Wooster Memorial Park

(Just a note, that I was on a blogging rampage.  So, after this blog are about 4 or so more.  Feel free to read at your leisure.)

We had never been to this park.  This hidden gem.  My brothers had talked about.  But it has taken us over a year to get there.  And I am so glad we did.

It was a beautiful day today.  It has, admittedly, been perfect for about a week now.  So, this weekend we decided to take advantage of it.  We loaded up the backpacks, the lunches, and the girls in the van and headed out.  Not far on our way, we had a last minute thought to invite Landen to join us.  Madison wanted a friend to go along with her.  And we thought it would be more enjoyable as well if she had someone to motivate her to keeping hiking.  So, as we drove, we called my brother to see if Landen was free to come along.  We arrived at his house minutes after talking, and Landen joined the fun.

After a quick detour to Lowe’s and a brief moment to eat a snack, we hit the trail running.  Okay, Landen and Madison hit the trail running. Jeremy and I were walking, and Ellie was living large in the backpack.  It was refreshing. 

We started spying the trail markers – colored dots on trees.  The kids would take turns finding them.  When they spied one, they ran over and tagged or hugged the tree.  It was a great game that lasted for the entire hike. 

    

The kids enjoyed climbing on fallen tree trunks…

    

…and hanging from them!

Ellie even enjoyed hiking for awhile,

   

Although she was easily deterred from the idea every time she stumbled over a tree root and would want back in the backpack.

We did one trail, came back to the pavilion for lunch, and did one other section of a trail.  At that point it was time to go home because we were wore out, but still happy!

This evening, we went to a birthday party for a neighbor down the street.  He was turning one.  His mom is the one I mentioned that makes really good cakes.  She also makes really good empanadas.  And she throws a really fun party.  There were about 10 kids there, a bounce house, adults, lots of delicious food, a gigantic cake, and a piñata.  Madison said it was a fun time.  I agree.

And before bed, but after praying, Madison let me know that God was probably going to bed too.  Jesus would be up.  But they would both be at church tomorrow.  I said that if God needed to sleep, I am sure that He would be going to bed.  But I agreed that both God and Jesus would be at church tomorrow.  I love seeing God through her eyes.

Fall Fun

Grandma and Grandpa Yoh decided to take the girls to Bauman Orchard the last time they watched them.  It sounded like a lot of fun.  I am so glad they think creatively when they have the girls – wagon rides, orchard visits, “school” fun, and more.  Madison did the straw maze and loved it.

They visited a castle,

dug in a rock box,

   

visited the mascot,

picked out some fall fruit – pumpkins, gourds, and apples,

and a variety of other things.

It was a good day.

Go Tribe!

Sandy loves Indians games.  Jeremy loves Indians games.  I love both those people… just in different ways.  So, when Sandy asked if Jeremy and I would like to go to the Indians game with her and her dad (Ray) on Saturday, I said yes. 

I found a sitter for the girls.  Ellie cried loudly and pathetically when we left.  They say she recovered quickly.  Thanks, Horner girls, for coming to babysit even though you know Ellie. :)

We all piled into the car and headed up to the game.  With Ray in the car, there is never a fear that silence will fall.  He pretty much has something to say at all times – most of the time it makes sense and much of the time it will make you laugh.  We made it to the game just as it was starting.  Well, Ray, Sandy, and I did.  Jeremy was a gentleman and dropped us off, while he drove around to find a suitable parking spot.  We were quickly reunited and the double date began

Sandy and I….

Jeremy and Ray…..

I believe the date went quite well.  Jeremy said he would go out again with Ray!

Sandy and I ventured out in the third inning to find some food – vegan hot dog and fries for her, corn dog for me.  It took THREE innings before we made it back.  I am pretty sure they had to grind the corn and kill the pig to make my corn dog as long as it took.  In all fairness, it was worth the wait.  You could tell this was not an “out of the box” frozen corn dog.  It was a little bumpy where the coating had dripped differently.  And it was hot out of the fryer and super crispy.  It was delicious. 

The game was good.  The night was perfect.  The Indians won.

And to top it off… we were a part of the Nick Swisher fireworks show.  It was spectacular, especially when paired with the video montage.  (I realize the photography will not win any awards, but I thought I would share it anyway.) 

     

Everyone was sound asleep when we got home – except, of course, the sitter.  Here’s to a good night out.

Lehman’s Fall Fest

One benefit (and drawback) to the place we live is it is in the hub of town.  So, if something is happneing, we are likely to be going to check it out.  The girls enjoy the livestock auction, but they also want to go to the household auctions that are in a building and attract lots of people.  We pass the homemade ice cream trailer – and talk about it – so frequently that Ellie says “I sceem” every time she passes it.  A weekly outing for us involves a walk to Lehman’s Hardware to check out the toy section… and maybe get a free sample of fudge.  A second weekly outing for us is to go to climb on and “ride” the buggy with half wheels because it is just so cool to be able to make it bounce like the horses are taking it somewhere.  Yet another destination is World Crafts where the girls enjoying soaking in the unique crafts, touching the bubbling fountain, and running their fingers over every single necklace and bracelet on display.

