Brutus

Ironically enough--one of Amara's first toys (before she was even here) was a large stuffed Brutus doll, Eric won for her at the Circleville Pumpkin show. Over time, she has become really a good friend to her Brutus, so much so, that I'm sure she has no idea how much Brutus means to daddy, but he sure gets a kick out of it.

Last year at the Fairfield County fair, dad won her a OSU teddy bear (Brutus bear) which she also loves. He mostly sits in her red Buckeyes chair in the playroom, hear (original) Brutus, as we play with them a lot.

Recently, I got Amara a tiny Brutus, maybe 10 inches tall, who plays the fight-song, when you press his stomach. She loves him. Carries him around and presses his belly and shakes her head to the OSU fightsong, again, with NO idea I'm sure, that this is daddy's favorite team.

To top it off, our neighbor Mark, started posting a giant inflatable Brutus in his front yard on game days. Each time we see him, we have to walk the 2 houses down and see him--say hi to him. This weekend, after being at Kristin's for the OSU game, we came home and saw Brutus outside, as usual. Since it was a special day (going to Kristin's) we had put Amara in her OSU cheerleader outfit, from Casey.

Amara, of course, looked adorable, and we got a kick, out of the novelty of it--but the best was getting a shot of her with dad and her friend Brutus, in our neighbor's yard.

I'm sure this isn't the last we'll see or hear about Brutus, but her little friendships are so sweet and so much fun to watch too.

Fairfield County Fair

Although we've been planning on attending the Fairfield County Fair (as we do each year) since last year's was over, this year was a toss-up! For one, the weather took a severe turn for the COLDer, and the forecast for the day we choose (which was largely to take advantage of Kalvin, Jackson, and Garhett having the day off of school) was supposed to be 43 and rainy. Blech.

The 2nd most pressing issue, was that miss Amara, somehow woke up with ANOTHER cold! She JUST got over the one that she woke up with, the day of Matt & Steph's wedding, and now again? As sneezy as she was, she seemed in great spirits, and loves her cousins SO much, that we decided to roll with it.

Well, we watched the weather channel, and make the call at about 11 a.m. to head on down. We all piled into 2 cars at Grandmas's house, and away we went. We parked at our usual spot, and headed towards the gate. About a block away, Amara was already pointing and yelling at the tilt-a whirl, sea-dragon, and Himmelea (sp?) she could see. As we got inside, she was taking it all in (pointing and yelling at the rides mostly), and the nephews were scouting their snacks and games.

Of course, we made a B-Line for Dad's favorite, Jimmy's Jawbreaksers (hamburgers). I'm not sure how Amara rangled a bite from dad, but she did, and she loved it!

Always a fan of tractors, all the cousins climbed up on different tractors, front-loaders, mowers, etc. and continued scouting.

As we headed up game row, Kalvin, Jackson, Grandma and Amara headed for the carmel/ candy apples, and they all took turns at games. All the boys (and even dad and Grandma) won stuffed animals, cane's, even basketballs (and I think Jackson won a goldfish, but Eric conveniently "forgot" to pick that up before they left) for Amara, and she was VERY happy and excited for her new friends.

I took her and headed home--after the long day and car-ride down there, she was only good for an hour or so, before I knew we needed to get going. We grabbed a cheeseburger from McD's, a favorite, and headed up 33. Dad, Grandma, and the cousins stayed behind, for a little while longer--but we all met back up at the house in time to compare our winnings and share stories.

Can't wait till next year--hope it's a warm, dry one!

Pumpkin Patch, take 2

Since we went to dad's pumpkin patch a month or so ago, and had SUCH a great time, we decided to revisit, and share with friends!

We headed down early Sunday morning, and had Tammy, Justin, and Julia with us this time. The ride down was uneventful, but as soon as we rounded the corner and saw all those beautiful orange globes, we were all smitten!

Amara started out interested in the pumpkins, but quickly switched to bugs, spiders, ladybugs, and wolly worms (caterpillars? not sure)...which, Julia and Justin promptly helped with...although, they had their hands full --on the quest for their perfect pumpkins. The first ones each of them found, had to be ROLLED they were so big--if that tells you!

We all then switched to picking out some decorative gourds, watermelons, any squash or tomatoes left, and ...well, more bugs. This continued even on into the truck (though, I did NOT take them into the car for the ride home, I know BOO mom) and even back at Grandma and Grandpas, Justin and Julia were helping Amara rangle wolly-worms.

I think we ended up with a 1/2 a truck load--for the lot of us...a few, I must admit, are for me to try my hand at Grandma Jahn's pie recipe hopefully soon...our family does pretty well with the pies this time of year, so I'm really excited to try that--and hopefully, the kids got enough to carve and decorate for Halloween too, I know we did! This trip was most certainly about the 2-handers! (big ones)

I have to add--Amara's latest obsession is the tiny-sized Tootsie-pop suckers...which, Grandpa has conveniently started stashing in his truck. Upon finding these, Amara wasn't without one for the entire trip...(or 2 or 3) even to the extent that her wolly-worm (see in pic w/ Julia) got stuck to her hand. Excellent.

Play time outside

After all the hard work of apple tree planing, came play time with mom, dad, grandma and grandpa.

As soon as Amara heard the mower, she was off running around to try and find it. That led to her riding as we picked up some odds and ends in the wagon, namely, rotten apples attracting colonies of bees, and rocks, etc.

Next we went to the playhouse. Cousin Kalvin spearheaded the makeover on the treehouse that they used to play in, and Jackson and Garhett helped the effort to make a wonderful area for her to explore and enjoy. They put in green indoor/ outdoor carpet, cut some keyholes (for hide and seek) and a great big yellow slide that she loves to fly down! She plays on the set almost daily with Grandma and Grandpa, but it was a special treat for us all to be there to share in the fun of chasing her.

From the tree house, to the trees--we ran from tree to tree, with Amara climbing and exploring all the while...she really is fearless, and had no problems getting right up in there and enjoying the view.

The fun concluded with a run to drop off some things at the end of the driveway, and riding in the back of Grandpa's truck. She (not unlike our pup) really seemed to enjoy the wind in her face and the chill in the air. It was so great to see her having fun like that.

After such a busy morning, although we were ALL ready for a nap, only she laid down. The rest of us headed in the kitchen to enjoy the apples. We made 4 pies, and Eric debuted his now coveted crisp for the day--we're still enjoying that one right now!

Planting a future

Amara LOVES apples. So much so, that after (brief) consideration, Eric and I dove full-in, bought 8 trees, and have started our own mini-orchard.

Some of the trees are larger than others (hey, Fall nursery sales, 50% off, I'm not picky) and with any luck, we'll start having an abundance of apples soon! Mom and dad already have a couple trees, which Amara systematically stripped over the Spring and Summer this year, so we figured we'd help them out and expand the selection a little. I think she is privy to Golden Delicious, but as tart as they were in June, I have to think she's open to options...AND considering we have to literally HIDE almost any fruit we put near her, we think it's a calculated risk at best.

Eric and Dad planted a Granny Smith, 2 Gala's, a Yellow Delicious, a Macintosh, and 2 Winesaaps so far. I also have a Pink Lady on order (Eric's favorite) that won't ship (yes, shipping fruit trees) till November--when it goes dormant for the Winter.

They spread them out in an area along the fields, and I'm sure the varieties and timing of them will be wonderful in the years to come. At the very least, it should be a pretty little area as they fill out, and attract some more beautiful wildlife. At best, we're hoping for a nice variety, spread across a few weeks or months, and plenty to share with friends and family.

Amara was particularly helpful...as Eric and Dad were toiling away, by measuring the holes, and later, watering :)