A Day Off

We had a teacher in-service day on Friday. The kids didn't want to do anything, so I enjoyed a beautiful fall day at the park with my mom. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the leaves were brilliant, the temperature was perfect, and the company was good. It was a very nice day.

Not everyone was out of school, though, and there happened to be a couple bus loads of school kids visiting the park. It doesn't matter how hard they try, that many kids cannot be quiet on a path through the woods. So, other than school kids, we didn't see much wildlife beyond busy squirrels and a few birds.

Belted kingfisher

Cedar waxwings



Wild turkey

 

 

Even with the limited wildlife sightings, it was a very nice day.

 

 



Fall's Finest

Basking in the Sun

Now that the weather has turned a little cooler, Clara likes to follow the sun as it moves through the foyer in the afternoon. When I come home from work, she greets me with her warm head and sleepy eyes. An afternoon nap in the sunshine sounds wonderful most days.

A Winner!

We stopped by the park on Saturday afternoon to look at all the photo entries in the contest and to see how our photos did. We were disappointed to see that Danielle's didn't win. It seems like the winning kid's entry is always a black and white picture that would have looked better in color. This was the last year Danielle could enter since she will be 13 next year. I thought her flowers were especially good. You can't really tell in my photo, but she captured a lot of detail. We all voted for hers to win the fan's favorite vote. :)

We were happy to see that both of my entries placed this year! I got 3rd place in the "Close-up" category with the macro picture of the monarch wings. My picture of the cow with the water dribbling off his whiskery chin  placed 1st in the "MetroParks Places & Things" category. I don't think there are any prizes other than ribbons and maybe having the pictures published in their publication, but it is always nice to get that little nod of approval from your peers. And my husband gave me a fist bump. :)

Going the Distance

My brother Ron ran in his 3rd 1/2 marathon today and beat his best time by over 3 minutes. He finished the 13.1+ mile course in 1:34:35. While he was training, he said if he broke his personal record in either of his halfs this fall (he has another in 3 weeks) he would sign up for a marathon. Looks like we'll be cheering him on at a marathon at some point this next year! 

My friend Amy ran today, too. This was her 8th half marathon and her 2nd half in three weeks. She has worked through a lot of physical injuries, so it is even more special for her when she runs across that finish line.

I'm glad I was able to watch both of them.

We stood at mile 9, which is where he says he usually hits the wall.
We like to go to IHoP after he's done. It was less distance to run from where we were standing to IHoP than it was to run the whole course.

A Well Adjusted Watermelon

No self esteem issues here

Marching Band Debut

The 8th grade band got to play with the high school marching band at the homecoming game this past Friday. It was a nice little glimpse of what band next year might be like. Our HS band is small but has a really good sound. This is our band director's second year, and he has done good things. He was in the band at The Ohio State University and expects a lot of discipline out of the band students. I think it will be a lot of work for Tyler, but I think he will enjoy it. He did a great job Friday night. I taped him practicing a couple songs at home before the game. The first song is our fight song. Hopefully you will recognize the second song!

 

Another Softball Tourney

Danielle's softball team played in a another tournament this weekend. Danielle was feeling much better and did a great job. She is switching to being a leftie hitter, and she made contact with the ball most of her at-bats today. She was out each time, but at least she's hitting the ball. Her fielding was great, as usual. She had a couple outstanding plays, like this catch below when she was playing short stop. She also had a great double play at 2nd. She caught a pop-fly that was over her shoulder and then fired it to first to get the base runner out she since she hadn't tagged up. Her team did not do well overall. Hopefully things will improve over the winter and as they get to know each other. Here are a few pictures from today. It was a beautiful fall day.

Best School Pictures Ever!

Tyler got his school pictures back today. Most everyone else got their pictures a week or two ago. When the secretary called him to the office to pick them up today, she called his name and then added, "You're going to love these pictures!" Remember his plan? Well, I'm not sure what happened, but it doesn't look like we'll have to wait for retakes, and he'll appear in the yearbook exactly the way he intended. Everyone thought it was hilarious. He was pleased with how they turned out.

A Beautiful Day

It was a beautiful early fall day today. I dropped our photo contest entries off at the metro park this afternoon and desperately wished I had enough time to take some pictures before going home to start dinner. I couldn't resist snapping a couple cell phone pictures on my walk between the nature center and parking lot. When I dropped Danielle off for basketball practice after dinner, I was sorry once more that my camera was sitting in its case at home. Still, I couldn't resist the urge to try to capture the beautiful sunset with my phone. All too soon the skies will be gray and the landscape barren. I'm thankful for beautiful fall days.

This & That

Ron designed a closet organizer for Danielle and then built it himself. He just finished it up. I think it looks great! It gives her so much more drawer space and will free up some floor space in her bedroom when we get rid of her old dresser. She hasn't really put anything away in it yet. She was just putting a few things in there for pictures. Even after almost 23 years my husband still impresses me.

Tyler went grocery shopping with me today. He likes the curbside service, too. (I like his company.)

Danielle had her first softball tournament with her new team this past Saturday. It was cold and rainy and she was sick. Those things did not go well together. We drove about 80 minutes one way, she played in one rainy, windy game, and then we took her home. She has another tournament this weekend. Hopefully we will have a much better weekend.

Don't tell her I posted this.

My etched pumpkin I made to take in to work.