Slip and Slide - 196/365

It was another HOT one today! Low 90's again! 

Nana, Reagan, Brinkley and I started out on the Kirk Road trail. Brinkley was feeling pretty hot I think, I felt bad for him. He got some doggie ice cream when we got back! He loved it! 

 After we dropped him off, we went out to Haus Cider Mill to get some more peaches. My mom got some the other day and said they were fabulous. I ended up getting some, too! I have to say, they WERE fabulous! I ended up eating two today! 

Next, we had some lunch at the Dutch Hause. Reagan seems to be getting excited about the cruise, because she made Nana draw her four or five cruise ships today on the place mats. 

 After lunch, we met Becky to give her some fabric for a few custom items for the cruise for Reagan! YAY! 

When Jim got home from work, we went for a walk around the neighborhood; we have no idea why. We were dying of heat and sweating up a storm! We only took Brinkley down to the end of one caul-de-sac and back. The heat was just too much for him! 

After our walk, we played in Reagan's splash pool. She loves putting her little slide on the one side and sliding down into the water. I had filled it up right before her nap, so the water would be a good temperature by the time she used it.  She probably went down that slide a million times. She went down on her butt, tummy, backwards...she did it all! She LOVED it! 

We noticed yesterday, that Reagan's famous tomato plant finally had some tomatoes!! YAY! It's amazing how well they are doing! She planted them herself and now they are taller than her! I wanted to take my macro lens and get some cool shots of her first tomatoes, so after swimming, we took a walk back and visited them...LOL! 

We're having such fun growing our own food, that we decided we want to try something new every year. We decided our major crop next year will be pumpkins. Jim said, we could probably win the biggest pumpkin at the fair. We shall see....LOL! 

 The photo of the day is a collage of Reagan going down our version of the slip and slide! 

 The next is Reagan's first tomatoes...

Aunt Rose - 195/365

We got some sad news today, from our family in Florida.

We lost our beloved Aunt Rose this morning.

She was my grandma Ruthie's, wonderful sister and was 83 years young. She was such a special lady and was loved by everyone who met her. Rose was always "dressed to the nine's" with nails perfectly painted. She had a wonderful sense of humor as well. Just always laughing and smiling.

We were lucky enough to see her a couple times over the past three years. We all traveled to Florida for her 80th birthday in March of 2010 and Kate's wedding in Jan of 2012. Jim and I, got to have dinner at Morton's with her during another Disney trip in 2010. We also got to see her this past November at Downtown Disney real quick. 

She is going to be greatly missed, but I know that she is now in heaven hootin' and hollering with her sisters.

Rest in Peace, sweet Aunt Rose.

Besides learning the sad news about Rose, we had an OK day. We just really hung around the house, except for our walk at the Kirk Road trail.

I had set up Reagan's pool yesterday afternoon, so the water would be nice and warm today. It was going to be 90 degrees. Hot! She had a ball playing in her pool and eventually, Jim and I jumped right on in with her. We had a lot of fun! It really is big enough for all three of us to frolic around. I think she liked having some company.

Brinkley tried to get in with us a couple times, so I finally set up one for him. Reagan's original pool, was leaning to the side one day, so we thought it may have a small leak in it. We ended up buying a new one just in case. I hadn't thrown out the "leaner" yet, so I thought I would fill it up a little bit for Brinkley to play in. He loved it and chilled in there for awhile! He even went "puppy crazy"! He was running full speed and hopping in and out. I think we'll keep the "leaner" now just for him!

This evening, Jim and Reagan went to the store and then we had a little cookout.

The photo of the day is Reagan and Brinkley in their pools....

The next is, Jim and I taking a dip in the backyard baby pool....

Ray and Jenny also stopped over real quick today, to drop off a treasure for Reagan. They went to the Youngtown Art Festival and bought her a little bracelet made from rolled paper. It is too cool! Reagan just loved it! Thanks Ray and Jenny!

Picnic Fun - 194/365

This morning, Jim and I were just recovering from being out until 1am. Yes, we're old and can't hang. 1am is LATE, or early, however you look at it. Reagan was going to spend the morning with Nana and Papa, so we just lounged around a bit. 

I finally went out and got the grass mowed and set up Reagan's pool for tomorrow, since it is supposed to be 90. She just loves that little pool. 

While I did those chores, Jim was a great husband and cleaned the first level of the house. He dusted, wiped down the counters, did the floors and even a bit of laundry! YAY! 

 Reagan finally came home and we all got ready for a picnic up at Matt and Nikki's. Andrew's league baseball championship was originally scheduled for today, but with all the crazy weather last week, it got delayed. Andrew's team had done well all year and had a playoff game this morning. They unfortunately lost, but they have one more chance on Monday. We still wanted to celebrate a great season with him! 

