Independent Filmmaker

In the last couple of days Riley has figured out how to operate the video function on her camera. This has been a source of endless amusement for both her during "quite rest time" and myself when I see what she has been doing while no one but the camera is looking. This first one is one of the earliest clips she shot. It is a 4-year-old's version of a comedy routine.

This one is an interpretive dance to a Christmas song that just didn't have the tempo she was looking for. She is such a professional. Watch for the moment she whacks her hand on the closet door and continues on with her routine. What a trooper.

Our Budding Photographer

A camera is absolutely fascinating to a kid, so I was thinking about getting Riley one of those indestructible kid cameras for Christmas. Jeff then pointed out that we had an old digital camera collecting dust in the closet so why not give her that one. She was thrilled. I have enjoyed watching her explore photography. It's a lot of fun to view her pictures and see the world from her perspective. Here are some of her better/more interesting photos. There are many pictures of the the cats.

Hobbes' dazed look is caused by the constant flashes going off in his face.

Maebh's slumber has just been disturbed. She is now hatching a scheme to hide the camera in her litter box.

This shot cracks me up.

Tired of being followed around by a shutter-happy preschooler, the cats take out their frustration on each other.

Colin is not the most enthusiast subject.

Perhaps Riley is planning on selling this shot to the National Enquirer.

And finally some self-portraits:

Halloween

I feel like Halloween snuck up quickly this year. I had plans for all kinds of fun activities and we didn't get around to most of them. We couldn't let it pass though without carving a pumpkin. My folks gave us a huge pumpkin which yielded lots of pumpkin seeds for roasting and pumpkin guts for little fingers to squish. Riley used her queen costume from last year and Colin was a six-legged spider (apparently there was not enough room on the costume for two more legs.) On Halloween we went trick-or-treating in the neighborhood for a while before heading over to our church where they had snacks, crafts, games and inflatables. Colin liked jumping in the Shreck inflatable while Riley's favorite was the giant double slide that looked like the sinking titanic (which is kind of morbid if you ask me.) She and her friend Joel liked racing each other to the bottom. I'm glad the kids got good and tired and slept late the next day. I woke up ill and spent the next week with the swine flu. You'll be happy to know I survived.

You'll Never Guess Where We Went!

Did you guess the zoo? How did you know? OK, I know we go to the zoo a lot, but I thought I'd share these pictures of the kids' trip with their favorite aunt and cousins. The zoo was decorated for "Boo at the Zoo."

Maria and Colin on their thrones

The now famous rock climbing wall

Is this not the cutest cub you've ever seen?

Riley and Maria taking musical instrument from defenseless monkeys

Maria the penguin

Goldilocks, her cousins and the two bears

Mama's Mia (Hamm)

The plan is to play catch up over the next several days and give the highlights of the past three months. I'll start with a soccer clinic Riley did back in early October. We received a multitude of sign-up sheets for various activities in Riley's school book bag. She wanted to do everything so I narrowed it down to a creative dance class or a soccer clinic and told her to pick one. She enthusiastically picked soccer. In the weeks leading up to the clinic, she constantly talked about playing. When it came time to actually play, my little perfectionist was frustrated trying to learn a new sport.

Riley loved the warm ups and Coach Chico. She enjoyed the one on one drill time with Mommy briefly until the coach instructed the kids to work on improving their skills. Then it turned into something like this:

Me: Good job, Riley. Now kick the ball with the inside of your foot like Coach Chico showed us."

(Riley studies the ball, approaching it from several angles while she waaaaaay over thinks the directions. Finally she throws herself on the ground.)

Riley: Oooooohhhhh, I can't do it!

Me: Yes you can. Just give it a shot.

Riley: No, I can't.

Me: Just kick the ball.

Riley: NOOOOooooooooo!

Me: Riley, get off the ground and just try to kick the ball. It doesn't have to be perfect. I just want you to try.

(Riley stays rooted to her spot and gives me a defiant stare.)

