The Big M-O

Not too many years ago there was a forward being passed around emails talking about how to know if you live in Missouri... things like you measure distance in time, not miles. Or the first day of deer season is considered a state holiday. Well, it was proven to me today, once again, that I definitely live in the great state of Missouri... when I got up and left for work this morning, it was 49 degrees. I had to crank the heat and the defrost in my car, and even with my jacket on, I was freezing. And by the time I left work, it was 82 degrees, and my car was way warmer. I got in, turned the a/c on full blast, and was still hot! Only in Missouri, folks... only in Missouri! :) Only here do you use the heat and the a/c on your car in the same day! :) That being said, I love fall! And it smells like fall out there!

$166.50

Apparently, that's how much a barking dog will cost you! Although it could have been $216, but the judge thought that was a little steep (even she thought it was ridiculous) so she took the fine to $50, plus court costs. So that really sucks, because I'm pretty sure I could have found something else to do with that money, but at least it's all over, we have the problem fixed (thank you collar, although that cost us another $100), and now we know who is the one calling. Apparently he's a parole officer (doesn't he have better things to do?!) and he doesn't even live on our street, he lives behind the last house on our cul-de-sac. So it's all ridiculous, but at least it's over, and, since there have been such mean things said about my poor dog, I thought I'd put some really cute pictures of her up. I put this bow on her head never expecting her to leave it on, and she did! Of course, getting a good picture of her was another matter... "Mom, whatcha doin? Mom? Mom?! What's that silver flashy thing? Huh? Huh? What's that, Mom?!"
Anyway, I have to say I'm glad it's over... though I'm still a little peeved about the $166!

 

Lazy Sunday

Our eventful weekend continued on Sunday, as Josh and I trained for a napping marathon with the master-napper, Truman. Despite his awkward positioning, Truman managed to find a late afternoon sunbeam and pull ahead for the win. Next time we'll beat him!

On another note... pray for Josh tomorrow at about 1:30 as he goes to court. The prosecuting attorney's office decided to go ahead and file the charges, so he has his arraignment tomorrow. Barring a last-minute miracle, he'll plead guilty and have to pay a fine. This sucks... 

Lazy Saturday

And it was wonderful! Josh and I actually have NOTHING going on this weekend! Nothing except the regular church Sunday morning and evening, but that hardly counts... so we spent all day Saturday doing not much of anything and being lazy. It was awesome. We got up and headed to Golden Corral to try their breakfast buffet, 'cause we've been meaning to do it for a long time. It was ok... it wasn't great, though. Then we were really rebels, and we wandered around the Marketplace for awhile. It was funny because we're wandering around, and we walked past the spot where Dad's booth used to be, and it's obviously not there anymore, and I wasn't sure if he even had one, so we just kept going. Then we go around this corner and there's a squirrel picture on the wall so I was looking at it, and looked at the tag and said "Well, here's Dad's stuff!" It was just funny because he had a squirrel picture on the wall, and otherwise we would probably have walked right by it. Anyway... then we went grocery shopping (the excitement just never stops), and went home and took a nap, because we'd had an exhausting morning!

We did finally get up and take the dog for a walk. We took her down to the trail and walked to Perche creek and back (about 3 1/2 miles). It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Which was pretty ironic, since the weathermen said it was going to be stormy and rainy and wild all weekend... it definitely hasn't been! We had a great time, and Isa didn't take out any bicyclists, so that's good. We walk her on her long leash, and usually get her clamped down before they get to us, but sometimes we don't see them! I really wished I had brought my camera, because the fields we were walking through were drying up and were this beautiful golden color, and the leaves are starting to fall, but the sun was out and the sky was brilliantly blue, so it was just beautiful.

Anyway, still not feeling like doing much, we went out to eat for dinner (for the 3rd time in 2 days) and wandered around the mall for awhile (never a good idea). And, true to form, we spent money... we got Josh a new suit; it's a charcoal pinstripe and I love it. I'm a big fan of pinstriped suits. So, since we were getting Josh clothes... we got me clothes, too! I got khakis and an argyle sweater (talk about teacher clothes!) and even new shoes. So we came home and cleaned house and did laundry and watched Smallville... and had just a wonderful time! :) It was a very busy day of doing nothing, and it was great!

