Dangerous activity

Dot plus a new bike equals?
You'll never figure it out completely...









How did she fall and hurt her face? Yeah, most people fall on their hands and/or knees... but not Dot. A kind empty-nest couple in our church gave away their daughters' old bikes. Dot was very happy to receive one (especially since her bike was stolen earlier this summer). Jim took her out for her first ride on the "new" bike Saturday morning... she came back in after just a few minutes. Yup, riding a street bike is different than riding a mountain bike. Now she knows.

I hate to suggest it, but...

McDonalds. You may or may not know my feelings on McDonalds. You may share my feelings -it would seem as though most adults do. I still have yet to find someone grown-up that would pick McD's over just about any other fast food restaurant. (caveat: they do have good french fries, if you can get them while they are still hot and salty.)
However... for those of you who will be giving my younger child a gift this Christmas, and you have to eat out somewhere, I suggest eating a happy meal and saving the toy for him. At this point in time they are offering Star Wars The Clone Wars figures, and we all know how much Jamie loves Star Wars. If he knew that McD's had these, we wouldn't get any rest from the incessant begging he would be doing. It's up to you, then. Bon appetit.

Did you know...

that Lego has a special page for purchasing individual pieces? We just got our package in the mail, full of body parts. Lego people are hard to come by, unless you buy large sets. And, when your child has an affinity for taking them apart, you quickly lose legs, heads, etc. What good is a newly built ship if there is no one to man it? Enter Lego Factory Pick a Brick, with individual parts that are fairly inexpensive. It's fun to be able to build your own people! Let your imagination run wild and your inner child rejoice!

County Fair

Living in the city makes one desire some "country" every now and again. This week I took the kids to a nearby county fair. We spent about two hours checking out the animals, eating fair food (Yummm, funnel cakes!), and looking over the 4-H displays. I timed our trip so I would have a very convenient excuse when the kids would inevitably ask to go on a ride - "oh, the rides don't open until after noon. Sorry."
Anyway, here's some shots from our rural experience, including a few for Andy ( a little older than his usual cars, but interesting just the same).

Finished Project

Well, almost. I still have to sew together a little curtain to top it all off, but that is an easy job for me, one I will enjoy, so I don't really count that as work. Anyway, thanks to all those who helped me get the bathroom window done! Here's Jim helping to drill and screw the shutters to the window frame:











And here's the finished window - stripped, repainted, and shutters installed:

photos from this summer

We've done our traveling this summer. How many times can you drive 420 miles (one-way) in one summer? We did it three times so far. Please, no more!! (It's not that we don't want to see family again, it's just that trip gets tiresome!)

Jamie and I enjoyed the last week in Columbus with Mom and Dad. We visited the Olentangy Indian Caverns, the Statehouse, the Central Ohio Fire Museum, and a few parks. You can see some more photos HERE.