Trick or Treat Night Polk Style

We headed to Polk to see the kiddos get dressed up for trick or treat in their neighborhood. Anthony was Darth Vader (minus the mask)...with both front teeth missing he should have gone as a jack-o-lantern!
I guess even Superman needs help sometimes getting his cape on. Let's face it, phone booths are so yesterday.
Oops! The caped crusader gets a to-be-sure before heading out the door.
Steph made a yummy dinner and this cute number was dessert...dirty dessert to be exact. Made into a grave yard, it's the perfect ending to a halloween trick or treat night.
Look at these scary characters waiting for the festivities to begin. PawPaw stayed behind to hand out candy while we hit the sidewalk for all the treats!
Summer and her friend Tiffany were eager to get going.
Cameron takes 5 to check out his haul. His little legs did great for the hour we were out.
Hey, didn't I see you guys last year???
Can you guess what this is? Did you know Amish trick or treat? Well, they don't but I caught this buggy heading for home during the all craziness and I have to laugh when I look at this pic. It looks like electric lights on the back! Just my weird camera I guess.
After a bath Superman checks out his treats....now you know what's really under his cape! It was a perfect night for trick or treat and I can't believe how time goes so fast. Wasn't I just doing this with my own kiddos? Well, Grandkiddos are the best. I get to go home and don't have to deal with the candy high tomorrow! Happy Halloween everyone!

Going, Going....

Almost gone: The colors of fall are fading fast and I wanted to capture some of the beautiful colors here at the Pines. Not everything here is "pine green"! We have some yummy reds :
Sweet orange on a pumpkin I grew in our own garden!
The browns and yellows down by the creek:
Eddy is one of the browns down by the creek....hey Ed, is that a "kitty" you're checking out???
Yellows against a pretty blue sky
Some of the trees here are bare as a baby's bottom, while others cling to their leaves for as long as possible.
These two dogwoods are side by side...one bare, the other still full of color. This has been a really good fall for leaf color and I hope you've enjoyed your yard and area as much as we've enjoyed it here. Sigh....can't fall just last a bit longer?

Frightful Weekend

This is Eddy...you all know him and either love or don't love him. We happen to love him, but that's beside the point.
This is squeak. She's a cat. Eddy thinks she's his play toy. He will bug her to no end. She puts up with him but she falls into the "don't love Eddy" column. That doesn't bother him. He will chase her anyway. But he will chase any cat. Even the neighbors cat. So Friday night Jordan took him out and Eddy took off when he saw the neighbors cat crossing our front yard. Only it wasn't the next door black and white kitty...Yes, you guessed it. It was Pepe LaPew. Eddy got skunked! Thankfully the quick action of Jordan and Jack and my looking up cleaning remedies online ASAP stopped what could have been a "frightfully smelly" situation. So he smells good now and the house was spared too. Hopefully he's learned a lesson. But I doubt it. Squeak on the other hand just walked by him with a smug look on her face. I swear she even smiled!





Now this is the only other frightful thing from the weekend. My pumpkin spice loafs. They are frightfully yummy!

Road Trip!

Friday afternoon Jack and I hit the high road for New York...he had a seminar and I went along for the ride and a nice quiet weekend. We drove all night through misty, drizzly rain and even some snow, but made it safe and sound. After sleeping like logs, Jack headed off to his class and I took a look outside the hotel to see what the weather was like...hmmm, sort of dreary, but atleast no rain!



After a pic of the messy hotel room, I headed off the to a fav spot for a bit of breakfast..the Whole Foods Market. Mmmm, some Greek yogurt with strawberries and a scone. Just the ticket to get me energized for a hike to the big mall across the street.


After a few hours of non shopping...yes, I really did not buy a thing, I just walked and walked around this huge, 4 story mall... I returned to a wonderfully clean room. Where is this staff when I'm at home? Oh, I guess that would be me! That's pretty much how the weekend went...eating, walking, reading, napping, walking..well, you get the picture. It was nice and after the seminar was over Sunday afternoon we headed out of the big city. Over the big bridge:Down the city highway and through a bit of New Jersey and then into Pennsylvania where we drove until we couldn't stand it anymore and stopped for the night. When we got up this morning, the rain was gone and the sun was shining and the view was this: Very beautiful the whole ride home! This was what we missed driving all night!Don't pull stunts like taking pics of yourself and the driver while driving over scenic bridges...not that we would ever do something like that! Hey, I'm ready for another road trip!!

Sunday Lasagna

Sunday I made lasagna and a few cute friends dropped by to sample it...again with the funny faces for food!
Addy seems to have something on her mind that she would share if only she could talk a little clearer...Maybe she's saying "Look how cute my Mom and Dad are in this pic!"
Or maybe she's wondering who this little diva is?
After lasagna it's a good time for popsickles...
I must show you one of the things I bought at the Prairie Peddler on Sat. It' s a pumpkin holder...I bet you wish you had one too! Looks like a spider and it found a great spot next to my little witch.
It was a perfect night for a fire. Phil, aren't you just a bit chilly?
Jack makes a great fire every time. All that boy scout training I bet. Eddy just wants to help too.
Ahhh, just sit back and enjoy the heat. Soon all the roasting sticks come out and the marshmellows get nice and gooey.
Eddy is hoping for a morsel to drop his way.
Addy got bundled up in a zillion layers, but she is walking so good and had a fun time outside.
The food was good, the company was fun, and the fire was delightful....a great way to end the weekend.

Faces and Places

My post is a bit backwards....I guess I'll do places first! After I made breakfast for the kiddos and they left for home, Jack and I hit the road to go to a fun festival that's held every year in Butler Ohio...The Prairie Peddler.
It's a fun walk in the woods with crafts and food booths and demonstrators and lots of things for kids old and young to enjoy.
Music is played by various artists all over the place.
We ran into these characters: Terry and Bryn. Bryn and I used to go every year and then we took our husbands one year, they liked it too, and now we gave up going together and go with our hubbies instead!
Sorry Jack, cash for clunkers is over!
After the Peddler we headed off to the apple orchard for some freshly picked, juicy apples to take home...Yummy!
What follows are the faces of silly grandkiddos:
Please make some breakfast YaYa....
Thanks! (this is a early morning funny face of Summer's)
Cameron, you look lovely as a girl...he found Summer's Halloween costume wig!
How pathetic he looks....Cam tries out his "fish lips" look:
Saturday morning I woke up to these bandits making crazy faces in the hopes I'd make some pancakes...well YaYa came through and pancakes were had by all! Good thing we had a hearty feast because the day was busy, full and fun!