Beth and I took the kids trick or treating tonight. They were dressed in homemade costumes as little black puppies. First we took them around our neighborhood, then up and down Fort Wayne street in town (where the take was much much much better). Afterwards was Kids Klub, and the kids all wore their costumes. It was a mostly play day at KK, just as well because the kids were all hyper. Anyway, Beth has been reacting with hives to something in the fabric she used to make the costumes, which is unfortunate because it was very loose and fibery and floated all over the living room. So we’re going to clean the house very thoroughly. After coming home from KK we undressed the kids in the garage and tossed to costumes in the trash so they didn’t come back in the house.

Our contractor finished with downstairs door today.

Tonight was Beth’s alumni concert so she is still gone. I took the kids up near Ligonier geocaching.because I noticed that there was a Michigan geocoin placed in one up there. I’d wanted to send one to some cachers I know in Switzerland anyway so we ran up there, bushwacked through mud and sticks and thorns (only for a hundred feet or so) and froze. I took them afterwards to McDonald’s for lunch to warm up.

Beth is gone, she has an alumni concert in Plainwell tomorrow and we decided it would be best if the kids and I don’t go. Maybe we should have. I decided it was time to change the filter in the water softener so I shut off the main valve, replaced the filter, and re-opened the valve, at which time it started spewing water from the stem. An un-isolatable leak. I managed to get the spewing slowed down and called the plumbing listing in the phone book with the 24-hour emergency listing. So I had a plumber here again tonight to fix the valve. Which took him about 30 seconds, if that. I felt like an idiot but maybe I should have. Like I know how to adjust packing.

The kids’ parent-teacher conferences were tonight, so we got a babysitter. The teachers love our kids. Both are doing well (but Missy tends to just want to do her own thing during class) and got great reviews.

Our contractor was here all day today working on the windows again. He brought his father-in-law to help (nice man). They spent a lot of time on the big picture window in the living room, I’m not surprised. Later on we hired Katie to babysit; we were going to go to a movie but nothing was playing we wanted to see. So we ate dinner at Mad Anthony and went shopping Kohl’s, and Elder-Beerman, and I got a haircut.

I left work early because our contractor is starting installing the windows. We are getting all the windows in the house replaced except the ones downstairs. He made good progress today, getting all the ones upstairs out and new ones in. They look great.

The toilet has been leaking badly upstairs and it’s been driving me crazy, so the other day I went and got a complete repair kit at Lowe’s to fix it. And I got the whole thing installed only to find it hemorrhaged water whenever it was flushed because the gasket between the tank and bowl wouldn’t seal. So, I had to have a plumber here to fix it. He had to make a special trip for parts because apparently we have an unusual toilet and he needed a special gasket. Sheesh. But anyway, the toilet is now working again.

Laura and Thomas came to visit this weekend. They were in Michigan for a court date (Thomas’ ex is being difficult about custody, with him moving to Maryland) and on the way back came to stay with us. Beth and I were out at Wal-Mart before they got here, and found a Nelson’s fundraiser the National Guard or someone was doing, where they had a great big inflatable obstacle course playset for the kiddies. Alex and Missy had a great time. Laura and Thomas got here Saturday afternoon. We had a Katie day, but no plans, so while she had the kids we went out to dinner at the Boathouse. Then shopping at Elder-Beerman and Courthouse Coffee. We basically killed time at CC until we thought the kids would be asleep and then went home. Sunday I remembered I was supposed to drive the van for church so I went in, but Virgil agreed to drive the van on the way home so that got me off the hook. We all went to Kircher’s orchard in the afternoon (record heat today...it was blazing sticky hot there...90+) where they were having harvest festival, and picked some very nice golden delicious apples. We also had a short hayride to the pumpkin patch and got a couple small ones (and remembered last year, when we took the kids to that farm place in Ann Arbor around this time of year, and it was freezing). Sunday night we went out to dinner at Applebee’s instead of going to movie night, and played Apples to Apples. They left early Monday (today) as I was going to work.