An Even Dozen

We had a wonderful Fall weekend in Dayton. Saturday was great--did a little running, a little work around the house, a little time with the family, and topped it all off with an Auburn victory against Florida Atlantic. We'll call it a win, but what it really did was showcase how bad Auburn's defense is. Going into the game, Florida Atlantic had converted only one first down in the past two games. In the first quarter against Auburn, they were three for five. Additionally, Florida Atlantic was averaging only six first downs per game. Against Auburn, they had more than 20. Twenty! That is horrible. Final score was 30-14, and the offense had bits of greatness. But in October, Auburn plays South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, and LSU. They're dead.

Sunday (today), we headed up to the Apple festival. Here are some photos. First thing we saw was a big tractor, which Bode loved. It wasn't doing anything--just parked, but he liked it anyways.

They had a bubble blowing station for the kiddos.

And a goat that would hiss at you.

There were lots of different animals.

And there was some festive entertainment to which we could all sing and dance.

It was a very enjoyable few hours and a great way to spend some outdoor time with the kiddo before winter arrives :-)

Today is Ashley and my twelfth anniversary. We didn't do anything too crazy, nor do we have any major plans. Ashley was gone all last week, and I'll be gone for some of this week. We're heading out to dinner--the MCL cafeteria. Yes, that place where the old people eat. We mature beyond our years :-) Plus, they make a great mac-n-cheese, which the Bode-man loves.

Finally, here's a picture of Harley. Bode took this picture. Every now and then I'll grab the camera and see there are fifty or so pictures, all taken by the little guy. Most are blurry messes, but some turn out great.

Pleasant week to all, and here's hoping the team can do something about their defense!

Labor Day Fun

Labor Day Weekend has come and gone, and we have had a wonderful time. The college football season started with a bang on Saturday, and it looked pretty grim for awhile. Auburn was losing 38-28 with under four minutes to go against Utah State, the same Utah State I bashed in my most recent column. I really thought the team was going to lose--even texted these very sentiments to a few friends. Auburn scored a TD with two minutes to go. They only had one time-out left, so the on-side kick was do-or-die. Amazingly, they recovered it in what will probably be the worst moment in the Utah State head coach's life :-) Auburn then took the ball down and scored the go-ahead TD with 30 seconds to go. It was an amazing victory...and also made us think it might be our only celebration this season :-)

Saturday, the high was 96 degrees. Ninety-six! In September. Crazy. What's worse is Ashley and I ran the Alterfest 5K Saturday morning. I was hoping for cooler conditions, which usually equate to better times. We both ran, and did quite well. Ashley finished second in her age group with a time of just over 25 minutes. What's funny is her age category was women 31-40, so Ashley aka the old woman had to compete against all those thirty something kids. How fair is that??? Needless to say, we enjoyed the race, and have our sights set on the US National Championships later this fall (to watch on TV--did you think we meant to race? Don't be silly...)

There was a big parade this morning in Kettering. Bode, Ashley, Harley, and I went to it. Here's a shot of Ashley and Bode moving through the staging area toward the parade route.

Note how cloudy it is. Also note the people to Ashley's left in coats and jackets while Ashley is in shorts and sandals. I tried to warn her, but she didn't listen to me. At least we had the good sense to put Bode in a jacket and shoes. Once we arrived at a suitable viewing location, we snapped a quick picture of me with the kiddos.

The parade started, and Bode was really excited. However, nothing could top Emma being at the parade. Emma is our neighbor's 11-year old granddaughter. She is queen in Bode's eyes. He adores her--and rightfully so. Emma is such a good kid--if we could mold an older sister for Bode, we'd use Emma as the guide. Here's a shot of the two of them.

One of floats was a big Star Wars theme. Ashley had to hold me back to keep me from running onto the course and trying to climb into the Falcon's pilot seat.

Following the parade, we headed home. Bode was tired and wanted to be carried. This is getting harder and harder to do. Fortunately, I had Ashley with me to do the heavy lifting.

After a quick change of clothes and a bite to eat, we headed back to the festival. Here is a shot of Mommy and Bode now properly attired.

Like many of the festivals around here, there were bouncy-houses, which Bode quickly sought out. Here are some action photos of him bouncing around on a trampoline.

There was also a big slide...

and an obstacle course.

Finally, the highlight (for me) had to have been the Star Wars float from the parade, docked right next to the kid's area. Ashley demanded she be in the picture with this monument.

Short week ahead of us. I'm sure Ashley will spend most of it fretting about Auburn's (lack of) defense. I told her she was like this after every game last season, and they won the title. This does little to assuage her fears. Pleasant week to all, and let's hope for slightly warmer temps!