Jack O'Lanterns 2012

We were way behind with things this year, so we didn’t get pumpkins for Halloween until just this past Saturday.  I spent approximately 7 hours Sunday gutting and cutting to get this year’s jack o’lanterns ready for Halloween on Wednesday.  So without further adieu, I give you the 2012 Hahn jack o’lanterns.

Alison couldn't decide on a design, so I found a cool Cheshire Cat one and it actually turned out rather well if I do say so myself. 

Kris found this one and I didn't know if I could do it.  I think the design she found was more one that was cut into the pumpkin, and not cut out.  This presented a problem with the thin areas between the teeth.  But I think I managed to do a pretty good job with it.
 

Sarah wanted to do the Jason Voorhees hockey mask.  This was the easiest of the lot, and I actually let Sarah do a lot of it.  I didn't think it was that good until I put the light in.  I think it looks pretty spooky.

Finally, mine.  I couldn't decide on  a face to carve.  I thought all the good ones were too difficult, and the other ones I liked I had already done.  I settled on a flaming skull.  It was hard to fit it all on because with flames, the skull face had to be pretty small.  But I think it turned out pretty good all things considered.

School Picture Update

We got Sarah's picture mess all straightened out.  I guess all we had to do was tell them that the check we wrote was cashed, and they released them to us.  I found that rather odd that they didn't ask for a copy of the check.  For all they know we could have just lied about it.  But at least we have them now.  I think Kris sent them out to family, so if you didn't get one and want one, let me know.

The other thing though that still concerns me is the name on the check.  I suppose I can just let things go for now, but I still wonder if the name that was written on the check was not in some way fraudulent.  I was ready to go to the police if the picture company wasn't going to let us have her pictures just based on the fact that the copy of the check had a different name on it and wasn't in either Kris's or my handwriting. With any luck, nothing more will come from it.

Final Jr. Indians Game

Alison finished her first year of cheerleading for the Jr. Indians football team last Saturday.  She was supposed to be done on the 13th, but there was a game that postponed earlier in the year that was being made up last Saturday.  They actually got to play on the high school field, so it was a pretty big deal for the football team as well as the cheerleaders.

Normally they play across the street on what is essentially a practice field.  The game ended in a tie, 6-6.  So the 5th grade team was undefeated for the year.  I think they were at least.  There are two teams, but the games Alison cheered were all wins except for the last one which was as stated, a tie.

Sarah's Phone

About a month ago, Sarah's phone quit working.  I think that she probably got it wet.  So she got out her old phone, which also has something wrong with it due to getting water damaged, to use while she put the other one in some rice.  After a few days she tried it again, but no luck.  It's shot.  So now we need to see about getting her a new phone...  AGAIN!  We got Sarah her first phone for 6th grade, and in the little over three years since she has gone through 3 phones, and this new one will be her fourth.  I think I can get a pretty good deal on one if I end up switching our plan to share data as well as minutes, so we'll see what we get in the next week or two.

Hayride

Last night Sarah went on a "haunted hayride" with her boyfriend.  It is very weird to actually say that, that Sarah has a boyfriend.  It isn't that bad just yet, because they don't really do anything yet, such as going to movies or things like that.  But last night she was invited along with his family to go along on this hayride.  We found out that it was at his grandparents' house out in Fort Atkinson I think.  There was a bonfire, the hayride, and some other things.  She didn't get home until almost midnight, but at least she had a fun time, and it gives me a little time to ease into the thought of her actually going out on dates.

2012 Pumpkins

With all the other things going on, I just realized we only have a little over two weeks until Halloween.  That means we need to start looking for jack-o-lantern designs.  I'm not sure how many we are going to do this year, but as always, I am going to obsess of them until they get made.  SO check back about a week or so before Halloween to see what this year's designs are like.

School Pictures

We are still waiting to see Sarah's school pictures.  Everyone else got their's about two or three weeks ago.  Sarah was supposed to go check n the office and pick them up, which of course was such a chore, so after two weeks of hounding her, I finally called to office to find out if they were there.

