It helps me to say these things aloud, I think.
Shows, Puzzles, Bulls Games
We got to visit family in Cleveland last month. It was great to see everyone and catch up. The bonus was that my mom was able to join us for this trip. I think she had a real nice time relaxing and spending time with the extended family. Just wish our visits could be longer!
All photos after the break.
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Catching up from June…
Photos from the Parade at the Duct Tape Festival follow the break.
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This June, we were able to attend the Duct Tape Festival in Avon, OH. It was fabulous! Carnival food, carnival rides staffed by authentic carnies, and Duct Tape Crafts!! I made a fabulous green and black purse. It’s a high-fashion design that can only fit my camera and phone – no wallet. 
I got a bag of cotton candy and we drank beer and ate cotton candy while watching Johnny Cash live on stage. It made for a fabulous date night. There was also a “Living Statue” who moved through the grounds; he was a lot of fun to watch.
Every year Henkel sponsors the Stuck at Prom contest where couples create and wear prom attire made entirely of duct tape. Each lucky winner receives $3000 in scholarship money, plus the fame of having the coolest duct tape outfit in the country! We saw one couple walking around the festival. They apparently spent a lot of time explaining to people how they made their outfits. My favorites included Spreading our Wings, Copperleaf & Bailing Wire, Public Enemies, and Rose and Butterfly. You can view all 2009 submissions here.
My mom hasn’t been to see a movie in at least 20 years. I think she was trying to keep up her record, but when she found out that there was going to be a sequel to her favorite movie, Night at the Museum, she was so excited.
So as soon as Battle of the Smithsonian was released, we made plans to go see it. We went on a Wednesday, late in the evening, and there was no one else in the theatre. It was perfect! We went to the Raleigh Grande so that we could have beer with our popcorn. And of course we checked Pee Times at RunPee before we went.
It was a fun movie, and I captured a few fun shots.
We had a lovely cookout last Sunday with a few friends and assorted munchkins. Thanks for coming!
Beaney was the first guest to arrive, with his fabulous guacamole, followed shortly after by my mom, who brought nearly a bushel of fresh corn on the cob. Sawyer, Shannon and Steve dropped by from next door. Jim, Tammy, Cooper and baby Claire all showed up rarin’ to go, and Rob, Mandy and Madeleine joined us. Cristin came and brought deviled eggs, which disappeared very quickly. Sawyer and Henry each ate two deviled eggs! And Dan, my friend Bob’s brother, who just moved to the area for his new job also came.
We had so much food and everyone ate ’til they were stuffed silly. The kids loved playing in the wading pool and climbing on the Kangaroo Climber. Then Dave broke out the sprinkler and Henry went C-R-A-Z-Y. Both Henry and Cooper (17 months) tried their first ear of corn and they both loved it! In the evening, Henry and Cooper took a bath together so Jim and Tammy could stay a little longer. Dave and I were both exhausted at the end of the day! To read more about Henry’s exploits and see more of his pictures, visit Cristin’s blog.
A fun night out on the town with Ele, Sarah and Molly. Thanks for the nice night out ladies!
For all you gearheads, here are some of the cars Dave liked at the car show at the Pickle Festival.
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This year we realized my dream of going to the Mt. Olive Pickle Festival. I have been a lifelong fan of Mt. Olive products, and I was excited when we moved so close because my mom used to have to mail jars of their pickles to me when I lived in Texas. Anyway, I was totally excited that they have a Pickle Festival every year and this year we finally made it.
Mom came, and she was such a great help with Henry. We didn’t have our timing exacly figured out, but things went pretty smoothly considering how far we pushed off Henry’s lunch and naptime. It also turned out to be quite hot, in the 90s, so we’re lucky we didn’t melt.
I was a little disappointed about the lack of pickle-ness about the festival. It was your traditional kind of fair, with tons of fair food, a few different stages with bands, carnival rides, a petting zoo and innumberable vendor stands, mostly community stores and services. I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting, perhaps pickle derbies, or other pickle activities. They did give out free pickles (dill spears and bread-n-butter spears) and they had a booth of Mt. Olive merchandise, too, at which I scored a cool t-shirt and Mom got Henry a bib. I found out later that I had I missed the coolest thing, which was pickle-packing. I can’t believe I missed it – it probably would have made my day! That being said, we did have a really good time walking through the car show and hanging out at the petting zoo.
Here are my favorite shots from our day. (after the break)
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Saturday night we had a lovely evening with Will, Ele and Finn. They arrived around 6 for dinner. I made the boys’ favorite sweet potato and salmon recipe, and for the adults I made salt-and-pepper salmon with mashed white sweet potatoes and roasted asparagus. Yum! Will and Ele were kind enough to bring libations, both beer and wine.
We had a nice time catching up, eating and drinking. The boys did pretty well playing together. Mostly, Henry enjoyed playing near Finn and Finn loved playing with Henry’s multitude of toys. Finn is getting so big, using words and repeating sounds. He’s really growing up! When it was getting late and time for them to go home, we convinced them to stay a bit longer by giving both the boys a bath. That was a fun time and they both did great.
Thanks you guys!
Yep, we’ve got plans this evening!
Willie