but the squirrels were happy with the treat.

The last of the tomatoes didn't make it past the last frost.

 Our burning bush is looking particularily pretty this fall.

 Time to put the swing away.

Such happy memories of sitting on that swing with Soli and Tizita.

 The yard is full of leaves which John will tackle tomorrow.

 The garage is ready to store all of our things until we bring them out again in spring.

They will share space with the little coupe and the escalade.

 When John lifted the birdbath off of its base, he discovered all these ants!

Pretty gross if you ask me.

I guess they were trying to huddle together for some warmth.

I really didn't have to do anything in the yard clean up, that is how John prefers it. 

He likes it best when I stay out of his way, so that is what I did!

So, good bye birdhouses, swings, lawn chairs, and birdbath until we see you again next spring.

Whoa, this is one big coffee filter!

I saw an idea for cute turkeys on Pinterest.

It said to use Big Texas Coffee Filters.

I had never heard of such a thing, but the turkeys were so cute, I had to google them.

Sure enough, came right up with a few sites where I could purchase these big filters.

I put my phone insite the filter so you could actually see how big it is.

I don't know how big the coffee pot is that uses a filter this huge or how much coffee this would actually make, but I know it will make a cute turkey tail.

Tomorrow I will be experimenting with how to use watercolors to make the filter tails pretty.

I will be sure and post the finished product.



A fun Night out in Bloomington with the Hunters

Just got back from a fun weekend in Bloomington visiting the Hunters.

The weather was rainy and cool, but we still had a hot time on the town.

Whenever we visit, Alissa and Nathan find us a new restaurant to try.

This time it was Lucca's Bar and Grill where we enjoyed pizza and beers.

After dinner we went over to a Western Bar that they like and engaged in beer drinking and good conversation.

Lissa and I did some shopping in the afternoon and that was fun, too.  I managed to find a few things including the striped shirt I have on in the picture.

John and I were looking forward to stopping in Janesville at Fazoli's for a late lunch on the way home.

We drove up to their parking lot and saw it was all blocked off.  Apparently they had had a fire very recently and were unable to open.

How crazy is that?

We settled for Macdonald's in Milton which was just fine.

Now we will wait to see how the Packers do tonight.

This is just a test

My apologies, I know you have all seen this picture before, but I am having some computer problems and I am testing here.  I am not able to connect to the Internet on my laptop or through my phone, so I am using John's phone to connect. 
Sometimes this technology is too much for me.  Cannot live with it, cannot live without it.  Such a conundrum!
I have to do a big picture post on my Preschool blog later today and I want to be prepared in case this does not work so I can save myself some frustration.
Anyway, here are my sweet daughters at a very fun age.  Would I go back to this age?  Yep, some days I actually would, no computers in my life at this time yet.  Only technology in our house at this time was a stereo that played records, a cassette player, and one black and white TV.  Simpler times...

Finally, the Zoo with Two!

'We took Tizita to the Milwaukee Zoo for the first time in July 2009.

We decided that taking her there would be an annual event for us.

We posed for a picture by the snake sign and we also decided that we would always post together by that sign.

Here we are in 2009 on our first visit to the zoo.

And here we are on the train ride.

This picture was taken on our trip to the zoo in 2010 by our snake sign.

This was last year, 2011 posing by the snake sign.

The train in 2011.

When we were riding the train last year, we talked about how Natnael would be home by the time we went this year and he would be sitting with Grandpa on the train ride.  We were all excited to have him join us, but as you know, that was not to be.

Grandpa did have a seatmate on the train, however, because our sweet Soliana came home and was able to join us on our zoo trip.

 We usually like to take our trip in late summer or very early September, but this year with Soli just coming home and all of our busy schedules, it did get pushed to October.

It  happened to be a rather chilly fall day, but that did not stop us from having a great day.  We were bundled up.

One good thing we decided to do was rent a double stroller.  That way John and I could briskly walk between areas while the girls rode and kept one another warm.  Normally Tizita would walk, but this just really worked out well for us this year.

 Here is Grandpa on the train with his little Soliana sharing his seat.

We were so excited to have her with us and she was a trooper.  she smiled the whle day through.

 Here are Tizita and I .  We decided we would always sit together on the train ride even when she was in college and I was an old lady.

 Here's a happy Soliana after a diaper change.

If I had to choose one word to describe this little lady, it would be sweet.  She has got to be the sweetest little thing and her smile would melt even the coldest heart.  She is such a blessing to us.

 Of course, no zoo trip is complete without the molded animal.  Tiz chose a cheetah and a bat this year to add to her collection.

 

Here are the girls just before we left for Oshkosh.

It had been another fun zoo trip and we were so glad to have two at the zoo this year.



Ebert's Pumpkin Patch 2012

Today my Preschoolers went on our annual trip to Ebert's pumpkin patch.

My weatherman, Charlie Shortino predicted cold weather and winds.

I tried my best to prepare myself.  I dug out the gloves and a hat, I dressed in layers.

I was ready to face the elements.

But much to my surprise, it was a beautiful fall day with lots of sun and cool crisp air, a near perfect day to pick pumpkins.

 

I don't even know how many pumpkin patch trips I have made to Ebert's over the years both with St. John's and with Mary Linsmeier.  I am guessing at least 20.

 

As I say each year, it was the best trip ever.

I had great parents along as chaperones.

The kids were well behaved and happy.

Ebert's has made many improments and the trip just gets better each year.

 

I have many photos, but I am only posting this one to my blog here.

I love this picture and I think it speaks volumes.

This little boy is the fifth of six children and just look how much his dad is enjoying their time together.

Such a special time when parents come along on this trip and just step back and enjoy the moments with their little ones.

 

It makes me happy to see this photo, I hope you enjoy it, too.

If you are interested in my other blog which is about my Preschool, feel free to hop on over and take a look.  preschoolsj.blogspot.com

Silent Auction Items

 On October 20, we will once again be attending the Alpha Pregnancy center's Silent Auction.

Last year we were unable to attend, but I donated two baskets featuring Courtney's hand crocheted hats and other goodies.  We also gave Ruth and Larry Parker free reign to bid on items for us.

While we missed the fun of being there in person, we still walked away with lots of goodies and were able to give a sizeable donation to the Center.

This year we will be attending and I will again be donation two baskets.

Courtney has generously donated two of her hats again, so I have made the baskets around the theme of her  hats.

The first one is called, "You are my Little Cupcake"

 It features this cute cupcake hat that Courtney made.

I added a package of onesies that are packaged to look like cupcakes.

I also found this cute stackable cupcake. 

 Here is the card that explains the contents of the basket. 

 The second basket features one of Courtney's cute bunny hats and matching diaper cover. 

 I added a Pat the Bunny book which is a wonderful classic that every child should own and a Pat the Bunny flat blanky.

 This is how the little oufit looks on a real baby, I wanted to showcase it, so I

used a little Teddy Bear.

I think both my baskets are great finds and I hope they do well at the auction.

This year there is also a Trivia Night associated with the auction so that should be a fun event all around.

I am also looking forward to finding some nice goodies again for myself.