Because Daycare was closed on Tuesday, 9/25, I worked Friday.  Russ and the boys met me for lunch though, so that was a nice treat.  Liam even spent the rest of the afternoon with me at work and was VERY well-behaved.  He made plenty of pictures, watched clips on the computer, drew on the dry-erase board, and played with his cars on the floor.  Everyone thought he was really cute, and I had a really special time with him.

 

On the reverse, Jax went home with Daddy and had a great time playing with all the toys at home without intervention from his brother!

 

That evening, we got some yummy burgers at 5 Guys, and ran a couple of short errands. 

 

The new adapter for the slot car set came in the mail, so that night, Russ and Liam did a few laps in the guest room while Jaxson and I watched.  Liam LOVED it!!!

 

 

We got the boys to bed and Russ and I enjoyed some YouTube time on the computer.  Surfing YouTube together has become a Friday night hobby for us.  All week, we gather ideas, and then just have a good time searching through all the little film clips in the online database.  Free thrill and a lot of fun!

 

Saturday we headed to the County Fair around 10:30.  Unfortunately, that was the same time that the parade was happening, and we couldn't get into the fairgrounds to park.  Not the best planning on their part, in my opinion, but I'm not going to bash 60 years of history because of poor timing on my part.  Next year we'll go a lot earlier, or a lot later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nonetheless, we finally got in to park, loaded the kids in the wagon and hit the grounds.  We went through one or two of the commercial barns, and then figured we'd better let the boys do a few rides before lunch.  This was great fun.  Jaxson even got to ride a few of the more tame ones with his brother.  I put him on the motorcycles, but he began to slide off a little, so the lady had to stop the ride to hand him back over to me.... guess I pushed him a little too hard on that one.  Jax fared really well on a couple of the others though.  Liam even overcame his fear of the Dragon Coaster and went on all by himself.  He was also big enough to do the moon bounce this time and LOVED it probably more than anything else!

 

We played a couple of games - Russ won a little doggy for Jax at the basketball throw - and then decided to go check out the puppet show.  Honestly, the puppet show wasn't that great, so we got some lunch. 

 

By then, the day was getting really hot and muggy.  Normally, we would have gone through the animal barns and looked over the exhibits, but the boys were getting tired, and the heat was just a little too much, so we headed out.

 

I would have been happy to go home, but we really needed to get groceries.  Though I hate getting groceries, at least it was nice and cool.

 

The kids had a nice nap, and we had a quiet evening together.

 

Sunday was a beautiful day.  I took the dogs to the dog park in the morning while Russ watched the boys.  That afternoon we just puttered around.  I fixed a couple of things and cut down one of the Holly trees in the back yard.  I have several trees that I'd like to take down, so this was my test tree.  I figured I'd better give it a try while Russ was home, so that if I cut my leg off, he could take me to the ER. 

 

Fortunately, I did pretty well, playing Lumberjack (or Mrs. Bunyan, as Russ called me) and managed to get the tree down without hitting the house or clubhouse.  I didn't even damage the hydrangeas too bad, and Russ didn't miss much of his football game either.

 

I planned to cut it up more on Tuesday.  I figured I'd give the new chipper a try too.

 

We kept dinner simple on Sunday and just ordered a couple pizzas.  It was a lazy day that we all enjoyed.

Friday night Liam had a really high fever 102.5 and was on the couch when I got home. He was fine when he went to daycare but around one his temperature had shot up over 102. We got the kids off to bed after dosing Liam up. We fought all night long to get his fever down. Erin and I finished up watching Texas Ranchhouse. I had seen the episodes on a Labor Day marathon on PBS and we rented them from NetFlix so Erin could see them. The show should have been called Texas Ranch Opera. A family set up on a ranch in mythical 1867 Texas. They hired on Cowboys, a cook, and a foreman to round up a herd of 200 steer to sell and make the ranch profitable. Well the cowboys and family fight the whole show and every episode has an ugly incident but over all it was quite entertaining to watch.

