Thunder Struck

So I was trying my best to find the best Halloween pictures to share, but this one trumps them all! Halloween this year fell on Monday, and of course Ben had to work, and of course this is exactly how he looked as he was inches from you and your mouth holding a drill! Doesn't get much scarier than that....well, maybe it does.....those jeans you think he is wearing in the picture above are really cut off jean shorts....and they're short!

I know right?!??!

So here are pictures from the first day of school....yes, school started when your kids school started...I'm way behind on posting...I know right?!?!? So here is big Max going off to Kindergarten. It's everyday, half day. I love having him home for lunch! I wanted to drive him to school, but he didn't want any part of that. "I want to ride the bus because it is really long, it has lots of seats and has its own stop sign!" The swagger wagon can't compete with that.

This was also Seth's first year of Preschool. He was so excited and totally ready. After taking Max the previous two years, Seth has already become aquatinted with the school and the teachers. It was like Cheers! Everyone knew his name!

And of course our little fella, Jake. He doesn't miss a beat! He loves to help me watch for the bus and get those boys off to school. He is my little shadow. I love our time just the two of us!

I guess next school year I'll have two shadows, one to follow and one to carry!

"Money Money Money by the Pound"

This is such a late post, my little Sethy turned 4 on August 23rd! He has grown into such an amazing kid. He is my tender hearted peace maker. He's very adventurous...I often loose him because he sneaks out of the house and rides down to his friend's house on his scooter. The moment I realize I need to look for him is the moment the phone rings telling me my little one is at the neighbor's. Seth loves to snuggle and be close, I love it. He loves to rock out when we're driving in the car to songs like, "Another one Bites the Dust" by Queen or "Beat it" by Micheal Jackson.

Seth's favorite toys are LEGOS. He loves to build them, show me pictures of future lego purchases, go to friend's houses and build their legos...he just loves them. Which is good and bad for me, I'm happy he is doing something constructive, but I never know when I'm going to step on one of those little pieces. So, you can see what inspired his Birthday Cake this year. I made the actual cake, Ben always does the creative portion, including idea and execution.

Seth has been enjoying the movie, "Pete's Dragon" this year. One of those Disney Classics from the 70s. It's full of music, and Seth knows just about every song. This was the first year he understood Birthday cards and the possibly of money being inside.

As soon as the money fell out, he ran to his piggy bank singing, "Money Money Money by the Pound", a song from Pete's Dragon. It was pretty hilarious.

A Birthday's not complete without dinner at Chuck E Cheese! It was a perfect night, there was hardly a soul there. Seth had a blast!

Happy Birthday Buddy Boy!

Preserving

How to Preserve a Husband

"Be careful in your selection. Do not choose too young. When selected, give your entire thoughts to preparation for domestic use. Some wives insist upon keeping them in a pickle, others are constantly getting them into hot water. This may make them sour, hard, and sometimes bitter; even poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good, by garnishing them with patience, well sweetened with love and seasoned with kisses. Wrap them in a mantle of charity. Keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with peaches and cream. Thus prepared, they will keep for years."

This is what was in the back of a 1974 Ball canning book. I thought it was hilarious!

Here's another picture I took of the book to show what women were wearing while working hard in the kitchen.

Now for what I was really trying to post about. Ben and I canned peaches this weekend. Ben has seen/done it before as a boy, but I was a first timer with peaches. It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. We bought this bushel from a farmer, Mr. Burnham. He has a great farm about 45 minutes west of us. He also has apple orchards that we'll be visiting in about a month or two.

Hopefully I have preserved these peaches correctly and they will be enjoyable for the months and year ahead, but it will be a forever canning process to keep my sweetheart preserved ;)

Safety Town

Our area of the world has a great program for all up coming Kindergarteners called, safety town. It's a week long event where they learn a different sort of "safety" each day. One day it's fire safety and the fireman comes and shows off his rig, one day it's bus safety and they ride the kids around to all the elementary schools in our city, another day it's water safety, so on and so forth. They also learn their address and phone number as well as getting their picture and finger prints for an id card. It's pretty cool and the kids love it. In every city where Safety Town is held, they have a Safety Town...hence the name. Below are some pictures of our city's Safety Town, fully equipped with traffic signs and lights, roads, houses and buildings, and little cars for the kids to drive around in.



These pictures were taken at the beginning of June...as you can tell by Max's eye, he totally was suffering from seasonal allergies:-(. Max starts school on the 26th of this month, we've got less than two weeks till we start this new chapter in our lives.

Botanical Gardens

I'm trying to really enjoy these last days of summer break before school starts. Last week went to the zoo with a group of friends and this last Thursday, we went with this group of fun friends to the Botanical Gardens. It was the perfect temperature and a ton of fun for the kids to run around and play.







A little less than two weeks left, I can't believe how fast the summer has gone!

Jake's Summer

We have gone non stop this summer, and poor little Jake has been our mascot! He has gone to every tee ball practice, tee ball game, soccer practice, swim lesson, you name it. I truly think he believes he's just as old and big as his brothers. He is dying to get on every field and looking for ways to get around me or anything else in his way. He's such a good natured little fellow, I had to give him a post before I put all of the big boys summer adventures up. He's Max and Seth's BIGGEST FAN! We love you Baby! (For some reason, who ever is the youngest child we call them Baby Max, or Baby Seth, or now...Baby Jake. We eventually just drop their name and call them Baby.)

Ben took this picture; Jake has conquered climbing onto the counter. He really is a Super Baby!

Here he is drinking Seth's water bottle while at tee ball practice.

Poor guy is watching the boys play with fire crackers.

Jake is watching a little dog out the window at a boat marina.

After all our trips to the Lake this summer, Jake has finally warmed up to swimming and getting into the water...he loves it!

The Blob and Water Tramp

We had a blast in TN again! This time we brought a water Trampoline, it was a blast. Can't wait till next week!

Moments That Matter Most

Some Friends that are Great as Hale

These are some of our best family friends. They have truly been a blessing to Ben and I since living in OH. They are a couple that would do anything for you and we have learned so much from their example of service and love. Thanks so much for all you do and ALL the fun we have down in Tennessee!

Red and Oh So Sweet!

Last year was our first year picking strawberries, I just about missed the season. This year, I've been keeping tabs on a local strawberry farm just down from our house. We even brought Ben along to help us with our efforts. Jake was old enough this year to walk along side of us and eat what he picked. He was a mess by the time we were finished. I had to remind the big boys to only pick the red ones, not the green or orange ones. Thank goodness I was making freezer jam with them...it calls for a ton of sugar!

Sorry to all those that aren't on my visiting teaching route...this was there June treat with visit!

Fun as Hale

We love spending our Memorial Day weekend down in Tennessee! This year there was a new addition to the Hale family...our boat! My vote for his name is, "Fun as Hale"...let me know if you have any better ideas for names?!?! Here is a few pictures from our weekend of fun.

The maiden voyage. Our friends dropped us in and drove the truck back to the cabin so we could take the boat out for the first time as a family!

Yes, I was finally able to get up on the wake board...I know it might be hard to believe since this picture doesn't show me up.

A weekend at the cabin wouldn't be complete without fire crackers*****