Craft show this weekend.

2nd Annual West Virginia

Arts & Crafts

Christmas Spectacular

November 11, 12, 13, 2011

Veteran's Day Weekend!!!

Fri & Sat 10-6, Sun 10-4

Ruby Expo Center at Mylan Park

I actually went to this craft show twice last year.  Once with my Mother in Law on Friday, then again on Saturday with my Mom.  It wasn't my original plan, but after I saw what all they had to offer, I had to take my Mom there too. 

It went a bit against my prinicpal of not paying admission for the privledge of shopping, but it really is one of the best local craft shows around.   They had a great variety of items - primatives, wreaths and floral arrangements, handcrafted jewerly, soaps, lotions, purses, toys, baked goods.... you name it. 

My favorite purchase was a stuffed starfish that is actually a reusable ice pack for boo boos.  "Patrick" has had a lot of use in the past year and still looks great. 

I also picked up some dip mixes that I've used for a quick fix dish to take to church or appetizers when we have friends over. 

We brought our camera for our free picture with Santa, after the boys told him what they wanted for Christmas, of course.

The only real negative I could say about it was the parking.  It was a bit of a mess on Saturday, but by no means horrible.  They did have gentlemen directing traffic to help it flow a little better.  Hopefully, they picked up a few ideas to make it better this year. 

So, if you have some time this weekend you might want to check it out. 

You can click here for $0.50 admission price. 

Pittsburgh Zoo Love.

I love the Pittsburgh Zoo. 

I love spur of the moment.

What better than a spur of the moment trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo.

Ronnie & I decided to take the boys to the zoo Sunday afternoon.  We've always gotten up and headed out on our trips bright and early, but this time we didn't get there until a little before 3pm.  You know what?  It was great.

We splurged for the train to make up walking time.  The boys loved the train. 

We decided to ride the train to the aquarium and walk from there.  The boys really wanted to see the polar bears.  And the penguins.

John's favorite part was the underwater shark tunnel (as always). 

My favorite part was watching the sea lions while Ronnie reminded the boys (and all the small children and parents surrounding us at the exhibit) what we saw happen to the sea lions when we watched shark week on TV.  In detail. 

I quickly moved us on before a mob formed.

Ronnie was proud of me for letting the boys go through the kangaroo yard.  I've never let them do it before.  Laugh if you must, but I watch America's Funniest Home Video's.  I've seen lots of kangaroos kicking little kids.  I secretly think their not as sweet and cute as they look.  It's OK, I know I'm also a little weird.  I can admit it. 

Our favorite non-animal thing to do at the zoo is to ride the little scooters.  They have so much fun.  This year, Josiah was able to make it move on his own.

One final picture:



There has been a peacock on the roof of the aquarium every single time we have gone to the zoo. 

Has anyone else noticed this?  Crazy peacock.

All in all, a great zoo trip.

Weekend Plans

So, do you have any plans for the weekend?

Most of mine will involve working in the garden and moving the boys rooms.  I don't know if I'll get everything done.  It's a little overwhelming. 

Tonight we finish up VBS with a family picnic.  Thankfully, last night was uneventful and everyone went to bed without any hassles. 

Our beans haven't done well, so we got some new seeds and we're going to plant four more rows this weekend and see if these go better. 

I need to move the boys rooms around.  We're putting them all back together.  Josh has decided that privacy was over rated and they all want to share a room again.  I don't mind, since we'll get a playroom again (and I can move the treadmill out of the school room).  The hardest part is moving the school room.  It's loaded.  I need to
reorganize it before we start "full" school again anyways. This weekend is as good as any to get this project started.

Here's some things going on around the area this weekend:

Marion County Human Society is having a yard sale at the old Animal Kingdom building at the Middletown Mall.  It's Friday & Saturday from 8am - 4pm.  Pet Helpers site says that Saturday from 1pm - 4pm is fill your bag for $5. 

Fairmont Farmer's Market is open this Saturday at 8am.  They usually sell out of produce by 9am, so if you're interested, be there early. 

Sunset Drive Inn has great movies this weekend.  Cars 2 and The Green Lantern.  If anyone has seen Green Lantern, leave a comment as to how it was.  I like Ryan Reynolds, but I'm not sure what to think of the previews for this one.

The big excitement for our house is that Cars 2 is out.  I was hoping to keep it a secret until the middle of next week to avoid the crowds, but I had to be so smart and teach Josh how to read a calendar.  He knows it's today and has told the others.

This isn't really an event, but I did get a great flyer in the mail for Kohls.  I love Kohls.  They have great sales and double stroller shopping buggies.  So smart.  I received a $5 off any purchase coupon as well as 15% off your total order.  And you still earn Kohl's cash for every $50 spent.  I'm so torn on this.  I don't really need anything, but I really want to go.  What to do, what to do? 

I'm also trying Angel Food again this month.  I ordered it when we still thought Josh might have a gluten allergy.  It turns out he doesn't.  We're back to eating normal foods.  I ordered the gluten free box and the produce box.  I'm not sure if I'm saving a lot over my normal Aldi's prices with the produce, but I thought I would give it another try.  I do know that it is usually cheaper than regular grocery store prices, but I don't usually shop the regular grocery store without coupons.  I'm going to use this month to reevaluate Angel Food.

Hope you have a great weekend!