CRAZY MAXINE

She pretty, but she's crazy. Lately she's been hiding in the bushes, just waiting to ambush Buster and whoever is out walking him. She gets us 50% of the time too... semi embarrassing to be jumping in fright from a tiny little fluffy cat, but we can't help it. Then she walks side-by-side with Buster back to the sunroom. We think she likes him.

WHILE DADDY PLAYS

Daddy attended his first poker night (in over a year, I think) tonight, so the kids and I spent the evening outside riding bikes (and chasing James) and walking the dog. The fall weather isn't quite here yet, but it's getting better! Bedtime was so easy for me after all this late night exercise ;-)

ANOTHER DAY AT THE FIELDS

James' team won again (11-8, I think?), even though they let the other team play one-up (5 players instead of 4) for the second half of the game. Jay really has some great players this season, including James. Tough guy performed some key goal blocks that were super impressive to watch!

Cora found a tiny puppy to love on while James played...

Cora's game went really well too! She scored some goals and kept her motivation up for the entire game this time, and most of her teammates had goals and/or fancy moves as well. Jay is so proud of these U6 players - they're really starting to get it PLUS they're all having fun!

She makes me laugh sticking that tongue out in concentration, just like James...

Goal, smiling run to daddy, and HIGH FIVE from the coach!

Another score for Cora!

The girls had a chance to get the field to themselves in the second half and they were on fire! Samantha may be the littlest, but she's the fiercest!

UNO DUO

UP-SIZED UPGRADE

We forgot how big this room is until it was empty...

The room isn't complete (we're looking into getting a long, thin accent table for behind the loveseat portion, maybe an upgrade of our toybox/shoebox, and some new art for the wall above the kids' table - in the front corner, not pictured), but it sure is comfy now! Come on over for dinner and a movie! Jay and I can sit on the same, longer side, totally stretched out, and our feet don't even touch...

BULLDOG STRONG

Spirit Shirt Fridays!

NOTHING NICE ABOUT NITS

During a trip to the nurse's office on Wednesday (due to tripping over/into a bench and bloodying her knees and elbows at recess), nits were discovered in Cora's hair. We still don't know whether the check of every other kid in class came after the nurse's check of Cora, or before, but it doesn't really matter. It's "nice" that there were no eggs or live lice, but still... YUCK. 

 James was clear, but we treated him as a precaution.

The house got a very serious midweek cleaning... and I suppose it was a bonus that there was no couch to worry about, on top of the bed sheets and car seats and carpets and rugs and many blankets and dozens of stuffed animals. Headlamps are useful for so many things...

BOBCAT RANK

You know he's just the cutest Cub Scout that ever was, right?!

Daddy gets all the credit for getting the patches onto James' uniform. He bought the invisible thread and denim needle (thanks for that tip Amy!), re-threaded the sewing machine, and sewed everything on by himself. My only job was to pre-wash the shirt and then admire the completed product. I'm telling you, Jay can solve pretty much any problem. There's a reason he attained Eagle Scout.

Tonight James had his first Pack Meeting (all the dens, different ages, for Pack 107).

Here are the 3 Tiger Scouts up in front talking about their service project of picking up sticks. Each den got up to talk about their recent goings-ons, and some even performed silly little skits. Cora and I were pretty entertained from the back of the room.

During the awarding of patches/belt loops, all the Tiger Scouts got up and received their Bobcat Rank patch, which was pinned on by their parent upside-down. Once they "do a good turn" (complete a good deed), their patch is righted and sewn on. The little guys were especially fascinated by this and super proud to be receiving patches like the bigger kids.

To earn Bobcat Rank, James needed to be able to (with help), recite the Scout oath and motto, and know the Scout laws, handshake, sign, and salute. James seems very committed to Scouts already, trying his best to behave as expected (he is quick to admonish Cora when she doesn't behave like a Scout - and yes, we are trying to get her into one of the two very full/at capacity Daisy troops here in town) and looking forward to all the things he'll learn (and the fun he'll have). Cora and I are excited that we're invited along on the Akela Campout at the end of October. Family adventure!

HANGING WITH THE KENNEDY KIDDOS

After the Lego club field trip, Al texted us about going to get ice cream. We debated, but ultimately decided to go home and have popsicles instead, because James had been begging to ride his bike. So Al and the kiddos (Christina was out of town) came over for snacks and outside time and we enjoyed a couple of hours of playing and talking (and drinking beer).

I got to take the big boys around the neighborhood (because I was the only adult with a bike there) and was proud of my bike-riding photography skills. Will sped up every hill while James had to get off and walk a couple times, but James regained pace on the downhills that Will was much more cautious on. I had fun just tagging along and supervising, while they pretty much did their own thing. They're really growing up...

 Grambot and PawPaw, we DID get Cora on her big girl Hello Kitty bike for a bit, but she's still nervous about it. No idea why, since she's now PLENTY tall for it...

 

Of course, there's ALWAYS dirt pile digging at our house...

We played some Washers and James scored more points than Al (but not more than Jay or I - go team married!) Will was completely uninterested in this, and Cora and Lauren didn't last long. Zip-lining was the highlight for most of the kids.

JLL: WATER TREATMENT FACILITY FIELD TRIP

As I mentioned last month at our first meeting, the theme for this semester's Junior FIRST Lego League creation is recycling, so today the group went on a field trip to our local water treatment plant to get some ideas. The kids were bummed not to get to play with the giant bin of Legos, but I think they found the field trip interesting (and I know us parents, who use Fisher Ferry Water, like it or not, were interested to get behind the scenes).

 Playing at their school playground for a bit before going across the street to the facility

Starting where the water comes up out of the ground

Listening to the water rushing down the center pipe of the tower. But not really. (They said they couldn't hear anything.)

 Don't open that hatch...

We asked to see water samples from the different steps. This was straight out of the aquifer. I was surprised to learn that the water comes out at 104 degrees. For some reason, both Jay and I thought it would be cold... A few of the adults and kids tasted it, but we declined.

 Instead, they have to cool it (before they treat it). The kids were fascinated most (of course) by the ice-covered pipe...

 Here you can see the ozonated and "straight from the aquifer" water samples. We didn't pull any of the post-treatment (chemically treated) water. The guy who led our tour told us the taste of the ozonated-only water is better than the chemically-treated final product.

CLOSING THE DEAL

One more trip to Miskelly, to purchase and set up delivery for our new sectional. Debt reduction is tough and not very fun, but it teaches you quickly how to properly save for big purchases, so that's a bonus. Yes, it would have been smarter to get ourselves debt-free and THEN purchase the new couch, but the state of our current couches is just SO VERY BAD with the bonded leather peeling off every section (in giant strips at this point), that we really just had to get it done. Especially since our annual Halloween party is just a few weeks away!

Playing Twister while daddy closed the deal

What's a trip to the furniture store without a spin around the carousel?

Blowing kisses to their grandparents (I may blog a lot, but sometimes I know I won't get things posted in a timely fashion, and the grandparents like to know what we're up to on the weekends, so we take lots of pictures "for Gramma and Grambot and PawPaw!")

Post purchase celebration at Pig-n-Pint. Seriously one of the best restaurants (and taps...) in Jackson. See all those trophies up in the corner? That shelf spans the room and there are more in other locations. Their BBQ is that good. If you haven't been yet - GO! (P.S. Daddy was getting a little massage here while we waited on our smoked chicken and pork-belly corndogs.)