Last Days of Summer

I started school – the teacher days – yesterday.  But Jeremy could get free tickets to the Guardians game when he picked up his bike jeresey for his VeloSano ride.  So, we decided to go ahead and do it and hope we recovered from the later bed time. 

It was a nice night and we had seats with good views of the field.

We got there a little late due to Madison’s open house, so we missed the first 2 innings.  But we saw a lot of good baseball – close runs, great catches, and a Guardian’s win (9-3)!

    

We also enjoyed concession stand pizza, burrito bowl, and hamburger.  Most important, the girls enjoyed Dippin’ Dots!

We got home around 10:15, but it was a good way to eek out just a little more of summer before we all return on Tuesday.

Bake Sale

Since the girls were younger, they have enjoyed having a bake sale and/or garage sale.  They have timed it with the LincWay By-Ways sale which features town all along route 30 in Ohio.  The sales are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  We have had the sale on Friday and Saturday, I think, but this year, we decided to hold it on the first, and busiest, day of the sales. 

They decided to use the sale as a way to support Jeremy’s VeloSano fundraising efforts, committing 50% of their profits to him.  It was pretty neat because they did it again with our neighbor girls, Anabelle and Ellie, and they were also willing to give the money to Jeremy.  I think it is pretty unique that kids their ages would be willing to give up that much money. 

Ellie really wanted to make cinnamon rolls this year with Grandma, so she set up a day to do that.  And they looked delicious. Later, Grandma made MORE cinnamon rolls because she thought the ones she made with Ellie were going to be tough since she accidentally used bread flour instead of all purpose.  This was a blessing in the end because we sold all of them (60 total!)

Then on Wednesday, the neighbors came over in the morning.  They baked chocolate cupcakes, vanilla cupcakes, funfetti cupcakes, and snickerdoodles together.  Ellie C. also made chocolate chip cookies, and Anabelle made some gluten-free coffee cake muffins.  So, we had a pretty good selection, especially for breakfast!

    

We advertised on Facebook for about a week ahead, spread the word with friends, and put up signs around town.  We set up a canopy – which was being held together with duck tape and hopes!  (It went straight to the trash at the end of the sale). 

Thursday morning (after a late night sleepover together), the girls set up tables, chairs, money spot, and baked goods by 8:30am.  We had our first customer prior to even being “open!”  And the line hardly ever stopped.  (They had a surprise extra helper, Miriam, come early in the day as well.)

   

When it seemed to wane or someone got bored, Ellie C was really good about going out alone or with others to drum up customers.  She had a sign taped to her back for awhile!

They sold everything.  I mean every last thing, including the brownies I made during the sale.  60 cinnamon rolls, 48 chocolate chip cookies, 24 cupcakes, 18 gluten free muffins, 40 snickerdoodles, a few cups of coffee, and quite a few cotton candies! 

The most exciting thing is they exceeded the goal they had for raising money for Jeremy.  In fast, there was $145 donated – freely given without any baked goods – on top of what they sold.  They were SO excited to present that to Jeremy. 

And they were pretty surprised by the profits for their own pockets as well.  They had a lot of fun.  We will see what happens in the future.

4H

The girls worked on completing their 4H projects this summer.

Ellie took on “Sports Nutrition: Ready, Set, Go.”  It was a project that talked about balanced meals (my plate), physical health, pulse rate, and more.  She had to try a new recipe in each of the 8 units, record her pulse, and create a menu for a day.  We enjoyed trying out her tasty food – fruit salsa and pasta salad.

She finished out the project creating a portfolio to showcase her knowledge for the judge.  She also had to prepare on of the dishes to serve the judge on a well set table.  It was a new experience to do this food judging.  She did a great job, earning an outstanding.

    

Ellie and I killed some time at the Old Jaol Tavern, walking downtown, and exploring the library.  Madison had a volleyball scrimmage that night and then didn’t come til 8:45 for judging. 

Madison conquered “Makeover My Space.”  It was a project that taught about interior design elements while you makeover a space.  She had the idea to turn one her closets into a reading nook.  So, that was the main focal point of the project, but she also wanted to paint her blue walls white… specifically, Dover White.  She learned to trim around doors and use a roller to coat the walls with paint.  She did a nice job.

    

We calculated closet size and purchased the right amount of closet materials.

And she and Jeremy worked on a bench that she would store some things and sit on.  She learned a bit to use a electric drill to that part. 

    

We also found some treasures at Habitat Restore – different hardware for her dresser, paint for her bench, and a bargain deal ottoman. 

The final product was exactly what she wanted. 

                                                             Before                                                                                  The focal point: book nook

    

She finished out with (late) judging in early August.  She did a great job explaining the concepts she learned and sharing her reno with the judge.  She finished with an Outstanding ribbon. 

