I know what you did last weekend

Wow, I've been such a bad blogger. I took a week off after our mini-vacation. I just didn't have the motivation to write. I have however been reading your posts. And I have plenty of things to tell you about. Zachariah has been doing some amazing things lately, and I know I need to post them here to document them. I've also been working on that 200 childhood memories thing. But not writing them down as I'm thinking of them, so it's taking longer. I did look at more of my photo albums that my mom has and it sparked a few things. It's still very much a work in progress.



Anyway, you've been patiently waiting to hear about all the fun we had last weekend/this week. So, I will deliver. And I will include photos.



Saturday we went to Yellow Springs, OH to hike. First we stopped for dinner outside of Dayton. As we were finishing up our meal this man walked up to us. I'd noticed that he'd been smiling at Zachariah since he sat down. He seemed really nice. We soon found out that he is very friendly and lonely. His wife passed away almost 6 years ago. And he had stories to tell. Matt and I, being so polite, were concerned that we may never get out of the restaurant. The man told us of his trips to Europe. He saw the Sistine Chapel in Rome. He told about the guard in there being able to speak at least 4 different languages. Then he told us about how his son shared a door room with Matthew Fox while in college at Columbia. And how he slept in Matthew's room once and met his lovely fiance (the wikipedia link tells about her). He went on and on about how well off his children are as doctors and lawyers. And how important he thought it was that his wife taught them several languages by the time they were my son's age. He was a really sweet man.



Then we went hiking. We went about 2 miles on this beautiful trail. Matt went the whole way with Zachariah on his back.
I loved this bridge and took our family portrait looking into the water. Maybe for our Christmas cards...or not.
And a kind fellow hiker offered to take a picture of all of us. I can't even believe I'm posting this here, but oh well.



We also visited a dairy farm. They were all ready for fall. Zachariah loved it. He wanted to wander on his own. And since it was mostly geared towards children, we let him. We just followed where he wanted to go. He loved the pumpkins, tractors, goats, and cows...not necessarily in that order. Here is the pumpkin he picked.
Matt took Zachariah on a little ride they had for the kiddos.
He loved that the goats didn't mind hugs. :)
Smile Zachariah!

We spent the rest of Saturday at an outlet mall. Matt got a great deal on some dress pants that he really needed. And I found a fall jacket that I love. Unfortunately Matt ended the day with a killer headache, but he was able to relax and sleep in the car a little while I drove home.

Sunday morning we slept in a bit and enjoyed some time at home. Then we packed up some things and headed to my parents' house. We spent the rest of the day there. Zachariah was content playing with all of the fun toys Grandma has. And Matt and my dad played video games all day. My dad's XBox stopped working, so they went to the store and bought a new PS2. And he still would like to get a Wii when he can get his hands on one. In the evening my sister came over with pizza and subs. Yum.

Monday we went to the Toledo Zoo again. We had lunch at Red Robin first. Matt loves this place, and he had a free meal coupon for his birthday. Zachariah liked the restaurant too.
the zoo was fun. It was a lot less busy this time, so we just spent time at the things we really wanted to see. Zachariah rode the carousel once (he wanted to go again but I was feeling queasy about halfway through the first ride). Then we went on the train. Here is Matt and Zachariah waiting to see the train.
One of the funnest things for my boy was climbing on all the statues. He really enjoyed the one of the tiger and two tiger cubs. He kept wedging himself between the cub and momma. He thought it was great.

Monday after we finished at the zoo we went back to my parents house to change clothes and relax a while. Then we met Matt's mom and dad for an anniversary dinner. They were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. Matt's dad invited us without his mom knowing. She was so thrilled to have us and Matt's sister, Carol there to share dinner with them. And Zachariah loved the calamari they ordered. (Personally I won't touch the stuff. Yuck.)
Then we went back to my parents' house and stayed the night.

Tuesday was a sad day. It rained. And that seemed appropriate.
We went to the funeral for Cheryl's baby boy, Ethan. I've never seen a casket so small, and I hope I never will again. Brett and Cheryl are doing GREAT though. What strong people. Brett even spoke during the service. Basically what he wanted people to know is that they know God had a plan in this baby's short life. He brought him here for a purpose and took him back to heaven too. Cheryl hardly even cried. I talked with her briefly, and she's doing well. She says she has her moments, but mostly she's OK. What a lovely little service though. We all had lunch afterwards at their church. It was nice to see the family and talk to them about the terrible loss.

We spent the rest of Tuesday at my parents' house. Then we came home in the evening. Since then I've been playing catch up, it seems. That's what I did. Nice, huh?