October--weekend 4

We had grand plans to install the new storm door that has been sitting in our living room for a couple weeks. Saturday morning after we got up I put some potato soup in the crock pot, made some bread, and made a coffee cake for Sunday. Scott got out the directions for the storm door, and started reading them over. Turns out, we don't have 1/2 the tools needed (we have no storage and no garage, and no place to work with tools anyway!). We thought about buying, but instead decided we would just pay someone else to install the door.

So, our Saturday afternoon was instead spent watching college football. We watched Iowa State beat Nebraska (shocker!), then watched Penn state beat Michigan, and ended the evening watching Iowa beat Michigan State to go to 8-0 for the first time in school history. I think I watched more college football on Saturday than I have total for the rest of my life.

I must admit that I didn't just sit and watch. I decided to finish knitting projects. This first one is not some strange hat...it is a dog sweater I made for Pedro Hoke. This is a ski/snowboard balaclava I made. It has holes on the side for your helmet strap, and also a hole to put your pigtails through, so everyone on the slopes knows that you are a girl!! Since I don't really ski or snowboard, I will be gifting this to some lucky woman.
This is a hat I started a long time ago for my niece Olivia. Scott is modeling it so nicely!

On Sunday after church we went to my parents house for lunch and to celebrate Olivia's 2nd birthday. Scott spent a lot of time holding my new nephew Garion. Garion isn't quite sure what to make of Scott.

Our friend Jacob joined us for dinner, and Scott plopped Garion into his arms. I don't think Jacob has much experience holding small babies. :)

Here is Olivia showing off her new hat, her new monkey doll, and Dora the mermaid.

When we got home, Scott went outside and took pictures of the spectacular fall colors by our house.

Our house looks so little in pictures, but it is a lot bigger on the inside than it looks.

Senior Picture Time

October--weekend 3

No pictures from weekend three--it was busy.

Friday to Saturday--I went to a ladies conference in Des Moines with some church ladies, and played the piano on praise team, so had 3 sessions of music time. Helped break down all the sound equipment at the hotel, drove back to Osky, and helped get it all set up again in church.

Saturday to Sunday--Scott had drill in Ames

Sunday--we had a guest speaker at church, so had a morning and an evening service. Sessions 4 & 5 of praise team. Scott got back just in time to play his guitar with us at night. I made a quick trip to Pella between services to have lunch the family.

Monday--early to work, the home for the final service with the guest speaker--Session 6 of praise team. Good speaker, but didn't get home until approximately 10:30pm.

Tuesday--got home after work and sat on the sofa.

Wednesday--work, the normal Wed. night church service. Session 7 of praise team in 6 days.

October--Weekend 2

This past weekend Scott drove to Council Bluffs on Friday to pick up Melanie from IWCC. She dyed her hair blue to show her Riever spirit as it was homecoming weekend. :)

We met at Pella Christian HS for a Dordt College alumni and friends tailgater, then went to the PC football game. PC won 45-15. It was very cold.
Saturday morning we woke up to snow!! It was all melted away by the afternoon.

Saturday night, we went to Des Moines and ate supper at De Hessenhaus, which is a German restaurant/bar. There was a live polka band, which was pretty exciting.

Then we went to the civic center for Wicked!!!! It was awesome!!!! (much better than the polka band)

We took a picture in the auditorium before the show started (and before they tell you cameras are forbidden.) You may notice that behind our seats is a curtain...that is because we were in the very last possible row. And that is why they were the less expensive tickets.

Sunday we went to church, at lunch at my parent's house, then drove Melanie home. We borrowed my sister's van and picked up a new storm door in Des Moines, and brought home a china hutch from Scott's mom. Got home shortly before midnight. Yawn. I will post pictures of the china hutch later, as right now it is sitting in the living room wrapped in a blanket still.

October--Weekend 1

FRIDAY NIGHT

Our friend Travis was back in Iowa for a few days, so he and Jacob came over. Travis brought a special surprise in a box...a PS2 and Karaoke Revolution! Yeah! Who knew that Scott knows every word to every song ever made, and would be so good at karaoke?

I apologize again for my inability to remember that when you to a video you can't turn the camera sideways...

SATURDAY

On Saturday we went to a wedding in Pella--Dan De Cook and Angela Smith. It was a beautiful wedding! The original plan was to have the reception outside at the Historical Village. However, it was very cold and wet, so the reception was in the fellowship hall at Third Church.

Their decorations were lovely.

Instead of wedding cake, the family matriarchs had made apple cake, homemade ice cream, homemade caramel sauce, and dutch letters. yum yum! In the midst of Scott wondering if they were made in a temperature controlled environment or if they wore gloves (you can't take the inspector out of him...he still ate it!) I snapped this picture.

SUNDAY

Sunday after church, we had a delicious lunch, then started working on pears. We have a very tall pear tree that was never pruned, so the lowest branches are about 10 feet high. We bought a fruit picker and it worked quite well! Even with the picker and on the ladder, we will never reach the top of the tree.

Jacob came by and helped...honestly, he did more than just eat pears! Right off the tree, the pears are pretty hard, but if you let them sit in a paper bag for a few days, they are delicious!

Scott demonstrates: catch the fruit with the wire, and pull it so it drops into the lovely padded basket...

...then flip it right into the bucket!

American Pear Gothic:

We made pear sauce, pear butter, pear scones, and some pear-pineapple jam. We have another full 5 gallon bucket of pears in the house, and we've been giving them away like crazy. If you want pears, let me know!

Excitement at the Mall

Not too much excitement in the Platt household lately. Scott had drill last weekend, so he drove my car up to Ames where he has drill, and Tim (my brother-in-law) fixed the suspension links. Now that I have new struts and new suspension links, i just have to get 4 new tires and an alignment, and it will drive like a dream. And I will be broke.

I finished painting the porch and did some cleaning around the house while Scott was gone on Saturday. On Sunday I drove to Cedar Rapids for our annual award meeting for work, and did a presentation on our new online tournament entry system. It was a beautiful, sunny day, about 80 degrees, and I wasn't in a hurry, so on the way home I took country roads, listened to folk music on the radio, and had the windows down. It was nice.

Scott did have his retirement interviews while at drill, and all his paperwork and meetings are now finished and turned in! He requested an Army retirement date of Dec. 31, and now we wait to hear what the Army says. They say it usually taked 3-6 months to retire, and we have no idea when they will let us know, but it is in process!

Other than that, not too much excitement for us. Scott had a conference in Des Moines for work this week, so I stayed in the hotel with him--much shorter commute for me! We stopped at the mall to pick up some shirts for Scott, and there we had our most exciting moment of the week--we saw Dora the Explorer!!!!! We didn't actually go downstairs and hug her, but it was exciting nonetheless!