Egg Balance Day

For you folks who have been living under a rock, this one's for you. I was minding my own business, not bothering anyone this past Sunday when I got a phone call. It was Dean, a "guy" who has been working with my dad since I was in 5th or 6th grade. He told me the reason for the call: to tell me that since it was the first day of fall, I could balance an egg on its end. He then went on to say you can do that on the first day of spring and the first day of fall. I, of course, doubted him, but he managed to convince me. I quickly hung up and went right to the frig. Here's the proof of my efforts: I balanced one egg on its end, then tried the second egg we had and I had success with that one as well! It only took me about five minutes or so. I later looked online and found out some people claim you can balance an egg any day of the year, but I haven't tried again since... So, in your spare time, you might want to see if you, too, can balance an egg on its stubby end.

Molly's "New Do"

Molly is into a new phase of life -- one that she cares about her clothes, her hair, and her general appearance. Abby has commented several times that it's just not right that Molly is becoming a "girly girl." I wouldn't go far to say that Molly is a girly girl, but it is interesting to see this little change. Going along with the interest in hair, Molly "re-does" her hairdos multiple times daily. The one pictured is one of her most creative "dos." She started by putting all of her hair into a pony tail on the top of her head, then made it into a bun, but brought some of it forward to make it look like bangs. It's strange to see Molly with bangs, since she's really never had any... That Molly keeps us on our toes, for sure. She sure does fill our days with her creative touches!

Back to School

The girls went back to school on Tuesday. This week has been filled with adjusting to school, trying to tolerate the heat in unairconditioned schools, making sure we had all of the school supplies, parent orientations at both schools, figuring out teacher expectations, and getting back into the swing of things. Molly has the same teacher that Abby had for 2nd grade. Mrs. Foulkes is a great Christian lady who is energetic and a little zany and makes learning lots of fun. Abby has a good schedule this year, having some really good teachers. She has four core teachers plus the "specials" teachers (gym, band, health, art) as well. We'll see how 2nd and 6th grades go. At least we're off to a great start!

Splish, Splash

We spent a lot of time this summer at the swim club to which we belong. It's kind of like an almost daily mini vacation for us. The kids enjoy splashing and swimming, and the parents sometimes do the same, but sometimes just sit, watch, talk to one another, and enjoy the summer. This picture is of Abby, Paisley, Molly, and Peyton. Paisley and Peyton are siblings and have been friends of our girls forever. Actually, Abby was two months old when she first met Paisley, but that's practically a lifetime! The weather cooperated quite nicely this summer with lots of warm/hot and sunny days. Life is good at the pool!

Abby's Art

Abby's 5th grade teacher pulled one of Abby's paintings in the spring and submitted it to the Canfield Fair for judging. Although the painting didn't win a prize, but in my eyes it's a winner! Abby's teacher obviously thought it was worthy of distinction and Abby has a participation ribbon from the Canfield Fair to prove it. The painting that Abby created is the purple castle just above her head. It will find a spot of honor on a wall in our home for sure!

Fun at the Fair

As they say (who is "they" anyway?), "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." For us, it's "When in Boardman, do as the Canfieldites do." Let me explain. We live in Boardman. The Canfield Fair, which is the 2nd largest fair in Ohio (1st is the Ohio State Fair), is just one town over in the town of Canfield. I'm fairly convinced that many people in our county live the whole year just to be a part of the Canfield Fair. It's crazy! I would be perfectly happy living by the every other year plan, but my family has a say in the matter and we've gone nearly every year since we've lived in Ohio. The fair always starts the Wednesday before Labor Day and finishes up on Labor Day; that's the reason our kids don't start school until the day after Labor Day. We spent one evening there, the girls rode rides, we ate some fair food, we saw lots of friends, and I hate to admit it, but it was kind of fun this year. The picture is of Abby and Molly with our neighbors and friends Sarah (Abby's age) and Jennie (one year older than Molly).

Why did the turtle cross the road?

You might wonder why I titled this posting "Why did the turtle cross the road?" Here's the story. Last Friday evening we were eating dinner in our dining room and we noticed a car that was passing by slowed down almost to a stop in front of our house. They then swerved into the other lane, obviously avoiding something that was in the road. That something was "scootching" across the road and it took me a little while to figure out it was a turtle. I'm certain we've never see a turtle cross the road in front of our house before. I then went out to guide traffic around the fellow, who then scootched off the road into our yard. Paul, Molly, and some of the neighbors' kids took the turtle to a nearby woodsy area in the direction of a stream. Friends of ours later that same evening said they saw a turtle on the next street over as they were driving to the swim club. That little turtle was making tracks for sure! The next day a neighbor from another street the other direction said her daughter saw a turtle in their yard on Saturday afternoon. We're not sure where we might see this creature next!