Even LeBron wouldn't stay there

For those of you who are keeping score at home, Jarom recently turned 29 and began the inexorable 365-day march to middle-agedness. Alixa and Jenna helped him celebrate by going out and test driving a Toyota Sienna. Because nothing makes a guy feel better about getting old like looking into buying a minivan. He also got to go to Red Robin and hang out with some friends in the evening, and Lix even skipped out on a church activity to be there, so it was a fun day.





Jarom got me a mouser before I was hungry again so Jenna got to have two pets for a few days. She loved it and would get crazy excited whenever you would ask her if she wanted to see the mouse. She would run into the room at full speed and point and make noises and wave at me and Cracker. After keeping him around for 5 days Jarom eventually had to let him go outside because the crew was leaving for Cleveland. He was good company to have around, and I wish him the best out in the world.

Jenna at 6 and 14 months in Opa's tub

For her dad's birthday, Jenna got some fashionable new boots with the fur

To celebrate the end of the vacation season before Lix has to start going to work twice a week Jarom took some days off to drive up to visit Alixa’s parents in the The Ohio State. It is about an eight-hour trip through some lovely parts of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. It also took them near Pittsburgh, but there isn’t anything pretty about that. Their first task after completing their drive was to hop into the car and go pick up Opa from the airport, as he was returning from taking Abe out to Utah. They filled their time by golfing (sometimes in nice weather, sometimes in the rain), playing card games, and watching Jenna tear her grandparent’s house apart. I guess it has been a long time since PJ has had a little one, because she had all sorts of things on the low shelves in her house, and Jenna was glad to fulfill her duty as a toddler and pull them out and carry them to new places. One semi-rainy morning they went to the zoo, where Jenna enjoyed the animals until she fell asleep. She got to meet gorillas and monkeys and kangaroos and lions, and they even had a giant birdcage where you could walk in and feed friendly parakeets, which she loved. Fall had just arrived in Cleveland, and the Winns were a little unprepared, having only brought shorts and t-shirts, so Jenna spent the day bundled in a blanket to keep her warm. The day was capped off with a trip to the Cheesecake Factory, mostly because Alixa had been wanting a nice steak, which she got.




On Labor Day PJ made a wonderful French toast breakfast and then they packed up the car and said some tearful goodbyes in the driveway. It was especially sad for Mars and Pidge as they had just recently become empty nesters. And Alixa can’t see her parents cry without getting pretty weepy herself, so it was quite the sobfest. The ride back home was fairly uneventful, with Lix and Jenna sleeping for a good bit of the way. They were sad to leave, but both Jarom and Alixa had jobs that they had to get back to on Tuesday, as Kenz was starting school again and needed her babysitter back.

Eating lunch outside the Eat'nPark in Middleofnowhere, VA

Chinese Jenna and her makeshift bib

Speaking of jobs, Lix and Kenz are doing great in preparation for their November craft fair, and now have their website up and looking pretty good. You should all check it out, and also share it with your friends, especially those who might be in the market for trendy accents for their tots. The site is www.babybabblesboutique.com. If you have seen it but haven’t checked it out lately go see it again, as they have made significant revisions and improvements. They accept all major credit cards and do custom orders, so feel free to make requests.