We got up there around 3:30 and had a great visit! The kids immediately got their suits on and dove right in to the pool. Nikki got her kids a pool like Reagan's after the 4th. It really is a great little pool and perfect for the smaller ones to splash and swim! Ally is such a hoot, she dives in and then swims underwater across the length of it...LOL! She really is a little fish!

Matt and Nikki had tons of stuff for the kids to do. She set up the bounce house, two pools, water balloons and water table. They had a ball!

 As for the food, that was quite the spread, too! Nikki made her world famous ribs, which were EXCELLENT! I just grabbed chicken at first and got in trouble, but once I tried them, I can see why I got in trouble. YUM! They also had chicken, hotdogs and a TON of sides! We were all so full by the time we left! Reagan ate all of Nikki's sweets. She stole three popsicle and ate 2 cookies...LOL!

Reagan at one point, was wandering around looking for the "red ball." Adrienne and I, were so confused and tried to help her find it. She eventually wandered into the garage and said, "There it is, the red scooter!" Here, she was looking for the scooter she played with the last time she was up there! I can't believe the stuff she remembers.

Another funny thing that happened was, Reagan asked my mom to hold her popsicle because she didn't want it, so Nana ended up eating what was left. A little while later, Reagan came back and wanted it. My mom was teasing her and said, "Oh no, Nana ate it! You'll have to give me a lickin'," meaning spanking. Didn't Reagan reach down, grab her hand and LICK it! It was HILARIOUS!!! We about died! 

We had a great visit and it always goes to fast! 

The photo of the day is Reagan with Matt and Nikki. Reagan just loves her Aunt Nikki and hops right up with her!

The next is Reagan having fun with her cousins...

 

Playday & Sister Hazel - 193/365

Super busy day today! 

We started at Reagan's gymnastics class. I'm amazed at how much better she does every week. This week, she was bear crawling across the double beam with no help at all. It was amazing! She gets higher and higher on the trampoline, too! I love watching her grow and learn new things.

The kids were thrilled this week, because at the end of class, they not only got their hand stamps, but they got popsicle, too! Reagan was so excited! 

After gymnastics, Nana met us at the house and we ran to lunch at Steamers and a couple little errands. Nothing major. 

Reagan and I were having a play date with Heather and McKenna this afternoon. The girls had fun! They loved playing on the slides, swing and in the playroom.  Heather and I got to have a nice chat, too! It was a really fun time! 

When Jim got home from work, we were off to Cleveland to meet Raymond and Jennifer. We were seeing Sister Hazel at the House of Blues! 

I loved Sister Hazel back in the day. A couple years ago, Jim and I were at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival and they were the Eat to the Beat Band, for the three days we were there. We ended up seeing probably, six of their shows over the three days. Jim really got hooked on them, too, so it was fun to see them in person again. 

We met Raymond and Jennifer at the Harry Buffalo in Cleveland, with a surprise visit from Shoup, before the show. Dinner was great! We even had a giant bear walk over to the table and offer us a complimentary shot of Jim Beam Honey Bear Whiskey. It was delicious! We kinda just sipped them throughout the dinner, since we're all a little afraid of whiskey. LOL! I don't think any of us even finished the whole thing, but it was delicious, as far as whiskey goes.

We went over to House of Blues around 8:30. The opener was Ok. He did Wagon Wheel which was hilarious, since it's Reagan's favorite song. 

Sister Hazel came out around 9:30 and sang for around 2 hours. It was a great show and they sounded exactly the same. They ended up being in the small room, so there was probably only around 300 people there, which worked out nicely! It was a very chill crowd, too. We had a great time! 

 In the big room next door, there was huge party going on that was rocking the walls! It turns out, it was a Sweet 16 Party! They even hired Mushroomhead to perform! CRAZY!

 Reagan spent the evening with Nana and Papa and had a super fun slumber party, while we enjoyed the show! They went to Tippy for dinner and had fun riding around on a golf cart! She just loves her slumber parties over Nana and Papa's! 

The photo of the day our group at the concert...

The next is Reagan and McKenna having a tea party

And finally, a collage of Jenny and our bear friend, Reagan checking her score from her golf game with nana and papa, and Reagan with her yummy popsicle at gymnastics.

Tales for Tots, Butterflies - 192/365

It was Tales for Tots day!

We just love that little class at the Ford Nature Center.

Today, was all about butterflies. We got there and instead of their normal coloring pages, they were doing sidewalk chalk out back. Someone had already drawn some pretty involved butterflies and the kids were having a ball adding to the artwork.