Juxtaposition

So, today has been a very strange evening. Josh and I both rushed home after work (Josh actually got off early) so that we could eat dinner and go to the hospital before he had YLT (Youth Leadership Training). It was a very strange visit to the hospital. Let me start by saying I HATE going to hospitals. I don't like going to visit people, really for any reason. This is an unreasonable thing about me that's something I have to deal with, but it's just not something I like to do. But tonight we had to. We went for two reasons.
First, we went to visit Jenny (one of our landlords; Jenny of Josh's friends Brian and Jenny from EFree) because Jenny had her baby this week. She was an adorable little girl, about 6 pounds, named Abigail May. She was sleeping when we got there, all swaddled in her blanket, a pink striped hat covering her mass of dark hair. Just adorable, she looked like a doll. So we sat and visited with Jenny for awhile, talking of babies, and new life, and new adventures. Needless to say, I left wanting a baby (despite the horror stories Jenny told of the actual birthing process she went through).
We left Jenny's room in good spirits. But then we headed upstairs to visit the second patient we knew in the hospital. This was a totally opposite type of visit. We were going to visit a church member who had a massive stroke yesterday afternoon. From the beginning, they (doctors, nurses, and paramedics) said that all they could do was "keep him comfortable." This is the grandfather of one of our youth that graduated last year, and the family is very involved in the church. In fact, this is a family with 4 generations currently attending. The man himself was not always (or often) there, but whenever he was around he was vivacious and smiling, always with a joking word, a big laugh, and a helping hand. We walked in the door and there was all of this pretty big family (at least everyone who lives here) sitting and standing around the hospital bed, eyes and faces red and puffy from crying. And this wonderfully vivacious, energetic, friendly, funny, and healthy man, laying on the bed, struggling just to draw breath, completely unaware of everything going on around him. Already gone for all practical purposes. It was the most awful thing I have experienced. I have visited people in the hospital, but the sight of this family, all standing around, watching their strength, their leader cling to life, just waiting for that last breath, was almost more then I could bear. On the one hand, I want my death to be quick, not long and drawn out (who doesn't?). But on the other, this family stood in shock, caught totally unawares. As we hugged, patted backs, and murmured words of support, I understood finally the meaning of the scripture "mourn with those who mourn, weep with those who weep." And I know there is promise in the second half of that scripture; "rejoice with those who rejoice, and sing with those who sing." But it is hard to remember that promise as I sit and think of that family.
As we left the hospital, and throughout the rest of this evening, I have sat and thought about those two hospital visits. Completely opposite in purpose and emotion, yet both a vital part of God's plans for us. And that's the thought that comforts: both of these events and emotions and experiences are part of God's plan for us. Regardless of our forewarning, of our shock and surprise, God is sovereign: God knew. And in that I can rest.

Fish Fry 2

I really wanted to take lots of pictures at the Fish Fry, but I set my camera down at about 5:00, and didn't find it again until we were cleaning up for the auction at 9:00. So here's a pic that Dana sent me... :)

Fish Fry

Well, it was a lot of work, and a lot of fun... but I'm kind of glad it's over! We had the Fish Fry this past Saturday, and I think I'm still recovering! I stayed up late Friday night baking 2 pies and 4 dozen cornbread muffins. Then we headed to church around 11 on Saturday morning, and didn't leave again until almost 11 that night! But there were others there longer then us, and we still had a great time! And God really blessed us with the weather... it was sunny and beautiful and not a drop of rain all day! Josh and I were in charge of youth games, which involved a frog launcher (you'd have to see it to believe it), a football toss, bean bag toss, painting, coloring, play-doh, a bounce house, and a petting zoo! So, as you can imagine, it was, well, a zoo! We got it all set up, and then we had to run it, too. I'll be totally honest and say that Josh definitely carried most of that burden! I spent a lot of time doing random little things, like making a poster for the dog that was for sale, and perusing the Silent Auction items we were bidding on (important work, I tell you!). We did get to sit down and eat when Josh's family (Grandma, Tim, Aunt Shell, and Aunt Jane) came, so that was fun. The food was pretty darn good! I still think I liked it better when they brought seconds around to us... it was so crowded it was hard to want to get up and walk over to the seconds table (how lazy am I?!). Check out the really cute picture of Tori, Dave and Nancy's granddaughter, holding the chick. She loved the petting zoo! After the Silent Auction ended, and we got everything moved out of the Country Store, the auction started... and went on FOR-EV-ER (just picture Squints from The Sandlot). We always sell all of the leftover pies, and it takes awhile to sell 20 pies! :) But there were several entertaining bidding wars (Charlie vs. Corey, Charlie vs. Josh) that led to some expensive pies (I think we paid $11 for ours)! Josh and I bought quite a bit, but my favorite purchase of the evening wasn't for me, it was for the church. Dad asked me to bid on a leaf blower because the church wanted it. So here we sat, Josh and I, and I'm bidding on this leaf blower... he just could not believe it, he looked back and forth from Dad to me with a look of pure shock on his face... he was sure I'd lost my mind. It was definitely fun! :) Especially when the bidding hit $100! We did buy several things for ourselves, including one sure to start more rumors then we can control! We bought this really cute "Time Out" bench. I just liked it, we have no particular need for it (nor do we know of any reason we might need it in the near future). We've had lots of questions about it since then, though!

