We saw Joe the Plumber...and McCain too

Yesterday afternoon I took the kids to a rally for John McCain close by. I hope that no matter which candidate you support, you agree that it is a good thing to get the kids involved in the process as much as possible. The younger kids got out of school a bit early, and we picked up Joseph at the middle school and headed over to Mentor High School. Traffic was heavy as we approached just after 3:00, and as we pulled into the parking lot, we were handed a sheet of paper by a volunteer saying that the parking lot was full, and we would need to drive to the mall and be bussed over. That was going to take quite a while--the mall was several miles away. As I looped through the parking lot, lo and behold, there was an open space! I guess some kids were still leaving school for the day. We stood outside in line for a while, and made it inside, to the upper level bleachers. Then we sat and waited for a long time...then some local candidates came out about 5:00 and spoke, followed by country singer Sammy Kershaw, then we waited again. About 6:20, John and Cindy McCain, Lindsey Graham (senator-SC), Joe the Plumber, and one of the McCain's daughters came out. Cindy spoke first, and then Graham introduced McCain. Once McCain started, he turned the mike over to Joe the Plumber who spoke briefly, and then McCain spoke for about 15 minutes. It was an exciting event. The girls were having a really hard time with the heat--it was really hot with all those people packed in the gym, especially up higher where we were. It was still fun though. In the picture of the speakers, Joe the Plumber is in a camel colored sweater behind the McCains.

Halloween Fun

Even though Halloween isn't quite here yet, we have been enjoying the holiday already. We carved our pumpkins (in the storage room b/c it is so darned cold right now), and we went to the Trunk or Treat at church last night. Joe got in on the costume parade with the kids LOL. The funny thing is that everyone loved his "costume," which just consisted of his work clothes. It was pretty funny. The kids picked their own jack-o-lantern designs...clockwise from top left, they are--Jacob's (headless horseman), Joseph's (of course-U of M), Katie's (template titled "Der," a sort of Frankensteinish guy), and Emma's (BYU--that's my girl!). We are going trick or treating with some friends "in town" tomorrow evening, where the houses are closer together. Now to get all the candy out of the house....

Michigan

We visited Michigan at the end of September. It was so much fun seeing so many friends...the weekend was just too short! Here are a just few pictures from the visit.

And they're 10!

Jacob and Katie turned to on Sept. 24. Hard to believe! They went out to breakfast with Joe before school.

Grammy's visit

Becky's mom visited over Labor Day weekend. It was a huge boost for everyone, especially the kids who had just finished their first week at new schools. We went to the "Great Geauga County Fair" where we had many new experiences, including the Demolition Derby, and witnessed the beginning of a cow delivering a calf. Emma noticed first, and had the quotable quote of the day: "Look Mommy, two hooves are coming out of that cow's butt!"

On Labor Day itself, we went on an outing to a neat store called "End of the Commons," a general store that has been operating in the heart of Amish country since 1840. It is only about 25 minutes from our house. It sold a little bit of everything, and it was interesting to watch the Amish customers coming and going. Out front is the largest horse and buggy.