BilikFamily.com

It's day four of the extended holiday weekend. It's been great so far.

• We took the kids to Elisha's Restaurant again. We ate in the room you see here. A bit more upscale for the kids, don't you think? Luckily that back room isolates them from the main part of the restaurant.
• We went shopping at Target and the iParty store to get costumes for Halloween. I think Abby would have loved the Wonder Woman costume but it was a bit pricey, looked not warm enough for NH, and Abby's blonde.
• Our girls have had a number of friends over. One slept over Saturday night. Two slept over last night.
• We gave the lawn another mowing. I think there'll only be one more this season. The high amount of leaves and pine needles should be good for the compost tumbler. In a few days the sprinklers will be blown out for the season.
• Got the first floor wood stove cleaned and repaired. The root problem was the ignitor, but I learned a bunch during the three hour investigation.
• I sat outside yesterday and soaked up a bit of sun while reading Scott Hahn's newest book about his experiences with Opus Dei. Were it not for other tasks, I could have sat out there for hours. Mild temperatures, clear blue skies, light breezes, autumn colors... ahhh!
• Saturday afternoon we drove to Hudson to the Erickson's Octoberfest. They have it every year about this time but we've missed the last few because the boys were too small. The kids enjoyed the treasure hunt in their woods, their new jungle gym, the hayrides, the food, and the bonfire. Since we were last there, they added a gorgeous inground pool. It has to be the nicest looking pool I've ever seen because of the landscaping that surrounds it. Hopefully my pictures will turn out.
• I played with the boys on the trampoline. Since I rarely go on it, it was a big deal to them. It's a bit like seeing grandpa Bob in a swimming pool.
• Around sunset last night Michelle pulled out the disco ball, pulled the blinds, and I put on some dance songs for the girls, their friends, and the boys to dance to. It's so entertaining watching little kids dance. Mighty Timbo was a riot. To add to the atmosphere I purchased the 1987 version of Funkytown by that 80's one hit wonder Pseudo Echo. I also purchased The Bird by The Time (protégés of Prince). On a completely different thread I purchased two songs by LeAnn Rimes for Michelle.
• After having good experiences during the software evaluation, I purchased Syncopation. It makes easy work of keeping our music consistent between our computers. I also have the assurance that we won't lose our iTunes purchases if one computer crashes.

We don't have major plans for today aside from going to the YMCA. Michelle teaches her usual step class and for once I get to attend. It'll be nice seeing the familiar faces in her class (and see Michelle teach...). I may also take some time to work on a photo album. On weekends like this one, I wish the laptop was usable outside in the bright sunlight. Alas the sun washes out the screen so that you can barely see what you're doing.

We did not go to the Pumpkin festival, even though that's a local community highlight for the fall season. Unlike the River Grove Riverfront Fest, the Pumpkinfest is in downtown Milford on the oval. It tends to be very crowded and hard to keep track of the kids. It wouldn't be a problem if we were just taking the girls, but the boys make it a challenge. The girls didn't seem to complain. We did enough other stuff to keep them entertained.