OH! The coolest part... Josh actually won the $200 in gas at Little General! SWEET! And Sam won the shotgun (which turned out to be a lot nicer then we thought). And, sorry Jess and Jane (and me), none of us won the $200 mall gift cards... sad :(. But Jamie, the other 3rd grade teacher at school, DID win it, which was really kind of neat. I got to give her the news on Monday, and bring her the cards, and she was really excited. She sounded like she had had a rough weekend (just tiring, I think) so it was fun to give her such good news! Anyway, with the $200 gas card, Josh and I basically broke even, after everything we bought! In addition to the bench, we got some Christmas decorations, some homemade jelly (yummy), a toolbox, a coffee gift basket, and a Mary Kay gift basket (thanks, Ellen!). So we spent about $200, and we made $200... and we had a great time, so I'd say it all came out even! I am still exhausted, though, and pretty glad that we only do this once a year!!!

It's National...

...Gross out Liz Day! And somebody forgot to tell me... if I would have only known, I would have called in SICK TODAY! Anyway... I went outside this morning to put the shock collar on the dog, and I noticed she was hesitant to come near me, and she was holding her mouth funny. So she finally gets to me and, what do I see, but a pair of bird feet hanging out of the side of her mouth! GROSS! So I yank open her mouth and shake her around a little to try to get it out, which of course it won't do, so I have to grab the feet and PULL it out, gag-o-matic. But I was a big girl, I scooped it up in an oatmeal container, slapped the lid on it, and threw it in the trash can without gagging once... though I did scour my hands with a brillo pad. Anyway, so I thought, great, done with my nastiness for one day... NOPE! I come home from work, and head to the mailbox to get the mail, open up the door, and the inside is TEEMING with ants. I never really invisioned "teeming" before, but I know what it looks like now! Apparently an entire ant colony has taken up residence in my mailbox, complete with HUGE pile of eggs (see pictures above). I HATE HATE HATE ants... I mean, hate with the fire of a thousand suns! So I ran in the house, didn't even bother changing clothes, grabbed the Round Up (we are out of ant killer, of course), and headed outside to deal with them. So here I stand, in my denim skirt, sandals, and sweater, hosing down the inside of my mailbox with Round Up, and wiping it out with paper towels. GROSS... lucky me, the neighbor got home while I was doing it and looked at me like I was crazy. So, needless to say, I am now DEFINITELY DONE with all grossness for today. Any other gross appointments need to see Josh... D-O-N-E, DONE!

On another note... the deputy came back by to see Josh today and wrote him a summons. Apparently this guy who is calling on our dog calls them all the time to complain about dogs... but has chosen our's to press charges against. Anyway, so now it goes to the prosecuting attorney's office, and they have to decide if they're going to prosecute. So Josh is calling them on Monday to see what happens, and we'll go from there... sheesh... 

So Mad...

