Thursday, September 25, 2008

Hurricane in the basement

There have been several hurricanes that have hit the east coast lately, but there were some that were centralized in our basement - hurricane Gabe and hurricane Ben. As you can see the damage was pretty major, but nothing that was beyond repair. No government funding was necessary, just a little elbow grease from two little boys. I have to say that hurricane Ben was a category 2 - not very severe. Hurricane Gabe, however, was a category 4. It swept through carrying toys, chairs, and pillows all over the basement, dropping them at will. Currently our basement is in good condition. I imagine that another storm will be coming through at some point in the near future, though.



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FHE at Ott's




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FHE at Ott's

The last day of summer has come and gone and Autumn is in full swing. One of our favorite things to do in the fall is go to Ott's - a local nursery. They have a hill completely covered with mum's and we all love to run around the hill and in the tunnel and go inside the nursery and see the waterfall. It's beautiful!



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Day after Labor Day at the beach

On Tuesday, the 2nd we went to Ocean City. It was an absolutely perfect day!! Ben played in the water from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. He punched the water, screamed at it, jumped the waves, and just had a fighting good time. Gabe played in the sand and towards the end of the day he was comfortable enough to wade in the water. The ocean scares him a little bit. Gabe also took a nap in my arms which was very sweet for me. Mike loved the shore too and we are really excited to go again next year in the summer.



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Stuff that has gone on at our house

Mike has been painting like a madman lately. He took the week of Labor Day off only to labor at home. Ben and I tried to help a little, but Mike threw us out and off of painting duty. We are too slow. Not that I am complaining. I am not very fond of painting. The house looks great!! There is a little bit more work to do, but I am not worried. Mike will get it done before the end of the year.

On to an episode I like to call "Do as I say, not as I toot." Manners at the dinner table have become a nightly discussion in our home - things like -"Don't burp at the table", "don't blow bubbles in your water", "don't wave your fork in my face" - stuff like that. One night we were giving Ben the lecture and five minutes later, I kid you not, Mike absentmindedly passes loud gas while eating his dinner. Ugh. I kindly reminded him that this was incredibly bad manners and a little hypocritical. Mike sheepishly apologized after everyone was done giggling.

Other stuff - Gabe told me the other day that he was "tewwified of the Monkey" at a Moon Bounce place called Monkey Joe's. I was amazed that he used the word "terrified" at all, let alone using it in the right context. That 's quite a mouthful for a two and a half year old.

Ben is loving kindergarten - he is currently the line leader - of which he is very proud. However, he is most eager to be the door holder - he has lofty ambitions. Mike and I have discussed this - how can we help him become the door holder? Should we make him practice? ;) Mike will discuss this with his teacher at Parent/Teacher night.

I am headed to surgery tomorrow morning (the 26th). My right knee is giving me grief so I get to have my meniscus repaired and most likely my ACL as well. Sounds like a barrel of fun, eh? Mom is coming out to help, which I am sooooo grateful for. That is also why I am writing because I am not sure when I will be making the trek to the basement. Probably not too long.

Love to all!!

Labor Day Weekend

I have to dig down into my memory to the beginning of the month of September. On the Saturday before Labor Day, we went to a little hiking and swimming hole in St. Peters, PA. It's a quaint, tiny town near French Creek. Behind the town are some fun trails with lots of boulders to climb over and a lovely little river to wade in. I wasn't thinking clearly before we left because I neglected to bring swimming suits or towels and with two little boys, getting wet was inevitable. Ben ended up in the river to about his chest. Gabe was a little bit more conservative. He preferred to throw rocks and sticks into the river. On the drive home I closed Ben's shorts in the window and let them flap in the wind to dry.

It was a really fun day.



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