Hocking Hills Family Outing

We just got back from our great trip to Hocking Hills. There are so many pictures I can't possibly post them all here. Here's a few of my favorites, but you can look at the link for all of them.






http://www.picasaweb.google.com/brentandchelsey/HockingHills#

Halloween 2009

Another year of trick or treating has come and gone. Whew. I'm always glad when it's over because there's always too much candy hanging around. A friend of mine had the smart idea of stashing away some of the candy for gingerbread houses at christmas. The kids only went out for about an hr and were done. Good. Less candy for me to snack on.
We got lucky that Jake's fever subsided somewhat for trick or treating time. He wasn't feeling too great on Halloween and still has a pretty yucky cough, but thankfully his mask covered his mouth so he couldn't cough on anyone else. While I have no idea what Geoff is supposed to be in his costume, Sarah was Kaya (an American Girl doll), and Jake was set on spiderman as soon as he saw the costume. Jake was pretty excited about all the candy!

Hocking Hills Cabin Getaway

Ever since we moved here, we've been hearing about this Hocking Hills place. Maybe Michelle has heard of it. It's a few hrs from here and apparently quite a cool place. It has all kinds of trails, caves, a new zipline tour, and a few waterfalls. I just scored on a last minute deal on a cute cabin there. I am STOKED! We got our rental for Sunday afternoon through Tues for 50% off. With the elections on Tues. our kids don't have school anyway. They've already missed enough school this week with low grade fevers, so what's one more day (Mon) right? I can't wait to take lots of pictures. We're even able to take Chester without a fee! How lucky is that?



I wish we could squeeze everyone in with us! Wouldn't that be SO fun? Bonfires in the back, a hot tub on the deck, wildlife and lots of outdoor play. Now I just have to cross my fingers the kids get well soon and the fevers disappear once and for all!

What to do, what to do?

Sarah has been home from school for 2 days now with a mild temp. It's been hoovering at 99.4 for two days now. No other symptoms, just a slight fever. That said, she still can't go to school until she's been fever free for 24 hrs (totally unmedicated). We're pretty much homebound, and running out of things to do. Enough cartoons and movies. I need some new things to keep her busy. I appreciate the school's policy, but I'm getting frustrated she's missing so many days of school and I'm not getting nearly as much done around here as I'd like. Maybe if she acted sick it'd be easier to just sit around with her, but she's up and playing and acting fine. I can't exactly take her anywhere, and she's just a bit too young to leave her home alone. So today we dropped Jake off at school, went to the craft store, then took Chester for his morning walk. Again, the leaves on our usual path are absolutely beautiful.



We've been busy doing the usual fall things around here. I baked an apple crumb pie from scratch last week. I haven't baked a pie from scratch for a LONG time, so it was way overdue. I'm proud to say, it was the best pie I've ever made. Not that I've made that many, but I finally managed to make a great, flaky crust. Yummy! Too bad I did't have any vanilla ice cream to go with it!

Then last night for FHE, we had our annual pumpkin carving night. Usually, we pick out templates and make some cool faces, but this year, I was glad to just get the carving done. Simple is much better sometimes. The kids still had a good time~ everyone but Jake. Jake slept through the whole thing. He had fallen asleep in the car and we kept trying to wake him up, but he just wasn't interested. So, his little pumpkin has a markered face.



I love this time of year. It's sad to watch the leaves fall off the trees, and everything looking more brown. I wait all year for this one particular tree (about 3miles or so from our house) to turn colors. It's shape is perfect and I absolutely love it. I want this house just so I can have this tree.

Jacob 101

There are many sides to Jake. He has shown them all this week alone. Some good, some not so good. I'm tired, and it's only Wed. Thankfully, Brent is flying home today.

Jake also drew a picture of Grandpa Pugh this week. Notice the mustache grandpa?


Fall is in full swing here and we've had 2 days of absolutely perfect weather. Too bad Geoff has been home sick with a slight fever. I wasn't really able to get out and enjoy it much. Here's a few more beautiful trees by our house.

