A Buckeye At Last?

It's Saturday afternoon. I have just watched the Buckeye game. I am wearing a Buckeye shirt. I am no longer skittish about tornadoes. I am a Buckeye.

It was the lack of worry about tornadoes that clued me into my Buckeye-ness. This past Thursday we were looking forward to some rain. This summer was very unBuckeye like in that it was hot and dry, so when rain was forecast for Thursday I was excited. The grass is so dry that it hurts to walk on, okay maybe the acorns have something to do with that, but the lawn is brown. There are parts of town, just up the road that have green lawns, they have gotten rain. Last Saturday it rained a little here and down the road at the Buckeye game(yep, watched that one too) it poured. So Thursday afternoon when CJ tells me that the tornado sirens are going off, I mention that when we first moved here I would go to the basement whenever the word tornado was mentioned! We turned on the TV to find that the county just a couple of miles south was under a tornado warning and then a few minutes later we were too. Still it seemed silly to go to the basement, it wasn't raining. OK, it was raining out front but not out back. Weird. Even when the rain made it to the backyard I still was totally calm and never considered the basement. The rain lasted about .5 hour and it got a little windy. It was wonderful to enjoy the smell of a summer rain, I have missed that this year. The weatherman on TV mentioned that of our high schools, just up the road, had roof damage. And a friend was at CJ's school, just across the road, and said that she had hail and the rain was coming down so hard she couldn't see. Still not worried, the weather at home was fine.

Today, I wonder if I should have been worried or if it's just that I am now a Midwesterner. We took the dogs, Pia is visiting again, to the mountain bike trail for a morning romp in the woods. As we headed down the trail there was this oak branch laying across the way. Because it had the largest acorns I had ever seen we gave it a closer look. Where did the branch come from? There were maple trees all around but no oaks. Curious. Later we saw more branches down. On the way home we took the road that the high school is on and saw lots of trees down. At the high school there was a crane beside the building and roofing supplies on the roof. That was quite a storm, I thought to myself. When we got home, I opened the newspaper and right there on the front page was a listing of the tornadoes from the storm and one was at the high school, just up the road! Maybe I should have been worried, maybe I will go to the basement next time! Or maybe I am a Buckeye.

Dan & Swati Came to Town

Due to the passing of Uncle George we got to see Dan and Swati much sooner than expected. They came in to spend a quick weekend with us, much like the weekend we spent in Philly. While Friday was spent with funeral activities, Saturday was a day of fun.

Dan, Swati and I ran some errands. We got a new bolt for Steve's car, not exciting. Went to the Eddie Bauer Warehouse, exciting. And most important for both Dan's belly and Swati's boss, a trip to John Eagle Candies for what Dan has decided are the best buckeyes ever. Swati's boss is an OSU grad and she couldn't to back to work on Monday unless she had something Buckeye to bring back!

After our errands Steve washed the cars. How did we end up looking like Buckeye fans, I guess this is our true home now that we have the right color combo for our vehicles!!!!

CJ showed Dan his swords.

Swati had fun in the sun.

I napped.

Dickens had a photo shoot.

Then we all went to Cap City Diner for dinner.

And then to Jeni's for ice cream. There are no pics of the ice cream since we were too busy eating for pictures. Our flavors were, berry lavender, black coffee, buckeye, backyard mint, salty caramel and almond brittle. Yummy!!!

And now time to spoil the pets.

It was a great visit under some unfortunate circumstances.

Phones

Last year CJ quietly asked for a cell phone. We decided that when he was 13 he could have one. He never complained although he did mention that he was one of just 5 kids in 6th grade without a phone. So when I decided to upgrade my phone and plan to the 21st century he got one too.

So now there are just 4 kids in 7th grade without phones!!!

Smores at the Campground

Summer would not be complete without s'mores and an overnight (for CJ) at the campground. It took school starting before we managed to find the time. The next morning CJ was not eager to head home and back to chores and homework.

CJ loves hanging with Popa and Grandma Joyce.  I do too!

7th Grade

August 25th was the first day of 7th grade for CJ.

When he got home he happily reported that he liked his teachers.

Company Picnic

Each year Steve's company hosts a summer event. This year it was at Crew stadium. It was a great event. They had food, music and games for us before the game. The kids also got to go out on the field and play on the professional field. CJ found a praying mantis by the goal which he and Steve promptly moved to a much safer spot away from the playing field.

This was our first professional soccer game as a family. While Steve was still in a hockey mode, CJ and I found the game enjoyable. With a little more knowledge we may become soccer fans. Soccer like hockey is much more fun in person!

The UPS Man...

must love Tucker. We arrived home to a couple of packages on the front porch. On top of the packages was a bone for Tucker. Tucker's campaign to make sure everyone loves him is working!