 

On Saturday I have a little boy in my face at 8 o’clock saying get up Daddy. No luck,. He came back at 8:30 and started to get me up. You see I had promised if Liam’s fever broke and he felt better we would get my old slot car set off the attic and set it up. Oh boy was he ever excited. We set up a big Indy Style track and plugged in the transformer. No power. I tested the outlet. Hmm there was power but the transformer never even got warm. Liam was a good sport as we packed it back up. I promised him we would look on Ebay for one. We went upstairs and were lucky enough to find one for 8 bucks so we will try again when that comes in. We then called Noah and talked to him a bit.

 

Erin took the doggies to the Dog Park. It gives her some time to unwind and it gives Ash the Greyhound and especially Cleo the boxer some social romping time. We also talked to all our parents this weekend. Mom and Dad Day are doing great. Dad Day called back Saturday night as he had been out teaching women how to shoot. My Mom was sick over the weekend and was not feeling great. Sometimes I think our visits up wear her out a bit.

 

While Erin started a couple of small sewing projects I went out to tackle the wood pile. The wood was pretty wet so spent more time struggling to get the ax out. Erin came out to lend a much needed hand. I got a couple of wheelbarrows split but Erin took the chain saw and started shortening them for me. I loaded them in the garage with Erin’s help so they can dry for a month. I will split them in October. I went and weed whacked while she sawed as she mowed the day before while the kids napped.

 

On Saturday night we had Pizza with the kids. Liam’s fever came back although not as bad as the night before and we were able to break it quicker. Erin and I You Tubed the evening away as we put it on hold to care for Liam the night before.

 

On Sunday we had planned on geocaching as the weather all weekend was perfect! I love when the early autumn chill gets in the air. While I ate breakfast Erin downloaded the geocaches. So we went out with the GPS automatically updated and with a laptop in hand for screen shots of the caches. We decided to go to Northern Calvert County and cache around Dunkirk Maryland. There had been a Geocaching Pizza event while we were in Pennsylvania the weekend before. The attendees had put out quite a few new caches for that event. We found 5 micros in the shopping areas around Dunkirk while fitting in a trip to browse in a Toy Store and stop in Wal-Mart to get the kids Batman and Robin outfits for Halloween. I also picked up a frame for Noah’s graduation picture and Brooks and Dunn CD we listened to while caching. The end of the afternoon brought us to the end of Ferry Landing road for two nice caches in the woods. We meet some Pembroke Corgi’s who visited from the house by the park.

 

At the second cache we also met a Black Snake who was sunning but slithered off at the sight off us. Thank goodness but it made us a little leery with the kids because there was a small cliff edge. We brought the kids to a nearby clearing and then took turns until we found the cache. At 4 o’clock we decided that we had cached long enough and headed home.

 

We had left over pizza and crabs and watched a couple of good Mart Stouffer Wild America shows with the boys. I took them up for their baths while Erin got things ready for the week. Erin and I then just looked at pictures from geocaching that day and then I watched an old race and read for a bit.

 

This week Erin will work her Friday CWS day as Daycare will be closed the following Wednesday. I have a work picnic on Thursday so Erin is helping me marinate shrimp that I will grill Thursday. Erin will also begin inventory for her Leprachan Lillie’s consignment sale upcoming. Also the County Fair is coming up. There is always a lot to do in the fall in St. Mary’s county. It is a great time down here.

We were all excited to travel to Doylestown on Friday.  We got a late morning start, but arrived in town right around 5:00.  We picked up Noah first, and then met Marcie at the grocery store.  This habit has been working nicely, and allows her to get a bunch of groceries and have lots of help hauling it up to her third floor apartment.