Me: (muttering under my breath) I paid for SOMEBODY to play soccer and doggone it, somebody is going to play soccer.

(I step over Riley's prone body and unbuckle Colin from his stroller where he has been patiently watching from the sidelines and eating cereal out of a baggie.)

Me: Colin, do you want to play soccer.

Colin: YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!

After a few minutes of watching her brother play, Riley decided that she was ready to try (much to Colin's disappointment.) Her first scrimmage was a bit of a disaster. Despite the fact that she has watched Uncle Mike play in several alumni games, she seemed to miss the part where they only used one ball. She was pretty miffed when the kids were instructed to place all their balls on the sideline and just use one. I believe her words were, "But why can't we ALL have a ball." She spent all of the first game standing in the middle of the field looking surly while a herd of preschoolers moved around her as one unit jockeying for position so they could kick the ball in no particular direction. She looked something like this:

She became a little more confident as the days progressed and by the last day she was mostly into playing the game. It was on this last day that the coach introduced the concept of the goalie. He gave a very brief and precise description of a goalie's job all of which was missed by my four-year-old who was chatting with one of the other girls. He then asked for a volunteer to be their first goalie. Riley's hand shot up in the air and she was promptly chosen. She was a very enthusiastic and accommodating goalie. As the other team approached with the ball, she moved out of the way and cheered for them as they scored on her. After a few minutes, Coach Chico decided it was time to give someone else a chance to be the goalie.

Here is a little video of Riley in action.

There is an indoor clinic coming up in February and Riley has decided that she wants to play again. Colin will be happy to learn that he will be old enough to play too.

Applesauce Days: A Cautionary Tale

Once there was a mommy whose children loved applesauce. Every day the children would lift their angelic faces from the dinner table and say, "More applesauce, please." Of course the Mommy was delighted to fill her children's stomachs with the nourishing treat.

One day the mommy had a thought. "I can make applesauce myself. I know what I shall do! I will pick my own apples and make my own applesauce. In this manner, I shall feed my children in a most frugal and preservative free way."

Soon the apples hung heavy on the trees, and the mommy and her family went in one Accord (Honda) to the orchard to gather the bountiful harvest.

"My Dove," asked her husband, "how many bags shall I get to gather the apples?"

"I think three bags should be sufficient, Darling," she answered.

"But My Dumpling, are you certain?" questioned her husband. "I believe three large bags will hold quite a great quantity."

The mommy answered confidently, "That is precisely what I intend, Beloved."

The family was soon wandering amongst the trees filling their bags with ripe fruit. After a time, the bags were bulging, and the mommy declared that there was now a sufficient quantity of apples to make her sauce (60 pounds, to be precise.)

The mommy was soon ready to begin preparing her applesauce. Realizing that she had a great many apples and not wanting to spend too long in the process, she proceeded to her nearest non-electric goods store. There she valiantly fought her way through the throngs of Amish and senior citizen bus tour groups to emerge with the coveted apple peeler thingy. Her prize in hand, she returned home, put her children down for a nap and began to create the applesauce. Soon there were pots of apple slices simmering on the stove. The sweet stickiness of apple juice ran down from her peeler covering her countertop, and sides of the counters . . . and floor. All afternoon and into the evening she patiently cooked the apples and lovingly added cinnamon to one pot and strawberries to another.

When her husband returned from his labor, he observed, "Why Buttercup, your work has yielded a great supply of applesauce, and yet I perceive the apple bags are yet quite full."

The Mommy thanked her husband for his keen insight and proceeded to prepare the applesauce for storage in the ice box.

The following day, the mommy returned to her bags of apples, determined to transform the entire lot into sauce by the end of the day. She worked with great speed and once again produced much applesauce for storage. Likewise on the third day, the mommy again determined that she would finish her task and rid her kitchen of apples before the sun went down. As she worked, she spoke encouragement to the simmering apples that they might transform into golden sauce with greater haste.

"Die! Die, you stupid apples!" she chortled as she gently bludgeoned them with her potato masher.