... I can't see straight. So I got to be the lucky one tonight: I was the one home when the sheriff's deputy stopped by. Apparently the individual who dislikes our dog has decided to push the issue. The first several days since this wonderful person called the sheriff, we kept the dog collared all day. That means, of course, that every time she jumped a little too vigorously, ran too fast, shook her head, or just in general did dog-like things, she got shocked. So that made me feel like the world's best mom, let me tell you. Unfortunately, that collar is not an expensive model, so it is not waterproof. Thus, the last several days while it has been raining, we have had to leave it off of her. And, yep, sure enough, our wonderful neighbor decided to call again. So I got to talk to the deputy, who was a very nice man, who apparently tried to reason with the neighbor, saying things like "Sir, it is 4:00 in the afternoon." But he (the deputy did say it was a man) is apparently NOT a reasonable person (clearly), so that didn't help. I felt bad because, of course, I was so mad upon even seeing the deputy on my doorstep that I started crying, and the deputy felt bad, and I know it's not his fault. He even said that he thinks it's pretty ridiculous, but with the laws on disturbing the peace there isn't anything he can do. So we are waiting on a call back from the deputy (since it was Josh's license he took down last time, the summons will be issued to Josh) and I just finished spending another $100 on another collar that is (clearly) more expensive and (therefore) waterproof and (hopefully) it will only shock her based on sound AND vibration. Makes me want to move... and that's the most Christian thing I can verbalize that it makes me want to do, because there's lots more that comes to mind. I feel like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Only my wicked neighbor is a man, and my dog hasn't even left our yard...

Apple Picking

Saturday we had a pretty fun youth event... we went apple picking! Apparently Huffstetler's Orchard donated several acres of apples, if the Food Bank could get volunteers to come pick them. We decided that apples was way better then bagging hot dogs, so we gladly volunteered! We took a pretty small crew out there, but we had a lot of fun. Charlie, Ruth, and I spent most of the time (good-naturedly) bickering, while Josh spent most of the time sitting in a chair trying not to lose his lunch (he failed). We even had little Clara along with us- apparently she has an infatuation with apples and Betsy couldn't resist bringing her! She wandered around the whole time saying "apple, apple," throwing dust in her hair, taking apples out of the boxes, and generally entertaining the rest of us! We stayed for 2 hours or so, which didn't seem like that long. But the cool part was that they told us that we picked more then any other group had. So that made us pretty proud. The other cool part about it was that Greg came, and I think it's so amazing, with all of his physical problems, he was right there with us, picking apples and helping out other people in need. What an awesome testimony he is! He was pretty tired by the end, though... but we all were.

We headed back to the church, where Josh headed home (he was pretty sick) leaving Charlie, James, and I to fix dinner and entertain the youths! :) We had a good time... we played giant badmiton (until the net that took 46 hours to put up broke) and baseball, and even organized a game of boys vs. girls kickball. The girls got their rears, well, kicked... 18 to 1, but it was a good time anyway! Finally we sent the kids home and I headed home to my sick husband, who spent all of the evening laying on the couch moaning... but he feels much better now. Here's hoping I don't catch it, because I hate yakking, and it's a lot of work for me to be sick! :) 

Fancy Fete

Yes, I realize that these pictures don't really go with a "fancy party," but wait until later in the story...

So Friday night Dad invited Josh and I to go with him (and Mom) to the Tiger Scholarship Fund "Luau" fundraiser. He got to be the auctioneer for the live auction, and they gave him 4 tickets for doing it. Apparently this was like $500 a table (=$50 a plate or so), so I thought it'd be pretty fun. There was a silent auction, and the live auction, plus a band, and much high profile mingling (which I didn't really do, because I don't mingle). Anyway, they had some really cool silent auction stuff, including an autographed Kenny Chesney guitar inside a shadowbox with a poster and picture and some other KC stuff... I was gonna buy it for Ruth for Christmas, but it was already at $550, and that's slightly outside of my budget! :) They just had a bunch of neat stuff, though... most of it outside of my price range! So after wandering through the Silent Auction, we headed to the buffet line... apparently they had heard my buffet rule #1, which I learned from my wedding: use small plates. Unfortunately, they may have taken it a bit too literally, because when I said small plates, I didn't mean play-set saucers! But that's definitely what they had! So we piled as much food as we could on 2 plates (we weren't the only ones by far) and headed to the table. Josh and I went to get drinks, and got a HUGE eyeroll from the bartender when we ordered "Yeah, we'll have 2 waters, a dt. pepsi, and a mountain dew." Guess that's not what he expected when the alcohol is free! Oh well... eye roll=no tip for you! The food was actually really good... they had this carribbean chicken with a pineapple bbq sauce... I'll be buying pineapple bbq sauce if I ever see it, because it was awesome! Anyway, so we all just sat and talked for awhile (had to let everyone get good and sauced, live auction goes better that way), until they were ready to start the live auction. There was some pretty cool stuff auctioned off, like a STL Cards package that had tickets, a hotel, dinner, on field passes, press box passes, etc. And a KC Chiefs package that was similar. Then all of the major coaches at MU did something, like Gary Pinkel donated a 45 minute Harley ride (females only), the new basketball coach donated dinner at his house (which I think would be cool). Plus there was a golf cart, and a trip to Florida for deep sea fishing. Some really cool stuff... way outside of my price range! I did almost bid on some Lasik eye surgery, because everything was going pretty cheap (relatively- $1200 or so) at the beginning, and Lasik eye surgery for $1200 would be a darn good deal! I even asked Josh if I could (which nearly gave him a heart attack), but it started at $1000 and went up from there, so I never got a shot... but oh well! We had a really good time, it was fun to hang out with Mom and Dad for an evening. And it was a chance to see some really interesting fashion... like the lady wearing high-heeled, clear plastic, LIGHT UP FLIP FLOPS... yes, you read that correctly. Whiskey Tango anyone?