The school secretary told me that all the pictures had been distributed and that all she could do was give me the number of the photo company and we would have to call them directly.  I told Kris, and she ended up calling and found out that we did not receive pictures because the order envelope was apparently empty.  Kris was sure she wrote out the check for them and we had to turn it in at the time Sarah had her picture taken.  She looked it up and got the check number and then went to check online because our bank scans all of our checks.  SHe found the check and the memo written on the check says "Sarah's school pictures" so we know that was the one written, and it was for the correct amount.  However, there was a name written in the payee area that neither of us recognized.  In fact, the handwriting is unlike mine or Kris's too.  the copies we can see look like photo copies, so it is hard to tell for sure, but it almost looks as if someone erased, or whited out the name of the photo company and wrote in their name instead, which has me a little worried.

I am going to wait until I find out what happens with the photo company, but if they don't tell me that they got their money, I may have to end up getting the police involved.  It isn't so much the money, but there are so many other things to be worried about, including identity theft.  I'll give it a couple of days and then follow up.  Hopefully I won't have to do anything further.

Homecoming 2012

Yesterday was Sarah's first homecoming.  We met her date last weekend and then yesterday we met his parents as well as we were all were taking pictures.  I don't remember ever really going to homecoming with a date so I never had to go through the whole picture taking mess.  I am sure Sarah and Dominic felt like monkeys being told to perform on cue as we all told them to pose this way and that way. 

They came over to our house for pictures, but since we don't really have a suitable backdrop in the house and it was a rainy, windy day we couldn't go in the backyard.  Kris suggested going over by the dam on Main street since there is a gazebo there next to the river that would provide cover and a nice background setting for photos, though we did take a couple in the house too as they put their flowers on each other.
 

I tried to do some editing on a couple because I had changed the camera settings Friday at the football game to try and get pictures of Sarah cheering and forgot to set them back.  As a result, the contrast and focus was off.  I did my best, but I am no expert at photoshop obviously.  I barely have time to write blog entries, so I certainly don't have time to learn how to edit photos.

We went to the grand march, and I had the camera all set for the lighting in the auditorium, and then when they came out, there was a big spotlight on them, so they look a little washed out.

Sarah said she had a fun time at the dance.  I hope so.  She didn't want to give up too many details, at least to me.  I suppose I understand.  After all, I don't think I would have been too forthcoming with details of my activities as school dances when I was her age.

Brick Solution

After getting the most recent mailers from the home improvement stores, Kris and I decided to try and use just some flat, tan bricks that match the style of the bricks going around the outside of the patio.  I think they match pretty well, and it is really the only option I have at this point short of completely replacing all the patio bricks.

But of course, no solution can ever be simple.  The size of the patio blocks is 16" square.  and I measured the opening of the hole where I pulled the blocks and it is about 31" x 47", so that that I won't be able to just drop blocks in.  I ran and got bricks that were 6" x 9" and I think I have them arranged to the point where I should only have to cut a couple to get them to fit right.  But of course that will require getting a new blade for my miter saw that cuts masonry.  So that is more time wasted when I could be doing something else.  I am hopeful that once I get the blade it will go quickly.  Oh, and the other thing is that these bricks are about 1" thicker than the blocks I have now.  That means I have to scrape sand out of the hole to have them fit flush. I just can't seem to catch a break with these things.

Busy Time Of Year

I have been very sparse with providing Hahn family updates lately, and that is because of the time of the year.  With the start of school, when I get home we are chauffeuring the girls around to cheer and tumbling practice and helping with homework as well as trying to get things ready for winter.  This year was sealing the driveway, releveling the patio, and I still need to get the fence post caps figured out).

So the free time to provide a quick update has been scarce.  But I am going to do my best, so please bear with me for a a while.

Anxious Kitty

Monday we received a call from the vet regarding out cat, Phoebe.  Kris had taken her in a couple of weeks ago to have her looked at because her licking has gotten so bad that she has licked herself half bald.  This is what she looked like when we got her last November:

This picture was taken about two weeks ago, just before she went to the vet:

The vet gave her a steroid shot first to make sure that it wasn't caused by some sort of skin condition or something like that.  But two to three weeks later she was still licking.  So when he called he said he was just going to start her on some anti-anxiety medication.  The cats have their check up in the beginning of December so the medication should take her all the way up to her check up and we'll see how she is doing then.  Hopefully, her fur will start growing back in.  

