Everybody has one...

At what age exactly do you stop thinking, "Yippee! My birthday!" and start grumbling, "Another year older already"? I don't know if I'll ever reach that age. I still get a thrill when I tear August off the calendar to reveal a bright and shiny September. I can barely resist the urge to cross off the days as they near the 27th. To me, September is a magical month, full of possibilities. And 27? Possibly the most enchanted number.

Will I grow out of this eventually? I sure hope not! I love to drag the birthday celebrations out for a whole week...and I feel as deflated on the morning after as I do on December 26. The birthday's over for now, but this year I'm really trying to milk all I can out of this birthday thing. Not only did we party all week here, but Stetson and I are heading to AZ where I'm sure I'll be able to work up a shindig or two. In the meantime, I'll reminisce about this year's celebrating...

After a little research on the internet, I learned that there are all sorts of things you can get for free (or at least discounted) just for being born. We took full advantage this year and enjoyed a gratis Coldstone Creamery "Love It" bowl of ice cream. All it took was a few minutes to register online. Friday night we escaped the kids and headed to Red Robin with the Walkers. My delicious birthday burger was free, too. (I'd be worried that I'm making you jealous, but you can enjoy this free stuff, too! You have a birthday, don't you?) But more importantly, the company was just what I needed after wrestling an ear-infected Stetson all day. Saturday I slept in until an embarrassingly late time, while Lafe managed Stetson and doing all the laundry. That night I enjoyed dinner and the Relief Society broadcast with the women in the ward, and then I came home to cake and ice cream courtesy of Stetson and Lafe. Thanks, boys! It was a great day.

So here's to birthdays -- mine and yours!

Johnny Appleseed Festival

Last weekend we ventured out with the Walkers to the Johnny Appleseed Festival at Mapleside Farms. The weather was beautiful (a bit warm -- just how I like it!). There were fun booths (Caprice and I got our faces painted for $1), yummy food and spectacular views. Stetson loved the horse-drawn carriage ride and running down a huge, steep hill with Lafe. We can't wait to go apple-picking next week! If only Cleveland's fall lasted for 6 months instead of the winter.

Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike was nice enough to leave a present for us on our doorstep -- way up here in Ohio! We were quite surprised when this huge branch came crashing down Sunday night. Fortunately, there were no injuries or serious damage, although the shingles on one corner of our house took a beating. We hope to have it cleaned up soon so that we can use our front door again!

Labor Day Weekend

Where can you feed zebra, camels, llamas, white elk, emus, ostriches, pigs, and more? Only in Ohio.

If you live here, you have to take time to visit Rolling Ridge Ranch. If you don't live here, you should definitely come visit us and we'll take you!

We were all amazed by the different types of animals we saw up close. I was nearly attacked by a hungry ostrich! Way better than a zoo.
Stetson had so much fun that he cried when we left.

Stetson's All-Time Favorite Commercial

The first time Stetson saw this commercial, he was completely mesmerized. It has all of his very favorite things: music, a dog and horses. As soon as it was over, he burst into tears, signed "dog" and made a horse whinny sound. Thanks to our DVR, we rewound it and he watched it over...and over...and over. Now we dread having it come on because -- apparently -- this commercial is so good, you can't just watch it once. And yes, it's for a beer company. Lovely.

What We Did on our Summer Vacation

As it's the first day of school, I thought it appropriate to provide (finally!) a report on our summer activities. Here goes...

This summer, Lafe had nearly three months off school and I had a position available at the Mesa Arts Center, so we decided to spend our lazy summer days in Arizona. My parents offered to let us stay in their basement, so in early May we packed our bags and headed to the desert.

Every day was busy and fun, and we loved seeing all of our family. We ran out of time to do everything we'd planned, but it was a great time. The highlights...

SWIMMING LESSONS
Every morning in June my sister and her four boys would pick us up and we'd head to the pool. Stetson was not a big fan of swimming at first (it didn't help that the water was freezing!), but as the summer went on - and the weather warmed up - he started to enjoy it. He loves to sit on the side of the pool and splash with his feet. He also loves throwing everything on the pool deck (shoes, toys, sunblock) into the pool. And an added bonus -- swimming every day helped replace our Ohio winter pallor with nice Arizona suntans.


CAMPING
This summer, we also went camping for the first time! (Well, it was the first time for Stetson and I, and our first time camping together as a family). Lafe's side had a family reunion in Show Low, where we all camped out near a pond. Stetson thought it was the most amazing time -- there were horses, lots of junk food, kids everywhere, and you could play in the dirt all the time. In fact, my nephew Wyatt got it right when he told my father-in-law, "Papa, it's all about the dirt." I learned that while camping you just have to embrace it ... and take a nice long shower when you get home.






































SAN DIEGO
In July, Stetson and I left Lafe for a few days to fly up to Utah for my cousin's wedding with my mom and sister. We had tons of family there, so it was fun to see everyone (and their cute kids) and show off Stetson. We then flew right from Utah to meet the guys in San Diego.

We spent five days at Paradise Point Hotel, right on the beach in Mission Bay. There's no surf, just grass, sand and ocean, which was perfect for five little boys under 8. We played in the sand, went to Sea World and Scripps, and just relaxed. It was so much fun and the weather was amazing. More pictures to come later...






























BACK TO OHIO
We arrived in Ohio only a week before school started. We packed as much as we could into these last few days. We went to the beach on Tuesday with the Walkers and had so much fun we went back again on Saturday. We also went to a really fun park where Stetson loved the swings, as always.

Dance, Dance, Dance!

I'm so excited to be teaching dance again! I spent the last year adjusting to our move to Ohio, but I've missed teaching so much. This summer, I will be teaching classes at the Mesa Arts Center in Arizona, including an adult ballet class on Thursday afternoons. Let me know if you're interested in putting your child in a class or taking one yourself!

I'm especially excited about teaching classes this fall. For all you Cleveland friends, I will be teaching dance classes for children ages 2-5. There are four different types of classes to choose from: Creative Movement, Pre-Ballet, Boys Only, and Tumble and Roll. I will also be teaching a Mom & Me class for children who are still in diapers. The classes will be held in my home, and they are each 45 minutes long. If you'd like more information, e-mail me at lacychaffee@yahoo.com and I'll send you a copy of my flyer.