furlough fun

When we returned home from our vacation, Dave was on furlough from work because of the government shutdown. We weren't sure how long the furlough would last, so we got lots of chores done while we could. We also enjoyed spending lots of time outside together while the nice weather hung around.

 One day after school, Jed got a haircut. Here he is before he was shorn.

 It had been a while since Jed had seen the clippers and he was NOT very thrilled. He screamed and carried on the whole time he was having his haircut. Hank was quite concerned and wanted to be right in the thick of things to make sure Jed was okay.

 I love this picture--it's just so funny. Jed looks so devastated, Dave might as well be cutting off his ear.

 During the haircut, Hank and I played in the yard. I love Hank's smoochable cheeks.

 Hank loves to crunch in the leaves. He has a special way of crawling so that the leaves flip up behind him, and then he turns around and crawls through again.

I have no "after" picture of Jed's haircut because he was too traumatized to hold still for one. Afterwards he went upstairs to take a bath and get all the "itchies" off.

 We really enjoyed our daily walks around the neighborhood as well. Jed has been riding his bike (with training wheels) successfully for most of the summer, but he hadn't wanted to venture out on the road. We convinced him to try it out and he loved it. That allows us to walk farther and faster and it's much more pleasant.

 Here's a snazzy boy with an awesome haircut, riding his bike. I love this boy!

 The fall foliage has been beautiful again this year. We have been enjoying that quite a lot as we're out and about.

 We took advantage of Dave's time off to have my toe operated on. When we were living in Montana, my toe got smashed as we were tubing with my cousins. I haven't found a doctor who was willing to operate on the nail until now. The toenail was dead in some places but still alive by the base of the toe, so no one was willing to remove the whole nail (which is what I would have preferred). Anyway, my doctor here said she could remove either side of the nail, which would remove most of the dead nail, and hopefully allow a whole healthy nail to grow back. So that's what I had done. And now you know way more about my left big toe than you ever wanted to. Anyhow, the "operation" was successful and the recovery was so much better than I expected, probably because of Dave's excellent ministrations. I am excited for my nail to start growing in, hopefully normally!

 We made some "butterfingers" from a recipe on Pinterest and Jed thoroughly enjoyed them. So did the rest of us.

Because I was recuperating, Dave would take the boys out each afternoon and they would ride on the driveway with our neighbor Jeremy. Hank LOVES the tricycle and gets so excited now every time he sees it.

All in all, it was a nice furlough, even if it was forced and we weren't making any money. Dave helped me plant bulbs for the spring, can beans, plant raspberries, took down the air conditioners, cleaned out the sheds in the backyard, cleaned out the basement, made applesauce basically by himself, and let me go grocery shopping by myself for a change. I am grateful for a wonderful husband who takes good care of our family in many different ways!