Anyway, back to the pictures... they gave us lei's to go along with the whole luau theme, so Josh (of course) put his on the dog. She looked adorable and posed for about 1.5 seconds (long enough for the flash to go off) and then started devouring it! :) It was a funny end to a fun evening! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY 49TH BIRTHDAY, DAD! Only one year to go... and it's bye-bye 40's! :) Aren't you glad you have sympathetic, loving children like me... :) We love you! 

Bad Neighbor

Alright, so this week has been really crazy, and Tuesday was not the best day. I was stressed out and tired because I had a meeting until 7, and it'd been a busy weekend. So Josh calls me as he's getting out of deacons and just completely ruins my day. Apparently, when he got home from work, there were two sherriff's deputies standing in our yard waiting for him... NOT GOOD. So, a neighbor (who has not been named, thus preventing me from egging their house) apparently called and complained that our dog was barking DURING THE DAY and "disturbing their peace." So the officers gave Josh a warning, and if they get called again we get issued a summons. Now, I know my dog barks. I know she is even a loud to annoying barker. But some people are loud to annoying people, and I don't recall any of them getting warnings! We keep her kenneled at night, and she doesn't bark in the evenings because we're home. So the barking that was causing the problem was ocurring between 8 and 5 DURING THE DAY. I know some people work night shifts, but if you live in the county, especially in my neighborhood, you're just going to have to live with barking dogs. It sounds like a pound out here! So then Wednesday morning we left the shock collar on her, you know, the one that shocks her if she shakes her head, jumps, or even runs too fast. I feel like the worst mommy ever, and I am not so happy with that neighbor... how unreasonable can you be?! Josh's comparison puts it best... we got in as much trouble from our dog barking DURING THE DAY (have I mentioned that it was during the day?) as we would for throwing a giant kegger until 4 in the morning. That makes me want to throw a giant kegger until 4 in the morning... except that beer is gross... and I don't have enough friends for any kind of giant party... and 4 am is WAY past my bedtime... but you get the idea! I'm just so frustrated... 

Labor Day: Monday

Ok, so I realize that it's Thursday, and I'm just now blogging about Monday, but it's been that kind of week! I don't know how the district does it, but I have had meetings every day this week. Tuesday's was until 7 (yes, PM), Wednesday and today's until 5:30. My life has been crazy... but this past weekend was still fun!

Monday started off with a bang, after Josh and I overslept and didn't wake up until 9:40. Keep in mind that we were supposed to have lunch at 11:00, and I had to peel, cut, and season 5 lbs of potatoes, before cooking them for an hour... you do the math! Add to that making caramel sauce, chocolate fudge glaze, and cleaning my house, and I was a bit stressed! Lucky for me, the Looten's were running late anyway, and Josh took WAY longer on the grill, so my potatoes were actually getting coolish, and the cheesecake was done. So we had lunch at 12:30, just a little late! But it was awesome... we had bbq chicken (or flash fried, depending on which piece you got), pasta salad, Mom Price's potatoes, veggies, watermelon, and, of course, the cheesecake. Which came out awesome, if I do say so myself... It will definitely reappear! We just had a good time visiting and enjoying each other's company before the Looten's had to head back to Springfield. We really enjoyed the visit this weekend!