On the evening of the third day, the apple bags were empty but for a few stray apples the mommy declared would be set aside for another purpose to be determined at a later date. In her ice box was a vast stockpile of applesauce. The mommy thought she had perhaps been just a tiny bit overambitious and determined to slightly reduce the quantity of apples harvested in the coming year (by several dozen pounds.) She knew her labor would be well rewarded though when receiving the praise of her grateful children.

The following day, during the noon-time meal, the mommy inquired, "Would my angelic children care to partake of the delicious applesauce that I have these so many days endeavored to create for your enjoyment?"

They answered without hesitation, "No, we want fruit snacks."

Meet Me In Wayne County

"Meet me in Wayne County . . .County,

Meet me at the fair.

Don't tell me that the cows are mooing anywhere but there."

Ok, so maybe Judy Garland would roll over in her grave to hear my version of "Meet Me In St. Louis," but the fair is such a big event around here, it seems like there should be a song about it.

The much anticipated event has once again come and gone. We made it to the fair twice in the last week. The first was Saturday night with the Lees. I took the kids again on Tuesday for stroller day. My dad met us over there after he finished some work, or "put some bad guys in jail," as Riley likes to say. As the kids get older, they seem to enjoy a wider variety of activities the fair has to offer. No trip is complete without partaking of the fine cuisine. There are so many healthy choices like deep fried corn dogs, deep fried cheesecake, and deep fried lard on a stick (I made that one up.) We love the french fries loaded with salt and vinegar. On Tuesday, when Riley was offered ice cream, she asked if she could have some more fries instead.

Colin is entering a trans-fat induced trance as he chows down on another helping of fries. That or he's people watching.Madeleine is trying to decide if taking a sip of her drink would prohibit her from eating any more fries.

In years past, the fair has been all about the animals. This year the rides edged out the sheep and chickens as the most favored attraction. Colin was absolutely fearless and wanted to do everything. Riley had fond memories of some of the rides from last year and wasn't about to be shown up by her little brother.

This had better be the only time I see Riley riding on the back of some guy's motorcycle. She was sooooo excited that she got to go on some of the rides with her buddy Ethan.

Both kids loved the roller coaster. Riley was a little reluctant to ride until she saw her friends Clair and Sophie get on.

This picture cracks me up because I have no idea who Riley is waving at. She looks like she's performing in a show and acknowledging the audience. The jet skis were very jerky, and the kids had fun throwing their heads around in an exaggerated fashion.

I used to love the scrambler when I was younger. I think I'm starting to show my age when I got dizzy just watching the kids spin around.

One ride was so fast, it left skid marks. Actually Colin got these crawling over the tires on the SUVs. That's grease all over his legs. He was pretty proud of his tracks and was annoyed when Mommy broke out the wet wipes.

There are always a few "fair couples" walking around. You just want to go up to them and say, "Hey, knock it off. I didn't come here to see some PDA and" . . . hey wait a minute, that my daughter!I just love the pygmy goats. I could have put this little guy in the stroller with Colin and taken him home. Jeff might not have appreciated that so he stayed at the fair (the goat, not Jeff.)

And now I will leave you with some Wayne County humor.

New School

It's that time of year again - back to school. As much as we liked Trinity preschool last year, we opted to take Riley to Wooster Christian School this year. She has been talking all summer about her new school, especially since her buddy Ethan would be in her class. She was a ball of energy and excitement the night before school started. It was another story at the door to the classroom the next day. Riley was crying and clinging to my leg. I was trying to reassure her while keeping the drop-off brief and steering her into the room. Colin, on the other hand, wanted to go to school. I had to hang onto his arm to keep him from running in the room. He realized that he wasn't going to school yet and was throwing a tantrum while imitating a wet noodle. Can you picture this? I had one crying child with all her limbs wrapped around a leg while another was trying to escape my grasp by going limp and shrieking. Riley's teacher had mercy on me and disentangled Riley before leading her into the classroom. She came home from her first day all smiles and declared that she liked her new school. I guess all the drop-off drama was quickly forgotten.