    

Pro Football Hall of Fame Parade

Our neighbors gifted us with tickets to the big parade during Hall of Fame induction week.  Their website said that it is the 5th largest parade in the country.  (Not sure how they validate that fact!)  It was on a Saturday morning at 8am with a lite breakfast prior to the parade.  Madison had volleyball practice so Ellie invited her friend, Thea, to join us for the fourth ticket. 

We kicked it off with donuts and bagels – breakfast of champions!  There were seats set up along the sidewalk for viewing.  We snagged a few of those and waited for the parade to start.

I appreciated that the parade didn’t have a hundred super loud vehicles blasting their horns.  Instead, it was a classy parade with fun balloons,

        

an array of marching bands, floats, and the HOF inductees and enshrines on fancy vehicles.

         

Jeremy really enjoyed seeing players he knew from their playing career – shouting “Good morning!” to many of them!  We were so close it felt like you should say something!

I’m not sure that I would like to do this every year, but it was something interesting to do once. 

Family Birthdays

It was the July/August birthday party time…. 8 birthdays! We headed to Ashland for this celebration.  It was a nice evening of catching up, eating burgers and sides, and sharing some time on the couch.  (Probably have more to say normally, but when I am just trying to get things on the blog…)

   

House (and Van) Drama

So, as previously mentioned, our sump pump didn’t work way back in February.  We worked to sort that all out, but we wanted to change the guest room a bit before we put in new carpet.  We planned on the guest room reno, but not this quickly after the kitchen.  Anyway, we are done.  We have the kitchen done, the new furnace in, the patio leak fixed, the sump pump backed up with a second pump + a sound alert + a battery backup, the guest room done, and new carpet.  Whew! 

      

In June we got a used 2020 Honda Odyssey to replace our old van; we were tired of the tiny repairs that were needed frequently.  We wanted something more reliable and less costly.  We got it in time to take to Myrtle.  And it drove beautifully.  Then, two weeks later, I took it to have a nice lunch with my coworkers, and the entire thing felt like it fell apart at the stoplight at 30 and 94.  As it struggled across the intersection as though it were dragging something underneath, I pulled it over cautiously on the side of the road.  I looked under the car and saw nothing.  I got back in and slowly manipulated it back on the road and managed to get it to Jim’s Transmission.  When I explained it to Nate (one of the mechanics), I suggested it was my transmission – although, seriously, I know nothing about cars!  He went out to test drive it and it wouldn’t shift into reverse which I assumed solidified my hunch.  And it was the transmission – one of the most expensive parts of a car!  And the Honda transmissions were on back order.  Thankfully, that wasn’t the end of Nate’s search; he found a used transmission (40,000 miles) that would work.  So, a month later, with a new/used transmission installed, I went to go get our “more reliable” van…. only it wouldn’t start.  I am not making this up… it was completely dead.  Nate jumped it for me, told me to let it run for 30 minutes, and it should be good.  I did it.  Then, I went to fill it up with gas since it was pretty much empty, and … it was dead as soon as I turned it off.  Nate sent someone to come jump it again.  And it went back to the shop.  It was a dead battery that had to be replaced.  I picked it up a few days later.  And now, we are hoping for the best.  Fingers crossed.  It is comfortable.  It should be a great van.  I do like it.  I just don’t trust it.  Hoping it can earn my trust back.

Tiny Highlights

Pepper enjoys having us all home, but mostly feels ignored and sad about it.  I am projecting feelings based on what I see, but you know.  So, here are his moments…

   

We did something for the first time this summer – went to drive-in movie at the Lynn Theater in Strasburg.  They were showing How to Train Your Dragon (live action), and we all wanted to see it.  We got there a bit early, pulled into a spot, tried to figure out how to get sound (Pro tip: bring a boom box to tune in to the station it is broadcast on so you don’t have to blare it through your car speakers.), and picked up some popcorn at the concession stand.  The movie was really good, the environment was fun, and it was very late when we got home!

A highlight of summer is Vacation Bible School at church.  For many years, we took the kids to Stanwood Church for VBS because Salem didn’t have it.  But Salem has had VBS the past few years.  And the cool thing is that the girls are old enough to help be small group leaders.  And they love it!  Last year, Christi and I signed up to do the skits.  She was a clueless scuba diver and a was a wise friend last year.  This year, we switched roles and I was a clueless hiker and she was the wise friend.  We have fun being silly, and the kids think we are awesome (and trust me, our acting skills have something to be desired!). 

Another highlight was a surprise.  One of my housemates from after college was heading to Ohio (from Mississippi) and asked if I had time to get together.  Then, she managed to get our other housemate to join us and two other local college friends.  It was so fun to be with everyone again.  I forget how much I enjoy those friendships… I think back to Rachel visiting in June and now this.  Those deep friendships forged in that transitional period of life are so special and so difficult to recreate later in life.  I treasure these times.