We celebrated autumn two days early - it was just too beautiful outside to resist the orchard. So we headed up to Blake's on Saturday to have some cider, donuts and apples. It was gorgeous weather - nearly 80 and sunny. And except for the killer bees which apparently love caramel as much as the rest of us, the kids had a blast. There was liquid sugar, powder sugar, gooey sugar, gooey sugar topped with powder sugar . . . what's not to love? After that, what do you wash it all down with? Well, when the dairy farm's just down the road - ice cream of course!! What a jackpot! Yep, we'll be paying the dentist for that day soon enough.

Sunday was no bore either with the day kicking off at our church's outdoor festival. You guessed it - more sugary snacks. This time with a moon bounce to shake it all up inside. Oh, to be eight again! Emma and Joel's choirs sang and Shannon graced the parking lot with some chalk art - it was a beautiful day. That evening JB had the soccer game of a lifetime scoring five goals himself and enjoying a comfortable win for a now 2-1 record. JB is really enjoying his season so far.

The first of the girls' last two dance competitions is this weekend followed by another soccer game. We'll probably have to pack some caramel. :)

There was a Staples commercial a few years ago that stuck with me and I still remember it well. They may even still play it – I don’t know. Commercials aren’t popular in my house. The Remote Control Manager doesn’t allow them except on Super Bowl Sunday. Anyway, it showed a dad skipping through the aisles of Staples with his two kids drudging behind while “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” played. I love that ad! Well . . . we’re there. Of course Shannon’s first day of school was bittersweet and full of all the emotions of new chapters and closed ones. In the end, though, the flurry of the school year starting is such a distraction that it already feels as though she’s an ol’ pro and hitting her stride. Still, it’s fun to hear everyday what new “adventure” she’s discovered. Things that have become routine with Emma and Joel are now new again – the lunch room, gym class, recess! And we love every tale Shannon tells each day.

Ranger has also hit his stride and settled into his own routine for now. He sees the kids off each day at the bus stop and then settles into his morning nap until lunch with mom. He’s still possessed with the challenge of conquering the evil penguin that plagues our house and I’m sure dreams of ridding the world of his arch enemy. The kids are still competitive for his attention and many evenings are spent sitting on the floor terrorizing the dog with hugs and toys held just out of reach. Interesting tidbit: Ranger despises the car. I’ve never had a dog that didn’t love car rides, so we’ll have to see if this is a learned behavior or not. Heaven knows he has plenty of soccer games in his future to attend!!

Have a great week everyone!!

Ranger moved into our home on Wednesday night and by Friday afternoon Shannon had packed her bags and announced she was moving out. Apparently, center stage is not for sharing in her book. To be fair, she wasn't the only one adjusting and by Saturday morning the 6:00 am response to the wimpering and crying turned into the following brief conversation:

"Do you think we should take him out?"
"I think we should sleep."
"I think you should take him out."

Let's just say my husband's a saint. He's acutely aware of how dysfunctional I am in the morning and bailed me out of the first early morning wake up. Since then, however, Ranger and I are enjoying some quality bonding time in the wee hours of the morning and I'm happily carrying a set of luggage under my eyes. I'm not sure what's worse though - the lack of sleep, or the three kids constantly arguing over who gets to play with the dog more, and who stole his attention from who. I think it was just last night when I asked Joel "can you and I and Ranger just go somewhere and relax?"

Big day tomorrow . . . first day of school! Shannon's first day of kindergarten and Emma's last year of elementary school. Shannon has chosen big brother Joel to walk her to her classroom when they get off the bus and I think secretly he's swollen with pride at the appointment. Although he'd never admit it.

We had a great last weekend of the summer together - topped off with a Tiger game this afternoon. It was a great day for baseball - although the Yankees apparently agreed. Still, the peanuts, sno cones, hot dogs, elephant ears and slushies kept the blues away. So all is good. Look out teachers - here they come!!

The hiatus is over. It was a fantastic summer filled with wonderful visits and activities. We were on the go non-stop and full speed. Now that I’m back to work and the kids are less than a fortnight away from starting school, we should return to some level of normalcy very soon. (Stop snickering.) I wouldn’t want to be accused of having one foot in the plastic tub though, so I figured I better get going on the blog again. Thanks to all of you who noticed and reminded me. Who knew so many would notice?! I think I won’t risk boring all of you with the list of summer events/activities gone by. But in an effort to have some sort of closure on things . . . I will mention that Emma had an absolute once-in-a-lifetime experience in Ireland with her Nana complete with castle tours, fiddle performances, celtic dancing, and even a tour and performance at Guinness. No, no taste-testing though. J This summer was the summer of visits though including the kids and I going down to Atlanta to see my brother’s family as well as the majority of Joel’s family coming to Michigan for an overdue nearly month long reunion coming as far as California, Georgia and Tennessee. It was great fun for the kids to reunite with cousins from multiple generations and build on those relationships. Our families are scattered all around the U.S. so the opportunities to be in each other’s company are so precious to us. Even the four-legged members of the family are loved. The kids are still talking about cousin Kathryn’s dog Skylar.

And speaking of . . . Ludlow Avenue welcomes another Fickel this week with the addition of “Ranger” to our home. I’m sure you’ll see many future entries with details on Ranger but as an introduction he is a German Shorthair Pointer puppy who will join us sometime this week after the vet gives the green light to leave mom and siblings. Ranger was born in July and we’ve had the delight of watching the pups in the litter grow each week as the owners have been so gracious to let us visit and acclimate the kids to the pups. The weekly changes are amazing and it has been so much fun. But we’re all anxious to have him for good even though the kids don’t have a clue what they’re in for! Still, an exciting new chapter at our house which of course brings more change. As I said to a friend recently, my life is about to go from tropical storm status to full blown hurricane overnight!! Ready or not.