This particular weekend, Lehman’s was having a fall fest.  We have gone to pretty much every festival/event of theirs because despite the insane amount of people that go, it is worth it; Lehman’s puts on a nice time.  This time, it was fall themed – fresh cider, homemade applesauce, salsa made in front of your eyes using their food strainer, kettle corn samples, fudge samples, fresh popped popcorn, the       bluegrass(ish) band Honeytown, balloons, and facepainting. 

Madison loves getting her face painted.  In the past, we have had little things on her face – a small picture on her cheek or her arm.  But today, she went all out with a butterfly!  Thank goodness we saw Grandma Yoh there.  And good thing she had her camera.  This is the event…

   

As we headed home – in the rain… did I mention it was raining?  pouring, really.  And that we walked?  because it isn’t far.  But it sure feels far… in the rain – Madison abandoned the stroller for running in puddles.  And what kid wouldn’t.  She loved it.  Loved it more than she loved her butterfly face paint.  Which we told her would be ruined if she ran in the rain.  She didn’t care.  She took pictures as happy as when it was put on (and as model-like as ever!).

    

And I am so glad she didn’t.  Her joy playing in the rain far outweighs one butterfly paint job lasting for another few hours.

Jeremy’s Birthday

A working mother sometimes needs to call in back-up to provide a surprise cake (or any cake really) for a birthday celebration on a weekday.  So, I called down the street to Alinn.  We have visited with her and her kids and had their family over for pie one night.  In these conversations, I learned that she makes cakes – real cakes with the fondant creations and layers of extravagant frosting.  I thought, “It will be much easier to walk the four or five houses down the street and pick up a cake than to manage a trip to Buehlers.”  And I was right. 

The problem… Wednesday night of that week was CRAZY!  It was Salem’s first Serve and Fellowship night, and I really wanted to go and support that.  It was a late night of work for Jeremy.  It was tractor pull night at the county fair… with free tickets from the Yohs.  It was anything but a perfect night for a party.  So, we put it off.

Thursday night would have worked, but a group of girlfriends had already scheduled a dinner out.  And I would have passed up the dinner, but it has been MONTHS since I have done something with a group of girls.  Occasionally, Sandy and I will venture out to do something, but this was different.  And I really needed to have that time.  It had been MONTHS…. oh, did I already say that?

So, Friday night – two nights after picking up a beautiful, two layer, white, homemade cake with chocolate buttercream frosting with the words Happy Birthday, Jeremy written on top – we indulged in a little birthday celebration.  It was delicious.  It was worth the wait of spending time as a family and not cramming it into a moment within chaos.  It was good.

    

And we enjoyed that cake for a week… (Seriously, if you live in my area and need someone to bake a cake, she is excellent; just give me a call, and I’ll hook you up.)

As a belated gift (see this is one benefit of blogging a long time after an event), Jeremy used our Visa points to buy a grill.  Our last one was dead when we moved.  So, he used the grill to make us a steak and hot dog meal one night.  It was delicious because 1) I did not cook it, and 2) I did not cook it.

Fair Time

It’s that time of year.  Maybe Jeremy’s favorite time… although that could be because his birthday is coming up as well!  It is FAIR TIME.  And the Wayne County Fair is a great place to be – cheap ticket prices ($3 for adults and under 6 are free) are a plus.  We went Sunday after family photo session. (see next post down… I did a blog-a-thon in the past two days, so you may want to just keep scrolling.)  We started with food Gyro for me; Beef brisket sandwich for Jeremy; Corn dog for Madison; and Hot dog for Ellie. 

Then, we cruised through the animals.  Ellie is not a big fan, but did seem to enjoy the pigs the most.  I was able to see one of my students washing a pig, another student who pointed out his goat, and the animals (but not owners) of a few more students. 

Next, Madison discovered the RIDES.  Yep, I thought three year olds wouldn’t be into rides, but I was wrong.  I am pretty sure with an arm band, she would have been riding ever ride til closing time.  She really wanted to go on the Ferris wheel.  So, we ponied up the $4 for 4 tickets for her and Jeremy to ride.  They waited for awhile in line…

and Ellie tried waiting patiently as well…

then, Madison got on and the joy began…

       

Ellie watched from below…

then Ellie started taking pictures: through the eyes of a one year old…

   

The next day, Madison found another ride to try – all by herself (literally, there was not another kid on it).  I don’t think this compared to the thrill of the Ferris wheel, but it was still a ride.

After the rides on Sunday, we stopped to get Lerch’s donuts, which is right next to the Grandstands where a concert had started.  The girls jumped out of the stroller to do a little dancing while Jeremy waited in line.

Get Down Lil’ Doggies!

The dancing continued the next day while we watched the high school bands perform.  This is Triway High School percussion section is in the picture; two of Jeremy’s cousins play in the this section.

Check out Madison’s moves…

 

Check out Ellie’s moves…

     

Grandma Yoh found us after the performance and walked around the rest of the morning with us. 

We are home now.  Ellie is running a fever – probably a cold manifesting itself as an ear infection.  She was up a number of times last night, and I had my suspicions.  I’ll take her to the doctor tomorrow :(  Hope everyone has a great week.  And if you live in the area and have not been to the fair, well, I would recommend going.