 

Once the groceries were put away, we settled in.  Marcie had gotten a couple of rotisserie chickens, so we had them for dinner.  They were really good!  I let the boys stay up a little later than usual so they could play with their big brother and Grandmom.  I was itching to get her Yard Sale laptop up and running, so I shut myself in her bedroom to focus.  My first attempt wasn’t successful.  I called my friend, Greg for help, but it had been a while, and he had a hard time remembering the set up.  I reluctantly hung up with Greg, and called Verizon.  3 hours and 10 minutes later, I finally had her on the web!  The connection is on the slower side, but suits her needs to get started.

 

 

By this time, it was pushing midnight.  Russ had gotten the boys to bed, so I sat on the couch with a cocktail while I let my brain unwind from the Verizon ordeal.  Not long after I emptied my glass, I was ready to crawl in bed.  Russ and Noah had just gotten out the Indy Car board game and were about to start a lengthy race.  Though it was nice to see them having a nice time together, I had no desire to spectate.  Marcie did that for me. 

 

In fact the three of them stayed up most of the night.  I guess Noah got a few hours sleep, but Russ and his mom did a LOT of catching up while the younger boys and I slept.  Knowing that they all would fare better catching up on some sleep without two youngin’s playing about the small apartment, I decided to take them out for breakfast and hit a few yard sales and check out the Peach Festival at the nearby Methodist Church. 

 

 

The younger boys and I did pretty well!  They got a new DVD, a play kitchen, some books and a couple of other small toys.  I got some Corning Ware and a FREE Screen Tent!

 

I got back to the apartment around 10:30 and by then there was some activity about the apartment… but not much.  We lounged about, played a little with the kids and watched TV.  Apparently, Noah and Russ even got out earlier to throw a little football back and forth.  They played another few laps of the Indy Game, and Marcie and I caught up on some conversation. We took the boys outside to play a little, and were met by one of her neighbors who happened to be looking for a doggy sitter while they went to the hospital to visit the dog’s owner.  So, soon we were joined by Ming, the Pekingese. Ming’s owner was in the hospital, so Marcie and I took it upon ourselves to spruce him up a little.  We combed out his mats and cleaned him up a bit, just knowing that his owner probably wouldn’t have time to do that while she recovered.  That evening we just had some sandwiches for dinner, and Ming’s interim caretaker arrived to take him back for the night.

 

     

 

We just had sandwiches for dinner and all of us turned in before midnight.

 

On Sunday we slept in a little bit, but the younger boys were up early.  It was just as well because I needed to get things packed up and ready to go by 10:00 because our friends, Sue and Perry were coming in town to go Geocaching with us. 

 

I got the boys fed, and then Marcie got up and made Russ and Noah some bacon and eggs.  I got a shower, and Russ helped to get Liam dressed.  Liam was going with us, but Jaxson was going to stay with Grandmom.

 

I got a couple of tasks lined up for Marcie to try on the computer.  It will be so nice to have her online so we can email pictures back and forth and she can see this website.

 

Sue and Perry arrived just a few minutes after 10:00 and we all got in the van to hit the trails.  Well, in all honesty, Russ had picked about a dozen nice & easy caches that didn’t require to many steps into the woods.  We easily banged out 10 of the dozen and had a GREAT time.  Noah was a great navigator, Sue & Perry helped out with the ones they’d already found, and even Liam was delighted to actually hunt for “treasures.”  It was probably one of the best caching trips we’ve been on. We even hit another yard sale and I got a perfect little table and chairs to put in our bedroom for the boys to eat their breakfast on in the mornings while Russ gets ready for work.

 

  

 

 

We got back to the apartment right around 3:00.  Sue and Perry came up to see Jaxson and Marcie for a little bit.  Once we got the rest of our gear packed up, they kindly helped us take it down to the van.  I had to do some rearranging to get it all in, what with my yard sale purchases.

 

 

Then Sue and Perry left, and we followed suit to take Noah home.  We waved good bye to Marcie and thanked her over and over for taking such good care of us.