At this point the only problem is getting her to take her pill.  The first two weeks are a half a pill, and so far you would think we are pulling her claws out with pliers.  She just doesn't want to take it.  I even tried putting it in a soft treat, and mixing it in some soft food.  But she sniffs it and walks away, so I end up having to resort to sticking it down her throat with a "piller".  I am hoping that as she gets used to it it will become easier, or maybe start eating it in some soft food or something, because if this becomes the "cure" for her, I'll have to give her a pill daily for as long as we have her.

Brilliant Fail

I finished the patio blocks yesterday, though I still need to put locking sand between the blocks.  That was a little bigger of a project than I anticipated.  And I think this is only temporary until Spring when I can redo the wall surrounding the blocks.  The problem?  My outer lines are not straight,  I have a huge, 1/2" to 1" gap between the blocks and the wall surrounding the patio.  I think that is way too much.  But I filled it with locking sand for now so hopefully it'll last over the winter. 

The other issue you might ask?  Well I bought a bunch of extra patio blocks a couple of years ago because I was planning on redoing it into a rectangle when the girls were too big to swing on their playset because I wanted to make sure I could match the blocks.  But I counted wrong.  I was 5 blocks short.  And of course, Home Depot does not carry that style any more.  I ended up stealing 5 of the 6 blocks that go from the apron around the porch to the patio.  I don't know what I am going to do yet to fix this issue.  So for right now there is a 3 foot by 2 foot x 2 inch deep rectangular hole next to the patio.  I guess we'll just need to be careful around it because I don't want anyone ending up breaking an ankle.

Fall Projects

Once we hit October, I start trying to get things prepped for the upcoming winter.  This means getting final outdoor projects complete.  I had given the driveway a coat of sealer at the end of August, but by the first week of September, the cracks were opening up again.  I figured there would be a few small cracks, there isn’t much you can do about that, but several quite large ones opened up.  I suppose it is my own fault for not trying to fill them with crack filler first.  So I spent the month of September slowly filling in some of the larger ones with about 4 gallons of tar/crack filler.  Once that was done, the driveway was ready for another coat of sealer.  Hopefully this will make it through the winter.

Once the driveway was done, I started the other project that needed doing, releveling the patio blocks.  I also dug out the corner to make it a full rectangle instead of having the small area “cut out”, which was done so there was some room at the swingset for the girls to swing without swinging over the patio.  I began to raise and relevel the blocks to slope slightly away from the garage.  I got 20 blocks done going from the garage apron to the side garage door, but had to stop because I ran out of paver base.  I went to Home Depot to get some more (I am going to need to make at least 4 or 5 trips I think) and they were out, completely out.  I was in a rush because I had to go get Sarah from cheer practice so I didn’t look for someone to ask if they were getting more, but if they don’t, I don’t know what I am going to do, because I can’t leave the patio like this all winter.  This may end up taking driving around the Milwaukee metro area and buying up all the paver base I can find. 

Milestone

Sarah had a milestone on Monday.  She was asked to Homecoming.  I had been needling her about being asked since the start of the school year.  It started out as “I am not going” and transitioned to “I’m just going with a bunch of friends”.  I kept telling her to just wait, that a boy was going to ask her, and now it has happened. 

Kris was talking to her about it, and I don’t think Sarah has any idea about what it means to be asked.  She was just like, “well yeah, I’m going”.  Kris asked if we needed to get a boutonniere for her date and she had no idea what it was, or if he was going to get her a corsage.  She had no idea what that meant.  I told her that when I was in high school, asking a girl to homecoming entailed taking her to dinner, getting a corsage, etc.  Then again, we made a big deal out of homecoming and the winter version (which we called Winterfest) because we didn’t have a prom, so maybe we went overboard.  We don’t know a whole lot about this boy though, mainly because he is a sophomore and is into BMX, which gives me pause.  But since he doesn’t drive, he’ll need his parents to drive him, which I guess is better than letting her go out unchaperoned.

She also told me on the way home from cheerleading that there was another boy who was planning on asking her.  Some boy who’s mother was helping him by getting flowers and chocolate in order to ask her.  I feel sort of bad for him because it sounds like he wants to go all out to ask Sarah.  Then again, you snooze, you lose.