It was a bittersweet day though, because Miss Julie who had been teaching, has passed the torch onto two other ladies. The two new women did great and were super nice to the kids, but we love Miss Julie. She was there, just kind of supervising from afar.

Anyway, we moved to the side porch where they read their story and sang a little song. The new teachers, had a few stuffed butterflies and caterpillars, so they could learn about the different parts of the body. They even had some Painted Lady Butterflies, that were getting ready to emerge from their cocoon. The kids were fascinated!

After the story, we took a walk where the kids got to pretend to be butterflies. Each child got a party blower, (silent ones, thankfully) which acted as the long tongue of the butterfly. Along the trail, they had hung huge pictures of flowers. As the kids were "fluttering" down the path, they could stop at each flower and "sip" nectar. It was too adorable and they LOVED it! Reagan was like the "hungriest" butterfly! LOL!

After our little hike, we went on the back lawn to try to catch some butterflies in nets. Each kid got a net, but no one was too successful.

Finally, it was craft time. Everyone got a plain white butterfly to color. It actually opened up to give a 3D effect, with some string to hang it. Another great class in the books!

After class, we went to Bob Evans with Nana. We had some lunch, then nana so generously, took Reagan home for a couple hours, so I could get back to some editing! Thanks, Nana!

When Jim got home, we went up to the Shields road trail to get in a walk. It was such a nice night! Not hot at all and NO rain, amazingly enough!  I did see the biggest mushroom I've ever seen in the parking area! YUCK!

The photo of the day is.... Reagan the butterfly, drinking her nectar...

The next is the big mushroom...yuck!

Stormy Weather - 191/365

It was a stormy day today! 

Jim and I were both up around 5am from the sounds of thunder and lightening! I never really got back to sleep, but I gave it a go. Reagan, of course, slept through it all! 

Nana came to pick up Reagan around 9:00. They were going to spend the day together, so I could get some editing done. It was the perfect day for it, with all the rain that came through. 

It really revved up around 4 and went strong till nearly 6 o'clock. Paul Wetzl was LIVE on WKBN during the worst of it, because there were possible tornadoes with the system. Luckily, everything was fine in this area, just a ton of rain. 

Nana and Reagan had a good day playing color-forms and her counting chickens game. They even went to late register for Tales for Tots tomorrow morning. We weren't able to register at the last class, since it was at the cabin. I almost forgot! Good save, Nana!

When Jim got home, he made us some pasta for dinner! What a wonderful hubby he is! 

After we ate, we both vegged out until Reagan showed up. Reagan, nana & papa had gone to dinner at the Phoenix. 

That was about it for today! 

The photo of the day is the flag getting blown around in the storms...

The next is the computer screen I stared at all day...it's fun though! 

Blueberry Picking - 190/365

It started out quite the ugly day. It was really gray and misty out. Yuck!

Nana came over to take Reagan to music class this morning, so I could have a little extra time to get to editing my photo sessions from this weekend. They had a great time and nana even got to hear her favorite song, Elephants Have Wrinkles.

After music, they came back to pick me up and we were going out to Haus Cider Mill to do some blueberry picking! We went last year and they were the best blueberries EVER, so we wanted to go for sure this year.

Blueberry season is pretty short and they opened pick your own last Friday, so we wanted to get there ASAP. Being it was a rather ugly morning, there wasn't anyone there! We had the pick of the patch! We had the best time and Reagan did a great job! She had it down... only pick the big blue ones and leave the white ones alone. LOL!

She was rather fascinated with the chicken coop near the blueberry bushes. She kept telling them to, "be quiet!" LOL! Then she would say, "Rooster say cock-a-doodle-do!" She also loved the fact that we were picking some blueberries for AJ, too!

We finished up and went in the store to pick out some other fresh produce. They had awesome looking zucchini, green beans, raspberries, and tomatoes. We loaded up and were on our way.

By this time, it was nearly 1 o'clock and we were starving. We went out Western Reserve Road and had lunch at Carmella's Café. YUM! Reagan was free in the booth without a booster, so that was quite interesting, but she was pretty good.

We came back to the house and I got straight to editing. Nana was SO WONDERFUL that she took the tractor around the yard for me!! YAY! What a TREMENDOUS help that was! THANK YOU, NANA!

When Jim got home, he took Brinkley and Reagan for a walk on the Kirk Road trail, so I could continue on my editing quest. He picked up some yummy salads for dinner on his way home. What helping hands I had today! Awesome hubby and awesome nana!

The photo of  the day is Reagan and her blueberries...

The next is nana and I with Reagan....