After they left, though, the party was only half over! It was time to celebrate Dad's birthday, so Josh and I went birthday shopping (nothing like leaving it to the last minute) and headed out to Mom and Dad Price's with the wild animal in tow! We decided to take her out and run her around awhile, since we hadn't had time to play with her all weekend. She was in hog heaven! She just raced and raced around the yard. And, though her and Bob did get in a scuffle or two, by the end of the evening they were civil (that is, they ignored each other). Joy was hilarious, because she wanted nothing to do with Isa, and Isa wanted nothing more then to sniff Joy's, well... you get the picture. So they ran around the yard with Isa chasing Joy for awhile. Then Isa and Bob had a little tiff, and Joy decided she was safer off behind something large. So she hid behind the suburban, and you could just see her head peeking out underneath it, watching to make sure the big black pony didn't come see her. It was pretty funny. Anyway, we had bbq (again) but this time it was ribs and hot dogs, so it was pretty good. Everybody found somethign for the man who is impossible to shop for, and Dad turned 49 with style (and a huge bonfire... I mean, cake- there is a cake under all that flame, I promise).

Overall it was a very busy weekend, but we had a great time hanging out with our families! :) 

Labor Day: Sunday

Well, today was a nearly perfect day. Everyone came to church, and I got to eat breakfast before hand with Ruth, which is always fun. We were talking about how to set up the MHBC Youth blog, which I'm excited about (stay tuned for a link, once it's up and running). Then we had a really good church service, and headed to Grandma Looten's to get Dad and go FISHIN'! We headed out to the Thomas's lake again, only this time we had Dad's little john-boat. It was perfect! It was a little windy at first, and we were worried for awhile. But then the sun came out and the wind died down, and we just started hammering them. Well, Dad and I did! :) Josh had some trouble; he caught mostly perch, until he had the genius idea to switch his lure. He put on this huge lure, that I couldn't believe he'd even bought, considering we don't fish for WHALE very often! But this thing has like a little propeller and then a little fringe-y thing (these are all very good technical fishing terms... I'm sure Dad Looten is going to get a kick out of this!) and when you reel it in really fast it spins like a boat propeller and skims the top of the water. The bass just went crazy for it; it was awesome! So then everyone was catching lots of fish and having a great time! I stuck with my favorite lures, a white rooster tail when it's bright and sunny, a brown and red Mepps when it starts to get darker. They served me well this trip; I was the winner with the biggest fish (and only catfish). He was pretty huge, and he was a lot of fun to catch! I had to fight him for awhile because he kept diving down underneath the boat. I really thought I was going to lose him more then once! We had so much fun, just out on the lake, it was nice and peaceful (except when the Superman theme blasted from Josh's cell phone! :) ). I really do just enjoy fishing... except for the cleaning fish part. I still don't clean fish. I like catching them, and I don't mind handling them to take them off of the hook, and I like eating them... but I don't actually need to see the transition from fish to food... So I let the experts take care of the cleaning of the fish, and I helped make the rest of the meal (though I didn't do much). We had an awesome dinner, even if it was at 9:30pm!

Tomorrow everyone is coming over to our house for lunch before they head back to Springfield. We are grilling chicken, and I'm making pasta salad, Mom Price's potatoes, and a brownie/turtle cheesecake. Which is actually what I'm making right now, because I read the recipe when I got home and realized it needed to cool overnight... so here I am at 1:00 am, catching up on my blogging while my cheesecake bakes! Oh well, I think it's going to be a great dessert, and a great way to end a wonderful weekend! 

Labor Day: Saturday

The best thing about fall is... FOOTBALL SEASON! I love football, I like the weather that goes along with it, I like watching the games, I like following the teams, I like it all. This weekend Josh's family is visiting, and Tim got us tickets to the football game, MU home-opener. So we went with Josh's parents and cousins, Jeff and Connie. Tim went, too, but we didn't see him too much. The game was a beating, so we passed the time talking and telling stories with Mom, Dad, Jeff, and Connie. It was actually a lot of fun to spend an evening among adults. The game wasn't too interesting by the end, I mean, 47-7 is pretty bad. So Jeff and Dad occupied themselves with checking out some of the local wildlife with their binoculars... the Golden Girls must have been on the other side of the field at that time... hmmm...

Anyway, we had a great time, and then headed back to Grandma Looten's house for pie from the Amish country. It was awesome! I really enjoyed getting to talk and catch up and just enjoy a beautiful night and a fun game! And apparently Tim has seats in one of the suites for the Thanksgiving Day game against KU... we are SO THERE! :) I love football season...