Tree Farm

The Sommer Tree Farm is open for business Saturdays and Sundays from now until Christmas. All trees are cut-your-own and $30. There is something for everyone! Since firs do not grow well in area soil, we specialize in Scotch pine and spruce.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The last few weekends have been busy! Last weekend we went to Dayton for Matt's 30th birthday and the OSU game. I don't care about the football, but spending time with family is my favorite thing to do and Ohio State won too-something for everyone. The Saturday prior to Matt's big party was spent with the Cub Scouts at the Newport Aquarium. For some odd reason (gaming, maybe), our den leader was unable to attend, so he sent his wife as proxy. That was fine with me because it was my friend Rachel. Our sons are in the same first grade class (Hi Mrs. Porter) and great buddies, so Joey and Sam had a great time together with the fishies. We even found Dory and Nemo.

While yesterday was a long day, it was well spent. Our tradition is to alternate families each year so that we are not running around like turkeys with our heads cut off. This year was my side's turn, so we ate lunch at Aunt Mary's house in Loveland. They still continue their tradition of the adults' table and the kids' table, which never ceases to crack me up considering several of the "kids" are approaching their 40s! Not me of course-I'll remain in my early 30s for a long time:) It was good to spend time with the Sommer side of the family since we don't see them that often. As long as there are cousins (first and second) to play with, Joey is a happy boy.
For our second Thanksgiving we headed over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house. Another turkey, more sweet potatoes, and lots of rolls later, we were stuffed! Although it was a smaller gathering, the company was just as enjoyable. After two full meals, Greg, Joey, and I crashed early-all the better for me to start Black Friday early!
I decided last night that I was not setting my alarm for the ridiculously early hour that Kohl's opened-4:00-like I did last year. I woke up on my own at 4:30 which gave me time to prepare for my day's quest. I leisurely shopped at Macy's and decided to try Target because Macy's had been so enjoyable. What a mistake! Getting into Target was easy, but getting out...YIKES! Harbor Freight was fun though-what a mecca for guys! At least I finished Greg's shopping:)
Now that I'm home, I hope to fit in a little decorating while I cook a turkey and the trimmings for Pete, Lou, Michele, and Quentin who are visiting us this evening.
By the way, the Christmas Tree farm opens this weekend-all trees $30!

New Arrival

Alyson and Rachel are thrilled to be big sisters to baby Maria Elizabeth who arrived this morning at 7:00. She weighed a whopping 9lbs. 2 oz. and measured 22 inches long. This little girl has a carpet of hair and some large feet that are very ticklish. Her daddy called them "prehensile". Uncle Danny claims that she has the Yeager torso-long-, but Cindy and I seemed to miss out on that length thing.

The birth seemed to be easy for Lorraine (as easy as that can be). The epidural was administered on the first try, and Maria slid out on the sixth push. There was no stopping this child-no forceps or anything! Congratulations Mark. Lorraine, Alyson, and Rachel!

Coming Soon-Bobbi's Big Birthday

Another Halloween has come and gone, but Jay and Joey had a grand time collecting goodies from the neighborhood. Joey loved freaking people out with his alien costume, and Jay looked cute as a button as a tiger. Jay raked in the treats just by sitting in his stroller and looking adorable. I was amazed at the amount of ground we were able to cover compared to last year. As a five year old, Joey made it three stop signs before wearing himself out. This year Joey was able to go many more blocks before heading back to our house to meet Cassidy for part two of trick or treating. The two of them then canvassed Stoneleigh for a big haul. I snagged lots of candy for my classroom. No one needs that much sugar!

My friend and teammate Bobbi has a big birthday coming up this month. We celebrated at Mimi's Cafe in Deerfield Township. The menu is quite electic-we tried the fried pickles, the fried calamari, and the zucchini parmesan-Yummo! Four of the six of us ordered the seasonal special of Scallops with Butternut Squash Ravioli-an excellent choice. The signature bread basket is also delicious. This was also a good opportunity to spend time with Jill. We all miss her and wish her well as she and her family ready for a move to Indy. Anyone want to buy a house?

Time Flies

Greg and I were looking at our calendar thinking that we would have some free weekends with nothing to do in November. Yes! No sooner were the words said, then the time suddenly filled up! Oh well, comme si comme sa and c'est la vie!

The Christmas tree farm will eat up a lot (read ALL) of our December weekends too, so even though Halloween is still a day away, I'd better get my Christmas shopping done!

Season Over!

Two sports tried, how many more to go. Joey really liked t-ball this spring, but soccer not so much. Yesterday he played his last game of the season, but his favorite part was sitting on the "bench" and eating the snacks. A boy after my own heart! We're thinking about signing up for basketball in a couple of weeks, but aren't committed to it quite yet.



Joey does really enjoy Cub Scouts. Last night he and Greg went on their first Cub Scout campout. After setting up camp at a fellow scout's house in Newtonsville, Joey, Greg, and some other members of their pack joined a host of scouts at Spook-a-Ree at Cub Scout Adventure World in Loveland. I was specifically not invited, but that's okay-I did laundry:( The boys had lots of fun, although Greg said it's not like scouting when he was a kid. I guess lots of other boys stayed up LATE and were running around. Not our boy-he was out around 10:00. Thankfully Greg did take a few pictures-3- so I could see what I missed since neither Greg nor Joey went into much detail about their adventure. Boy bonding was good for them though and a little alone time was okay for me! Joey is the alien-scary!

Mirror, Mirror

I finally finished this book. Gregory Macguire is definitely creative. I found Mirror, Mirror to be much more disturbing than Wicked-those Borgias! Macguire admits to taking creative license with the history of the Borgia family, especially Lucretia, but if even half of what he wrote is true...Yikes! And Dee thought I'd never finish!