 

It was a nice visit.  We are so proud of Noah and how he’s been doing at his job at the “Lobster Claw.”  Now, in addition to washing dishes, he actually helps COOK!  He has gotten a good start to his Senior year of High School and we hope for the best!

Last Wednesday the whole family got to expience Jax and Liam at play at Kiddo's. Liam enjoys it and Jaxson loves it. He crawls over and under all the padded gym stuff. Liam enjoys the big parachute in circle time. We also enjoyed catching up with our Greyhound owner friend Dana and our Geo-buddy Bob and their girls. Liam also got his Dolly back after Dr. Dolly (Erin's co-worker Millie) gave her some face stitching and a new Dolly eye after Cleo liked her a bit too much.

On Friday night we put new Garage sale signs back up. Erin put them out Friday morning but somehow half of them as well as others were pulled down off the main highway. We had pizza at Cici's and Erin and I enjoyed looking at You Tube after the boys went to bed.

 

All of us woke up early and had the garage door open for the sale at 7 AM. Business was brisk early but with the beautiful Holiday weekend it died by 11. Erin also shopped through a neighborhood boy for cubbie hole shelves from our friend Tammy's parents yard sale around the corner. He took our camera over and photographed them. Erin then went over and got them and two school desks for the kids. Tammy's Mom used to run a daycare. We shut the door at 1 after Erin took pictures of things we will sell on Southern Maryland on-line and EBay. We got things cleaned up and the kids napped as we were invited to friends Bill and Janet's house for dinner. Their daughter Rosalia and Liam are only a month apart in age and play great together.

Bill and Janet had the grill smoking meat with a rub Janet had put on the night before. We brought over some shrimp. While the kids played we had a few beers and shrimp and enjoyed good conversation. Bill showed me his pool table which gives me a future itch for one. Janet's rub was outstanding on the wings and the steak-ka-bobs.

 

We were stuffed after the outstanding meal we all decied to walk down to their dock. We all kept track of the kids while they dropped corn to lure crab. We did see one flutter off. We also saw Heron and Osprey and also saw high tide turn on the back creek and roll out. Bill cast a line in but while they jumped around us nothing bit.

 

Back at the house we partook in after dinner drinks Bill came up with containg pomengrate, vodka, cranberry, and 7-Up. We joked about giving the delicious drink a name. Pomi-Kaze was the going name. After checking out the flat screen HDTV for a bit and talking about this technology we decided the boys needed their own beds.

 

On Sunday Erin made a great pancake breakfast. We went out and got some supplies for Erin to rearrange the basement play area. We first picked up chairs Erin bought on line for the boys upstairs. We sold the rocking chair in our roojm and we are now making a little table and chairs for the boys to eat breakfast so I can keep and eye on them and make it a little neater than breakfast in bed like we have been doing it. We stopped at the Hobby store because I needed paint and Liam got a balsa wood wind up plane. At Lowe's we got plywood and paint for projects Erin wanted to do. Unfortunately with the kids we did a round trip. Erin dropped it in the yard whilke I kept the kids and looked for a little table I did not find. We got a few groceries and headed home.  

 

I watched the kids and helped Erin get the plywood in and the cubbie hole shelves. She then went to work making the play area more segregated from the dogs and the tools complete with a little door . It is great! I helped here and there and watched the kids and watched the Indy car race.

 

When the kids were in bed we watched a pretty good thriller called Disturbia. We both enjoyed it. It was not gory just chilling and pretty cool.

 

On Monday I slept in and The boys played in the new play area while Erin got the clothes caught up. Erin then worked on the school desks and I got caught up watched the PBS Texas Ranch House Marathon.

 

During the week Erin and I tag teamed on painting the school desks and a rocker swing she bought a few weeks ago that we have put on teh front stoop. Next weekend we head to Pennsylvania to see Mom and Noah. We plan on doing some caching with Perry and Sue on Sunday.