Ladies Night Out

Last weekend, a good friend of mine (Rachael) called up and suggested a few of us get out of the house for the night. I guess she had a free night coming to her at the Hilton and it had to be used by a certain date. So, she was kind enough to invite me and a few others along to join her for a ladies night out. We didn't really have any sigificant plans other than dinner and a stroll through the new Nordstroms that just opened. Of course we ran into an amazing shoe dept there. That said, $650 for a pair of heels that will most likely KILL your feet is simply ridiculous! It's wrong really. How many people can you give a decent pair of shoes to for that amount of money? Do average people (and I mean people who aren't from Hollywood) really spend that much on a single pair of shoes? They were beautiful, but still! We ate at the Cheesecake Factory then went back to the hotel to sit around and chit chat. And that we did! I'm getting too old to stay up that late anymore! We sat around talking until somewhere around 1:30 or 2 am. It was good to hang out with friends and not worry about kids getting up to go potty all night long, etc. (Not that the people next door to us in the hotel were any quieter!) I'm glad I have a husband who doesn't complain about me getting out like that once in a while. Women need that. Ladies nights make all the difference sometimes.


On another note, Brent has been in Miami for work since Sunday,(still questioning if this resort he's at even allows work...)so I'm glad I got out before he ditched us for a few days. It sounds like he's having a good time and meeting some really nice people, so I guess I'll let him off the hook...for now. ;) It was a real privilege for him to even be invited to this conference. It is for CEO's and he's not a CEO. He knows several people that didn't get invited so I am proud of him for making a good impression on his bosses so they want him there. Before he left we had ward conference. The stake president asked him to speak about whatever he wanted. I must say, I thought he did a fabulous job. He gave a great talk about remembering how we communicate with each other, texting, emails, awkward phone calls, etc. He related how we as a ward are like a patchwork quilt -- each piece perhaps a little ugly standing alone, but when put together, we can be something beautiful. He explained how we need to try harder to be one in purpose, and that will strengthen us as individuals and ultimately a ward. I was proud of him bcause I know he spent a lot of time thinking about that talk and he delivered it really well. Of course, I'm a little bias. I think he gave the talk for me though. I've been really frustrated with some things going on in our ward (mostly because they selfishly effect me) and I needed his reminder to be more gentle and softer around the edges. Forgiveness is key to sucess as a ward. It's too easy to be offended by silly things. It's a good thing I married that man!

Like a fire is burning...

We finally got a dry enough day to have our first firepit for FHE last Monday. Geoff and Sarah both had a friend over for FHE too. Sarah gave a great lesson about how families are like spider webs and get stronger the more we build our love for each other. We had to create a web by passing yarn back and forth to each other telling of ways to make our love for each other stronger. By doing that, we got pretty tangled and "strong". I was impressed at her creativity and how she came up with the lesson all on her own. I think even her friend was impressed and participated in the lesson.


Geoff also got his religious knot award this month in Cub Scouts. He's working hard to get his Webelos done by the end of the month then finish his Arrow Of Light by next month. He'll be going into Boy Scouts in Dec. I'm REALLY glad we have such great scout leaders that keep on top of things. He's already been registered to attend a scout event in Jan to pass off 3 things that will count towards his Eagle. Yikes. Already? I suppose sooner is better than later.

Halloween came early

Yesterday I took Chester out for a walk around 9 am. This is what is looked like outside.


It was about 70 degrees, and everything was dripping. I was amazed at the number of spiderwebs there were! If it hadn't been so foggy I never would've noticed how some of these trees were covered in webs. Very creepy looking! I looks like someone used that cotton batting and stretched it out over the trees and bushes.



I loved how still the pond was. There is usually a large egret that hangs out here, but a bunch of geese claimed the pond first.

What's crazy is that it took until 11:30 for the fog to begin wearing off! It has been an incredibly wet and foggy week around here. It's finally supposed to cool down this week and feel more like fall. Time to break out the orange clove candles and soups! Of course, there's still a chance of rain almost everyday. :(
At least the lawns are beautiful and green!