A spook-tacular time!

The decorations are up and we are READY for Halloween, well almost! Emerson's lion costume is done and Ida's horse costume is in the works, so just one more thing to finish before trick-or-treat night! The best thing about Halloween costumes is that you can wear and play with them year round. Ida loves to fancy up with her wings and tutu. Yes, she wears both pairs of wings at the same time. Is there really any other way to do it? Perhaps we will add those to her horse costume and make some big fairy princess horse or something. Side note: We are very conservatively patriotic and we love God and our country. Ironically, during our last Halloween-costume-dress-up game, Emerson chose to play with the elephant costume and some flags, without any persuasion or convincing on our part. But, we couldn't have been more proud of his unexpected political statement. Too bad he isn't old enough to vote!

Into The Woods!

On lazy days, when Josh doesn't have to work and we don't have activities or obligations pulling us to different places, we love to go to the Nature Center and explore. The kids are so happy and relaxed walking around in the woods playing with the grasshoppers, sticks, butterflies, and all the other creepy, crawly things we discover. Yesterday was one of those days, and after we got to the nature trail and put on our exploring shoes to walk the mucky trail, Emerson and Ida discussed at length, while staring at the water, what animals might be living in the territory beyond. "What animals swim?" they wondered to each other. This sparked great scientific discussions about the different habitats around us, "What animals live in holes?" "What animals fly?" "What is that?" Boy, the "what is that?" category sure is huge, isn't it?! I couldn't help but watch the two of them and laugh at the way they were dressed. Ida, wearing the clothes she proudly picked out that morning, was so stylish for her expedition into the woods. But not the "deep, dark woods." "It's not fun," according to the kids. Emerson, was comfy and rearing to get dirty while wearing the shoes he loves to use to kick dirt. How fun and different these two are. We will also happily mention the fact that our "letter stick" hunt was successful and Emerson triumphantly carried home an "L" letter stick, or a "J". It's all about perspective!

Toby Keith vs. Hurricane Ike

The way to Josh's heart: food, meat (yes, it's it's own category), football, the USA, trucks, power tools, country living, cherry pie, and family. The way to Mellissa's heart: boots, family, shopping, dishes, peonies, ice cream, and Toby Keith! There was no detour this year for our anniversary gift. Josh took the shortcut right to my heart and got us tickets to see Toby Keith and Montgomery Gentry at DTE Energy.

Introduce Hurricane Ike. Also arriving at DTE Energy on September 14th was Hurricane Ike. Have you ever seen so much rain? After many prayers, anti-rain dances, and just plain willing the storm to go away, we knew we needed to take different measures.....full out rain suits. Never underestimate Fraker preparation.

I couldn't see my Toby Keith without wearing my cowboy boots; however, I love them and refused to ruin them with all the rain. So I made a quick trip to Good Will to find something to keep me country. I sure lucked out.

Not bad for $2.99!

It was pouring when we got there. But, that didn't matter to us. I couldn't stop smiling.

Josh and I in the car when we arrived.

Everyone arriving in the rain.

Josh and I suited up!

When Montgomery Gentry started playing around 8:00 the rain stopped!!:) We were so happy and enjoyed the rest of the concert rain suit free.

They sang a bunch of fun songs: Back When I Knew It All, This Is My Town, Gone, Something To Be Proud Of, Lucky Man, and What Do You Think About That. I almost jumped out of my boots when Toby came on stage singing She's A Hottie. He's a hottie...........Shhhhhhhhh







He played for two hours and came back for an encore after everyone screamed and cheered him back on stage. I almost jumped Josh right over! I probably looked like I was 14, but I think that's alright at concerts. The encore was my favorite part of the night. He sang American Solider, which made him cry, and Courtesy Of The Red, White, and Blue.

He is so patriotic. God Bless America! And thank you so much, Josh, for taking

me to the concert. I had the best time ever!
So, after a long fight, Toby finally beat Ike and we enjoyed a rainless concert. To our surprise, however, Ike beat us. We came home to an inch of standing water from wall to wall in our basement. Who cares though. We saw Toby Keith in concert!!

Ode To Summer

We thought we would give the summer one last hurrah and list the reasons why we ABSOLUTELY love the season. This is for you summer. We love you and can't wait for your return next year. We will probably have a little more fun and a lot more adventure.

THINGS WE LOVE BEST ABOUT SUMMER:

1. Playing outside with our friends

2. Picking veggies from the garden

3. Birthday Parties

4. The County Fair

5. Mini-vacations

6. Hot air balloons

7. "Motorcycle" trips

8. Clothes are optional. (Yes, that really is Ida's belly)

9. Water mania

10. Wearing our ponchos

11. The Farmer's Market (We really liked the peaches, corn, and pie samples!)

12. Suntanned faces

13. Sundresses

14. "Chalking" on the sidewalk. Emerson has learned his letters quite well from all our chalking, as he calls it. He made a "Q", "I", and "H" all by himself.

15. Freezing peaches. A LOT of peaches........40 cups.

16. Treks to the mailbox

17. The Zoo