Saying goodbye to summer and embracing fall

In recent years I have come to enjoy fall.  In Ohio, September and October are really beautiful with almost perfect clear skies, warm days, and cool nights. Most days there is very little humidity and the light (for photography) is warm and amazing.  By mid-October the leaves are at their peak of color and even though I know the cold, grey winters are just around the corner, I can still stop and enjoy the fall.

Soccer "season" in our house lasts from July through November.  It is rare that Kyle has an entire Saturday free without practice or a game.  So, we took advantage of his day off by making a trip to a new pumpkin farm and to Ohio Wesleyan University - where he went to college.

They had the normal array of pumpkins and gourds that we sorted through until each of us found the perfect pumpkin for this year's jack-o-lantern.

In addition, they had so many activities all around the farm that we just couldn't do all of them in the couple of hours we were there.  Grace had fun on the barrel train, the horse-drawn carriage ride, the slide, feeding the animals, "driving" a tractor, and the giant jumpy pillow.

I loved the "Farm Hand" t-shirts the workers wore.  Cute and easy to see if you had a question.

This day trip started because Kyle wanted to go to the OWU soccer game.  (I did say he had the day off from soccer, right?  Oh, he'll make fun of me for typing "right" at the end of my question.)

But it turned out that it was Family Weekend so we enjoyed a buffet meal sitting outside the student center while a band played, walked around the campus, and visited both the football and soccer stadiums.

The is the Battling Bishop.  He doesn't look very happy.  Maybe he is just supposed to be tough. 

One of the coolest parts of the visit was that inside the student center, Grace sat down at the piano and started to play from memory.  Awesome!

Remember "Silly Bands"?

Well, the Rainbow Loom is the new "thing" for kids.

I was hesitant to buy one at first because the recommended age is 8 or older and I wasn't sure Grace could do it.  But, after seeing the first graders at my school making rubber band bracelets and trying Dawson's we got on the Rainbow Loom bandwagon, too!

Since it is the hot toy right now, many stores are sold out.  I was so happy to find one yesterday and the minute I picked Grace up at school she asked if I was able to get one for her.  She wanted it so much she even offered to use her own money to pay for it!

Carnival rides

We went out yesterday evening to see a hot air balloon lift-off.  They promised 25 hot air balloons all inflating and taking flight at the same time. But, the weather must have not been favorable enough, since there were no balloons in sight.  We think that even if they weren't going up in the sky, they should have at least inflated them for the spectators.  Instead, Grace rode some of those rickety carnival rides that are so rusty they make you pray the entire time you are on them....at least she is too young to notice and just had fun!

Do you see the rust on these chains?
As we were watching, Kyle said, "you are only as strong as the weakest link."  

Love this photo!  She is having a ball!

Not so sure about the roller coaster at first.

But she rode it like this - hands in the air - almost the entire time.

When you are reading, it helps to....

... dress up as a hula, princess, fairy, tiger, superhero!

This is just a normal Sunday afternoon around our house. I love how Grace is playing and choosing "just right" books that she can read easily and independently.  Grace has "stuff" all over her bedroom, the dining room (where she is in the middle of playing school), and the basement play area.  The OCD in me is trying to just let her be and not tell her she needs to clean up - at least not until right before bed tonight!

Art in the park

It's football season.  The Browns played this afternoon so that means the girls of the house had two choices - watch football or find something "girly" to do without Kyle.  We opted for the latter and went to an art festival in a nearby park.

They had the expected jewelry, pottery, photography, woodworking, and fabric handiwork as well as some really cool, different things that were fun to look at but I am not sure what you would do with them - like a giant winged lion made of wood.

Grace enjoyed the hands-on kids' "Young at Art" area best.

They had several things for the kids to do like tie-dye, weaving fabric strips into a rug, making figures with clay, adding their own design to a mural. And a place where kids were selling the crafts they had made.  We bought a Duct tape bracelet for Grace.

One interactive exhibit had everyone pour a cup of paint on a wooden column to watch how the colors mixed as they dripped down.

We got some kettle corn, roasted nuts, and a present for Aunt Susan whose birthday is coming soon.  Shhhh.  Don't tell her!  And there was still time for a little climbing in the park.  

Pixar in concert

Last summer we were treated to Bugs Bunny in an outdoor concert and this year, the Cleveland Orchestra presented Disney Pixar - the music of its 13 feature films like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, Cars, Brave, and Up.

Sometimes, you get so caught up in the animation of these movies that the classical music is forgotten.  My music girl loved watching the orchestra perform and making the connection between the music and the movies she loves.  Without the dialogue, you pay more attention to the music as it tells the story.

Like last year, we got great seats in the pavilion.  Sitting on the lawn is crowded and sometimes WET....tonight it poured at the beginning of the concert.  I felt bad for the people on the lawn but we were nice and dry under the shelter with a perfect view of the musicians and the screen!