End of Summer Wrap Up

There were a variety of things that happened since end of July til now.  So, I am going to just post about them in this mish mash blog. 

July 28 – Gloria bought tickets for us to go watch Cinderella with her at the Ohio Light Opera in Wooster.  We have seen this musical a number of times, but this was a different venue – very intimate.  They did a nice job and the girls liked going out.  (We squeezed in school supply shopping before this which is always a highlight!)

    

August 1 – Madison is a 7th grader this year!  I know, crazy.  This means she can participate in school sports, a new experience for our family.  Volleyball started on the 1st of August with 2 hour practices every day.  She has a great new coach (Coach Pamer).  I have been going to help out a bit because there are 17 girls!  The coach was open to it, so I have tried to support her in teaching skills (not the coaching stuff, just the skills stuff).  Madison selected #3 for her jersey number this year.  Can’t wait to see how she develops this season as an individual and with her team.

    

August 5/6 – MCC Relief Sale Weekend.  Madison had her first ever lock in with the Junior High Youth (JHY) group.  She was really excited about it.  I know they played inside and outside games, watched movies, ate food, and ran around.  I also know they had waffles for breakfast.  And I know that after those waffles, she hit the wall and passed out on the floor … just like this.  (Still makes me laugh!)

Jeremy went on Saturday and did the Run for Relief 5K in Wooster.  He found a few others from Salem who were running as well.  We met him afterwards to walk around the sale, eat some tasty foods, and see what there was to see. 

August 13 – Lincolnway Byway Garage Sales are always this time in August.  Last year, the girls did a craft and bake sale to raise money for the humane society (and themselves).  This year they did a garage and bake sale.  And like last year, we invited the girls down the street to come help out.  So, on Friday, Madison and Ellie 2 (our neighbor friend) worked on pricing the garage sale items – mostly things that Madison was getting rid of. 

Ellie 1 (our Ellie) and Anabelle (neighbor friend) worked on baking 2 types of cupcakes and 2 types of cookies.  I helped wash the mixing bowl and utensils between batches. 

The sale was up and running around 9:45 on Saturday.  It was a slow start, but there were people that began to slowly and steadily pass through. 

They sold almost all of their baked goods – I think about a dozen cupcakes and less than a dozen cookies were left.  It is a fun way to spend a morning even if it does require a bit of prep work.  We decided next year we should hold our sale on Thursday which is the first day for the Dalton area sales.  We may get even more business!  They brought in about $130 in baked goods sales, plus about $25 in garage sale items.  They split this with their friends and donated some to the humane society again. 

Then there is the dog who has weathered this summer pretty well – the ins and outs of friends and guests, the 4-H training and testing, the thunderous summer storms, the ignoring of him, and the heat.  He has still been a pain at times, but he is getting better.  Here he is on my new rug I bought to support a friend (read her story here).

The summer was fast.  The school year starts tomorrow.  I am only behind one blog post… not sure if I will get it in or not… Jeremy and I took a trip to Montana that I can’t wait to share about! Until then… and maybe after the first day of school post… have a great week!

Family from Kansas!

My cousin, Kristin, and her husband, Matthew, are the best people.  As much as possible, I have tried since (maybe high school or college) to head to Kansas City to hang out with them over spring breaks or the summer.  Not only are they the best to hang out and talk with (stupid stuff to deep stuff), but they make the best food – both of them are amazing in the kitchen.  But mostly, I just like to be with them.  And I really like to sit on their screened in porch.

They had tentatively made plans to come visit the year COVID hit, so they put it off.  But they got a date on the calendar this summer.  They were able to come out to visit July 24-28.  They even stayed with us, which made it even better.  There is something about being able to hang out in the evening or in the morning.  To feel like you have that time, that you can sit around and just enjoy one another. 

They got in Sunday evening around 8:30pm.  Enough time to touch base, talk, and head to bed.  The next three days felt like a whirlwind in slow motion if that is even possible.  I have no idea now how we passed the days.  I know we went to the Ashery bulk food store and Lehman’s Hardware for some touristy things.  Mom came over after breakfast and sat with us one day. They went to Ashland to visit with Nate and Jen’s family.  We took them out to see the goats at Luke and Steph’s.  We had everyone in the family over at our house on Tuesday night for supper and fellowship. 

The girls have vague memories of being at Matthew and Kristin’s house.  They mostly remember that she worked with them to paint on a canvas.  So, when she asked if there was anything they would want, I said, “They would like to paint again.”  So, Kristin painted with the girls.  She brought some small canvases and some long artist brushes.  And she taught them about mixing colors to get the ones they wanted and about blending colors.  And they made beautiful paintings to hang in their rooms.  (She is an amazing artist.  I am lucky enough to have a painting she gave us for our wedding and a print I inherited from my Grandpa.  Check out her work here.)

