Long time, no write

Ok, ok...if you're a regular blog reader, my guess is you've been wondering where I've been. Well, it's the same old excuse-busy--but I'm back with lots to write about!

Let's see--where to begin. Since the last blog was a little plug for our family-favorite festival, Pepperfest, let's start there. The Ribclan kicked off another fun-filled pepper year with the annual dining at the fest grounds. How can you go wrong with homemade dago sandwiches, ravioli, spaghetti & meatballs, stuffed green peppers--just to name a few. And, when it comes with an optional side of hot peppers, then you're really cookin'. This year we had so much fun enjoying the festivities with our good friends and new neighbors, John & Susan and their family Kirsten & Nate. Kdee had a blast being able to spend so much fun time with her good friend, Kirsten, and ribB and I had fun catching up with John & Susan. On Saturday morning, we enjoyed the parade with them as well, and there was enough candy collected to last us all a few months. Yum!

After the Pepperfest parade, we headed up north to the family cabin for our last "mini" vacation of the year. We stayed until Tuesday afternoon, and had a great time relaxing in the beautiful weather. ribB's parents were with us for most of the time, and it was a treat to get so much alone time with them. The kids really had a great time playing with them. We had some nice campfires (complete with smores), star-gazing with telescopes, fishing, swimming, jet skiing (including Kdee getting towed on a raft behind it and little B still wanting to "go!" faster), eagle watching...you name it, we enjoyed it! We also had some time with our Uncle/Aunt Bart & Donna (&family, and friends), which is always nice, too.

And now, a bit of back-tracking...The weekend before Pepperfest was supposed to be a chilled out weekend at home. ribB was on call, which requires him to be within a certain distance to our home County, so normally that means we don't have too many adventures. Ahhh, but not this weekend! Some of our many fun moments included: a trip to a local County fair--a first for the kids (highlights were going into the animal barns, especially the horse barn where little B had eyes the size of saucers and clung to ribB; doing the tilt-a-whirl with Kdee, watching a juggler, enjoying a $2 freshly made shake at the dairy "bar"). Our little friend (and Kdee's future husband :-) Evan stayed over night after the fair. He and Kdee played and played. How is it that some friends just click so naturally? They just have so much fun, and we enjoyed getting to see how much Evan has grown over the summer. On Sunday, we got a nice call from Bart/Donna with an invite to meet them out for dinner. What a treat! We had fun catching up and watching little B throw items with amazing accuracy and speed down the table, as well as the "eyes" little B gives when he's been scolded. Bart/Donna and family laughed and laughed over the way little B would stare us down and even point back at us. Yep, we might have our hands full as he quickly approaches the "terrible" 2's & 3's.

Kdee starts school right after Labor Day, which she is very excited about. Strangely, we don't know who her teacher is yet. We received our usual packet of information in the mail a few weeks back, but her teacher was marked as "TBD". When we did registration last week, her Principal confirmed to us that the previous teacher had to relocate and that they were working hard on hiring a new teacher. She hoped to have someone hired by last Friday, so hopefully we'll learn who this special person is soon! Today is her last day of "backpackers" the summer program she's been going to, and next week Kdee will be spending time with ribB's parents at their home. We are SOOOO grateful for their help during a time we'd have to really scramble for daycare (as we've used up most of our time off for other days without daycare). For me, I'm SO excited to be almost done with packing lunches and making breakfasts each morning. Boy, those things can make mornings even more hectic at our house. We're also looking forward to morning drop offs/pick-ups that are closer to home and across the street from little B's daycare. What a breeze it will be! Last night we did some back-to-school shopping, which was fun. If you haven't bought back to school supplies in a while, you'd be surprised at all the things you have to get for school. Everything goes into a "community pot" per se, so you get very specific instructions on what to buy...right down to the type of pencils and classroom kleenex.

little B has been growing and growing lately. He is talking up a storm--really trying to communicate and learn words for everything. This age is a lot of fun...his personality is really shining through and he's becoming a more capable boy. Given that he's a big boy, it shouldn't surprise us that he now opens our pantry door and starts rummaging for food. This usually happens when we first get home and he's ready to "EAT!". He's still obsessed with deer (and does say "eat" many times when he sees one), and has also been enjoying Elmo lately (whom he doesn't want to eat). His eyes were saucers this morning when he played with a flashlight in a darkened room. He just thought that was amazing. He also got new shoes the other day and thought those were pretty great as well. He walked around showing ribB and Kdee his new "shooos". He still has blond hair and blue eyes, and a very BIG grin. He continues to amaze us with his throwing ability (speed and accuracy!), as well as his uncanny ability to fall on his head when bending over. Gracefulness might not be his strong suit just yet--this big body requires some growing into!

ribB is counting down the days for bow season (deer)...ahh, the next 3 months will bring lots of hunting and trips up north for him. The rest of us will probably join him for a few weekends, but not all. Needless to say, I'm very excited once Thanksgiving rolls around and life returns a bit more to "normal", but it is fun to see ribB enjoy his hobby so much.

I know I'm forgetting some things, but fear not...I'm sure I'll include them in future entries. Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Pictures from Pepperfest! (in no particular order):
1) Kdee and Kirsten with beads and excitement for fun at the fest grounds!
2) little B officially peppered
3) me with my good friend Susan
4) the girls officially "vulcanized" by the infamous SP Winter Carnival Vulcans--remember the days when they used to smug you cheek to cheek? Now they just write a "V" on your cheek...much less scary!