I didn't get a chance to snap a picture before we left on the first day so I got one on the way home. Riley is proudly showing off her new tote bag. All the children in preschool got a bag with their name embroidered on it. I like them because they are color coded by class so I can learn the names of the kids in Riley's class.

I will leave you with a few recent quotes from the kiddos.

Riley: What are we having for dinner?

Me: Chicken Parmigiana.

Riley: Oh. That sounds . . .umm. . . not tasty.

Me: Colin, what do want to be when you grow up?

Colin: Judge . . . pirate.

(I don't know if he wants to be a judge and a pirate or a pirate judge.)

Colin: Let da wile wumpus start!

("Let the wild rumpus start" Colin is quoting his current favorite book "Where the Wild Things Are." This is also one of the longest string of words I've heard him utter.)

Zoo Trip with Pop-pop

Well, we made another trip to the zoo. We are definitely getting our money worth with our zoo pass. This time we had two special treats; we drove up to the Cleveland Zoo and Pop-pop came with us. The kids were so excited to have Pop-pop along and talked about their adventure for many days.

How many monkeys can you spot in this picture? (Hint: There is more than one.)

Colin playing in the treehouse at the Australia exhibit

Riley riding a T-rex. The kids loved the special exhibit on dinosaurs. They had life-sized animatronics complete with sound. They especially liked the dinosaur that spit water at unsuspecting passersby.

Hanging with Pop-pop.

Here's one of the dinosaurs in action.

Romantic Retreat

Jeff and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in June but we weren't able to get away and do something until late July. We picked a location that wasn't quite as exotic as our honeymoon (Hocking Hills down in Southern Ohio) but was still quite nice. We rented a cabin down in Holmes County at the Inn at Honey Run. My parents were gracious enough to take the kids, and the kids were completely stoked about spending some time with Pop-pop and Memaw. We heard all about eating brownies at Cici's Pizza and picking out plastic animals at "the barn store" - Tractor Supply, when we got back.

Jeff and I began our 24 hour date by grabbing a bite to eat and going to a movie in Wooster before driving down to Millersburg. I love driving down in Holmes County. Even though it's only one county south of us, the hills are much bigger there due to the lack of glaciation (and there's your history lesson for the day.) We arrived at Honey Run in the late afternoon and went exploring. There are numerous trails around the property so we hiked around for a while. We were given a trail map at the front desk when we checked in, and we had some good laughs over the trails marked "vigorous." The only one we found taxing was a brief part of a trail that went straight up a hill. The rest were pretty mild. We ate supper at the Inn and then retuned to the top of the hill above our cabin for some late night star gazing. Jeff took some pictures of the stars, but they didn't turn out the way he had hoped. The clouds kept rolling in and he was limited by the functions on our camera. I guess we'll just have to go back again when he gets his SLR. (It will be a sacrifice but I'm willing to do it for my husband's happiness.) The following day we ate breakfast at the Inn before taking another hike. We dove up to Akron for lunch at Pad Tai. We've been meaning to go there for a while but have not had many opportunities to get out without the kids. After our meal, we decided it was time to head home. The kids were happy to see us and had many tales of their adventures with the grandparents to share.

This is the view from the top of the hill above our cabin.

The living room in the Trillium Cabin

The dining area and deck. We didn't have much opportunity to use the deck because of the intermittent rain and sopping wet patio cushions.

I loved this arrangement on the coffee table. Some of the decorations in the cabin were available in the gift shop. Unfortunately they didn't have the carved acorns.

The freestanding fireplace in the main living area.

Jacuzzi ;-)

The second bedroom

The view from the master bedroom. We had a variety of birds come to this feeder including a woodpecker. There was also a tiny squirrel that climbed up the window and onto the feeder only to be foiled by anti-squirrel function that closed off the holes when his weight triggered it.

We had a wonderful little get-a-way. We'd highly recommend the Inn at Honey Run for anyone who'd like a quiet retreat.