 

I asked if she would help me hang some stuff on my walls.  Unfortunately, for me, I realized that I really have very little to actually hang on my walls.  She helped me with the few things I had.  Then, she recommended sizes for other pieces and where she would put them.  This was our favorite grouping.  The sign was a gift from our realtor (You are awesome, Laura Martin!) when we moved in. 

The time went quickly, but it was perfect.  I so appreciate the time they took to come out and visit.  Can’t wait til the next time we are together.

    

Ohio State Fair Fun

While we were at the state fair for judging, the girls had never seen it before.  It is like the Wayne County fair on steroids.  It has a lot of the same foods (with a few different options), same rides (although we didn’t ride these), and same basic exhibits.  But it does have some other things that we managed to see. 

There was a dog pavilion, so Ellie and Jeremy hung out there for an agility show.  Madison and I went to see the obedience training tips.  It was pretty fun to watch what you can train a dog to do. 

There were variety shows going on in numerous pavilions.  We ate our supper (gyros) while watching the hypnosis one.  I got videos of it and they are hilarious! 

There were people on stilts, baby pigs, the butter sculptures, and other fun places.

              

There was also a huge area run by ODNR.  If your timing is right they have fun outdoor shows, fishing, and kayaking.  Our timing was not right, but we did miss crowds.  We had a fun photo shoot instead.

              

We took the Sky Glider over from one end of the fair to the other just to see it from up high.  Definitely worth the $3 ticket. 

    

It was a good day to be together.

4-H Projects

Madison decided to do the “Designed by Me” project for 4-H.  This required her to learn about the “total look” and about embellishments.  Her final project was to use two types of embellishments on a top.  Her personal goal was to complete the project by early judging (July) rather than late judging (August).  She met her goal, and she did it almost all by herself.  She enjoyed this project the most out of the past four years (cake decorating, scrapbooking, and creative writing), so she was more self-motivated.  She did an awesome job selecting a shirt, adding ribbon with Stitch Witchery, and sewing on decorative buttons with embroidery thread.  Then, she paired that with jean capris, ballet flats, and bracelets.  She was ready for judging.

She did a wonderful job and showed much confidence with the judge (who happened to be my former home ec teacher in high school). 

She walked away with an Outstanding ribbon.  We ended the night with a trip to Muddy’s restaurant in Wooster to celebrate.

A few weeks later, we learned that she was selected to go to the Ohio State Fair with her project in August.  So, we geared up for that – same outfit, same book, same poster.  New judges, new format, new experiences.

    

We registered then headed back to the changing room. 

While she and I were in there, we asked some more experience state fairgoers what to expect.  She was to be interviewed by a judge first.

   

Then, do a practice run (but judged) for the Style Review.  So, she got to walk the runway.  So cool!

   

Then, the other judges walked through and talked to each person from around the state about their project they had brought.  After that, we had a short break to roam around the fair before returning for the Style Review for an audience of many parents, family, etc. (See next post for fair fun). 

    

Ellie had fun exploring the fair with Jeremy and then watching the Style Revue, too.

She did a great job walking the runway. Pretty sure it was her favorite part.  She received a participation ribbon.  It was an honor to head to State Fair.

Ellie decided to stick with the dogs for her second year.  She chose the project “You and Your Dog.”  It focused on your dog’s records and medical history.  It was not quite as exciting to her as last year’s project (All about dogs).  Even so, both projects were more book oriented and less hands on than some of the other projects out there. 

One thing she had to do was have Pepper evaluated for the AKC Good Citizen dog.  We weren’t able to be officially assessed, but our 4-H advisor took him (and Ellie) through each of the criteria.  Pepper did a surprisingly good job.  He is getting better with new situations, new people, and and new experiences.  It all goes better with treats – which Ann plied him with throughout the testing.

Ellie worked on her poster up until the very last day.  It turned out great.  She headed to late judging the evening of August 9.  She was much more confident this year than last with the process, and it was good to see that growth. 

She had a good judge who asked her a few questions and complimented her. 

    

She walked away with an Outstanding ribbon for her hard work. 

We ended the night at Red Lobster to celebrate.  Which quickly went south when we were seated and getting our food and I realized that my purse did not have my wallet in it.  Not kidding.  I had zero money, credit cards, ID, nothing.  I had taken it out after going to the bank and forgot to put it back in.  I told my waitress who got the manager.  I was able (thankfully) to get ahold of Jeremy, who was on a flight to California, to give me his credit card info so I could pay.  It was a bit embarrassing to say the least. 

Ironically, Madison stumbled on a $5 bill when she was in the bathroom, so we had that.  She also needed a pair of slides.  So, we headed to Old Navy to see if they had slides.  They did, but they were $8 – too expensive.  Instead, the girls found the clearance rack with some shirts for 97 cents!  We walked out with 5 shirts for less than $5.  Pretty impressive.  It redeemed the night.  It was a memorable end to a good night to say the least.