Don't go to the dark side, Skyler!

Sunday we went to a pet rescue fundraising event. There were several Star Wars characters there, which was the main reason that we went to this event. Characters we saw included a Storm Trooper, a TIE fighter pilot and an X-wing fighter pilot. Skyler was happy to get their autographs, and they posed for photos with him. All the Star Wars people were very nice. They even let many kids hold their weapons for photos. I was very happy that Skyler was able to see the SW dudes. I just hope he doesn't want to join the Empire now.

More autumn fun

After several days of rain the sun finally came back out Saturday morning, so I decided to take Lindsay to a nearby pumpkin patch that we hadn't been to before. From the parking lot, I couldn't see more than a few hay bale mazes, so I wasn't expecting much. But I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that behind the mazes and a large greenhouse, lay a cornucopia of pumpkin patch fun.

There was a fort with a tube slide, other tube slides on a hill, and an entire row of horse tire swings. There also was a really neat Halloween model train display. Inside a warm greenhouse there were places where the kids could get warm and play in dry corn. Lindsay loved filling buckets with corn and dumping it back out. We looked at the farm animals before going home for hot chocolate and soup for lunch.

En garde!

Several months ago Skyler mentioned that he wanted to try out the sport of fencing. I didn't even know where to begin finding a place where he could learn fencing, but a couple of months ago while perusing the city's sporting activity booklet I saw fencing classes take place only a couple of miles away. And a new class began that same day! I signed him up and every Saturday afternoon he's been enjoying learning how to fence.

Yesterday was his last day in the beginner class and the beginners jousted with members of the fencing club.

Every time he took off his protective mask, Skyler had a big smile on his face, even after being poked repeatedly. So it's safe to say he enjoys this sport. I signed him up for the intermediate class. If he still likes it after that he can join the fencing club. They meet every Saturday afternoon to practice. It's seems to be a good group of people. It's fun to see Skyler do something that he enjoys (especially that doesn't involve a video or computer game!).

Pumpkin fun

Yesterday was a sunny, crisp autumn day and I took the kids to a pumpkin farm. We got there only a few minutes after the place opened, but already there were plenty of kids there. Skyler had remembered to bring along flashlights, one for him and one for Lindsay. And the first thing he wanted to do after we got there was use the flashlights.

He wanted to take Lindsay into one of the dark mazes. I noticed that it seemed taller this year -- more adult friendly -- so I went into it too. With Skyler in the lead and Lindsay in front of me we went through the maze. Skyler led us through easily. We were glad we had the flashlights though. After we found our way out, Skyler and Lindsay braved the maze again. Lindsay had a huge smile on her face as she followed her big brother around.

The farm has expanded its children's play area. Now, there are two big slides. They next tackled one of the big slides. Skyler and Lindsay went up and came down together. Both had huge smiles on their faces as they went again and again. They also had a great time in an obstacle maze, which had several slides. And Lindsay loved the ziplines.

Such a fun way to spend a fall day.

Fastest sit in the Midwest

Saturday Skyler and I took Clover and Nimitz to the annual Reskie Reunion. It's a fun get together for all the people who have helped the American Eskimo Rescue of St. Louis during the year. We visited with people that we met at adoption days while we were fostering Nimitz, and got to see Eskies that had been adopted by others. The dogs loved getting attention and seeing all the other Eskies. There were about 100 people there, and probably about 40-50 dogs, most of which were Eskies.

One fun part of the event is the contests, which this year were dubbed the Olympics. One of the volunteers had made very cute medals for the winners of each contest, complete with a little photo of an Eskie.

Last year Clover won the Fastest Sit contest (and many years ago, in her younger days she'd won the Highest Jump). This year I hoped that Nim would win the Fastest Sit. Sit is the one command he knew when we got him. We've continued working on it though. I often play a little game with the dogs, playing with them, then telling them to either Sit, or Down. So Nim's Sit is pretty fast. However, when I saw the number of people that entered the Sit contest, I thought we'd be in trouble. How would the judges even be able to see Nim's fast sit?

Skyler went in like a pro though and had Nim stand until the judges said to sit. And when the judges said "sit" and Skyler told him to, Boom! down went the dog's butt. When they announced the gold winner, I was not expecting that Skyler and Nim would win. The competition was tough. But Nimitz was announced as the gold medalist. Way to go (once again) Nim and Skyler!

But of course, no matter how many ribbons and medals they get, I'm happiest about the way that they so obviously love each other. From how cutely Nim plays with Skyler, bringing him back balls and Frisbees for a game of fetch, to how Nim jumps up on Skyler's bed to cuddle in the morning, and to how Nim leaps onto the chair and gives Skyler kisses in his ear when Skyler's had a bad day at school.

Hasta la vista, las mariposas!

Three years ago I noticed a weed growing fairly prolifically in our backyard. And then I noticed the green, black and white caterpillars on the weed. A little research revealed that they were Monarch caterpillars on milkweed. Those caterpillars morph into beautiful orange, black and white butterflies and then fly to Mexico for the winter, then migrate back north in the spring.
That first year I only saw one chrysalis, in late fall. But last year I helped the milkweed flourish by putting up a couple of trellises for it to grow on, and we had an abundance of the plants. And we had an abundance of Monarch caterpillars. For several weeks Lindsay and I could count many caterpillars – several days we found as many as seven. And I found many of their chrysalises also. One day last year three butterflies emerged from their chrysalis on the same day. I liked to imagine that they all traveled to their wintering spots in Mexico together.
Unfortunately this year some other bugs attacked the milkweed and it hasn’t thrived in any of its spots in the yard. There have only been a few caterpillars too. A couple of weeks ago I finally spotted a chrysalis, hanging under the house eaves behind the garage.
Still, after seeing all these caterpillars change into butterflies, I had never seen one actually coming out of its chrysalis. Until two mornings ago.
I let the dogs outside and I went out to look at the chrysalis. The butterfly was slipping out of the chrysalis. I ran inside to get Lindsay and to get my camera. When I came back outside a few minutes later, the butterfly was already out of the chrysalis, plumping up its wings.
I watched and took photos as the butterfly worked on the last step of its metamorphosis from a crawling creature to one that would fly thousands of miles. When Lindsay and I went inside after playing, its wings were puffed out to their full size.
I went back outside in the afternoon and looked for the butterfly. At first I thought it had left, but then I saw it resting on a nearby milkweed vine. I grabbed my camera again and took photos of it when it spread its wings. Within a few minutes the butterfly fluttered into the air and landed in a sunny spot in our neighbor’s yard. I’m sure it took off soon after that to begin its long journey south.