Sarah and Jeff and Abe and Josie

This harbinger of fall paid us a visit early last month.

I’m actually not sure the praying mantis is a sign of anything, but it seems reasonable. Maybe a better sign that the summer’s just about had it is the county fair. Abe learned the difference between cows and heifers and also that he’s scared to death of goats. Keep that in mind the next time you visit.

Labor Day weekend was really our last chance to get one more night of camping in, and with three nights already under Abe’s belt, we thought it would be a piece of cake. The plan was for Sarah and Abraham to play on the beach at Lake Sherwood while I went for a quick ride. Then dinner and an early night in our four-person circus tent.

This photo does a wonderful job of illustrating what happened once we got to the tent part of the plan. Without any sleep, we finally packed up at about 1 am. To anyone we woke up that night, sorry about that.

September was a month for family. Dad’s memorial was difficult, but with the grief there was some joy.

Uncle Chris made it down to the WV to see the Abraham. And us, too, we think.

Down the road a piece is Huntersville, where they like to mark the beginning of fall with Tradition Days. Abe likes to mark it with biscuits, gravy, and cute. Sarah likes silly hats.

Between all the festivities and travel, Abraham’s still finding ways to keep himself amused.

And with that, Abraham says goodbye to summer and hello to fall.

Despite the long summer days, which are quickly disappearing, Abe goes to sleep before the sun sets. Once he is down, we usually veg and relax a bit before tackling the daily chores. Last night we spent a good part of the evening preparing and enjoying dinner. Fresh roasted tomato soup and grilled flatbread. Tomatoes courtesy of my supervisor, basil from a co-worker, and garlic from our garden. And you can never go wrong when adding large quantities of olive oil & butter.

We’ve been spending time at whatever pool we can get to.

Nana J and Grampy were down for a visit and we headed back to Abe’s favorite pool. He shrieked with excitement when he saw we had returned to the one with the big red slide.

Today is the 1st day it’s rained in what seems like a long time, and when it’s not sweltering, we’re outside.

Abe doesn’t exactly know how to self-propel on his bike, but that doesn’t stop him from suiting up, playing it safe, and loving it.

We had a great dinner at a coworker’s house, followed by cow viewing and rock throwing in to the creek. Who could ask for more?

One afternoon when it was too hot we went to the nearby Cranberry Nature Center, the closest thing to a zoo. Abe went wild looking at the bears, deer, otters, fox, and piles of lives snakes. I am sure we will become regulars.

And hard to believe it, but happy 17 months Abraham!

We’ve been signing with Abraham for a while now, and he’s starting to realize that the sign for “more” doesn’t just apply to food.