I am so ready for things to slow down around here. Working at the school for two weeks was both rewarding and draining. I enjoyed the young man I was with although he was also quite the challenge. The school has hired a young girl to be with him and I think that’s good – she might be better suited to keep up with him! I was scheduled to work on Tuesday and on Thursday this week. Tuesday was canceled and Thursday rescheduled which was fine with me. I can use a week at home!
I had volunteered to help out at the school during their annual Color Run fundraiser but ended up working instead. Which worked out great as I was there all day and even though I was working I got to also spend time with Drew.
The kids had a great time dancing. They bring in a local DJ and she plays all the songs the kids love. The weather was iffy all day but it cleared up just enough for everyone to have fun for a couple of hours!
Drew’s teacher saw these boys taking a selfie and she just had to photobomb them. She’s such an involved teacher. She’s very update and fun!
I did manage to tackle this daunting task over the last month. All my DMC was in baggies. Hard to find, numberous duplicates, just very frustrating to sort through. After soooo many years of stitching I have accumulated soooo many threads. So instead of stitching I organized. I still have threads in baggies but I also have every DMC color organized like this. It is so nice now to pull out the threads I need without having to spend time sorting through piles. I should have done this years ago!
Braxton has been playing preschool soccer and we got to go to one of his games. He was lots of fun to watch. I get a kick out of these little ones – they have so much fun just running around out on the field. Little Bayah cuddled with me throughout the whole game which was fun too!
We we out for lunch after the soccer game for Aaron’s birthday. He wanted to go to Applebee’s in Iowa City. Everyone made it except for Eric who had to work. Jeremy looks grumpy in this picture but he had actually just shown Braxton how to make spit balls and shoot them through a straw. Braxton had a blast shooting them at Uncle Aaron who was a good sport. Especially when Drew got into the action too! I’m sure Applebee’s was glad to see us leave!
Monday morning – Drew woke up early and wanted to cuddle. Who am I to say no when my baby asks to cuddle? He’s seven after all – it’s rare that he wants to cuddle with his mom! Then I dropped him off at school, stopped at the store for milk and potatoes for supper, took the groceries home and headed over to help Dad doctor a goat. On the way I stopped and snapped this picture.
After much debate and weather watching (cold and rain was in the forecast) last week we decided on Thursday to haul the camper out to Belva Deer. I’m glad we did. It was chilly. And it did rain. But fall is still the best time to camp. We just threw on layers and toughed it out and had a great time!
The best part of the weekend was enjoying the campfire. There’s nothing better than cool air, a warm fire and good company! This may have been our last outing of the season and it was a good one!
I’m hoping to feel better today. I have felt better every day this week and seem to be on the mend. Yesterday after school Drew and I ran to Oskaloosa for our last camping grocery haul of the season. We’re camping this weekend at Lake Darling with family. One last trip before we get things winterized and put away. I’m ready for that – I think I’m camped out. We’ve done most of our camping this summer with others and while I enjoy that, I’ve missed just us camping – Joe, Drew and I. It’s a lot more relaxing when it’s just us. But at the same time, we’re camping with extended family this weekend and there’s nothing better than spending quality time with family! Hopefully we can make this a yearly thing!
And back to today – I have got to accomplish some housework today. Things have really fallen by the wayside and I can’t face coming home from the weekend with this much mess. So, I’ve got the windows open, I’ll turn some music up loud, light a few fall scented candles and try to stay focused. Get my work done today so I can focus on packing the camper tomorrow and just enjoy our last camping trip of the season.
I love buttons – all kinds of buttons – but old buttons most of all. So when Uncle Jerry asked me to go through some of Aunt Konnie’s craft items and take what I wanted – I chose her beautiful blue button tin full of buttons. I hated to leave her knitting needles behind and all her crochet thread but I don’t knit and I barely know how to crochet and I just don’t have room to store things like that. It was hard, very hard to leave them behind. But those buttons – they just had to come home with me. After getting them home and going through them I wonder if some of them weren’t Grandma’s buttons as many are really old. Dad said he’s pretty sure they are. That makes them even more special!
I have buttons all over the house in old canning jars and tins. I love to look at them, sort through them, just run them through my fingers. I save buttons off of clothes. I have even been known to buy a jar or two of buttons here and there at garage sales. I use them for magnets, in crafts, on my cross stitch projects. But this one blue tin full of buttons I won’t use. Aunt Konnie’s button tin – those I’ll keep just for me!
This is something we haven’t done in a long long time – fishing a farm pond. I come from a family of fishhermen. And I remember many a summer afternoon growing up and going fishing with family. We have pictures of fish caught by my Grandpa Bond by noodling – big old river cats caught by wading into the river and sticking his hand in the catfish’s mouth and pulling it out. Dad always talks about that one that Grandpa could always get ahold of but could never pull up because it was so big – it would pull him down instead.
And then there’s my mom’s side of the family – the Houseals. Oh how they love to fish. And we reap the benefits with the annual Houseal Family Fish Fry. My mom’s brothers fish all season so they have an abundance of fish to feed us all. And Grandpa Houseal was a great fisherman. He took his fishing so seriously. When we were little I remember having to sit still and quiet. We were’t allowed to make any noise for fear we would scare the fish away. Those fish could sense us up on the bank and wouldn’t come near if we made a peep!
Even though I have fishing in my blood – I truly don’t enjoy fishing. My mom gets so frustrated with me. Because if I would just try it, I would love it! She takes after her dad – fishing is serious business! She forgets all those summer fishing afternoons we had growing up where I wasn’t given a choice – I had to fish. And don’t get me wrong – I love to be there, sitting on the bank of a pond or lake, with a book in my hand, relaxing and enjoying the surroundings. I enjoy watching others bring in a fish, how excited they get when they feel the tug on their line and how determined they are to bring it in. And the little ones – they are always so proud to show off their catch. But I just don’t enjoy doing it myself. I’m content to be the support team! I can put a worm on the hook with the best of the them – if I have to!
We spent Saturday afternoon at Uncle Jerry’s helping write out thank yous for Aunt Konnie. And after we were done, the kids wanted to go fishing. So we all jumped into the back of Uncle Jerry’s truck or onto the 4-wheeler and off we went. It was a beautiful day although very hot but the kids didn’t care. This was a pond where you threw your line in and pulled out a fish – no waiting involved – perfect for little boys with no patience! They caught little Bluegills that got thrown right back into the water. After fishing we went back to the house and Uncle Jerry grilled us ham steaks and we enjoyed each other’s company over supper. It was a good day.
