Shift Gears From Underneath

Last Friday, I had every intention on completing my morning schedule then return home to write my weekly blog entry. That absolutely DID NOT happen. I know that everyone was waiting on the edge of their seats for my next entry! :)

Homestead Phil was selected for jury duty. Not just the one day where you sit and hope that you are not the one selected. He was selected and was honored to give back in civic duty! By Friday, he was on day 5 of what we were hoping to be a final day of jury duty! So basically, he was working "off homestead" for five days leaving around 8:20am and returning by 4:30-5pm. That is not what we are accustomed to here at The Homestead!

Through the week, I was hopeful that Homestead Phil would be done with jury duty on Thursday as I had scheduled three Rent The Chicken pick-ups for Friday. I prefer for Homestead Phil to do the driving, moving of the coops, etc. Having said that, jury duty continued to Friday, and I left the house at 7:30am not until after hooking up the trailer, having my route sheet printed, snacks & water bottle packed, straps ready, and hopeful to return for lunch by noon!

The best laid plans... amIright?

First stop was a breeze picking up Thelma and Louise way south of us by about 1.5 hours. Then 45 minutes back towards home I park across the street from the next pick up on a dead end street. I planned where I parked to be able to back the trailer up and return the way I entered. I picked up an empty coop of our renters turned full-time chicken keepers! They built a great coop on their urban homestead and no longer needed our rental coop. As I was moving the coop to the trailer, I stepped over one of their pumpkins growing outside of the designated pumpkin patch along the fence! I loaded up the coop, said my goodbyes, and backed up PERFECTLY on my first attempt to get turned around. I moved the shifter from reverse to drive only to feel like either my tire was spinning or that I was in neutral. The next few steps are fuzzy. I looked behind my phone to see that I was indeed in neutral on the display so I put my phone back in place and moved the shifter back one down to drive. Same sound so I switched from 2WD to 4WD. No difference. I put it in park to start again. Then I could not move it out of park and the display still said neutral.

Ack. Where's Phil? Jury duty of course! Ack. He wouldn't have been able to walk me through fixing it but he could have helped figure out what to do next.

I called the handiest guy we know: Lee. He didn't answer so I sent a text. I called my sister who is married to the second handiest guy I know: Bill. He calls my sister every day at the same time on his lunch break so I was hoping he could call me instead. No dice. He had a working lunch that day provided by his work. Ack. LEE CALLED BACK! With some trouble shooting and with him explaining to me of what to look for under the Chevy which took some convincing. The Chevy feels tall when trying to climb in and out of us but it didn't feel so tall when I was trying to scootch my chubby self under there on an incline! Turns out, somewhere between the shifter and the actual mechanism to shift, it was broken. The Chevy was definitely in neutral as I troubleshooted that as well. I'm very thankful that the emergency brake works! After being under the Chevy while talking through my headset to Lee, I found the part that was no longer connected and found the part I needed to move to put it into drive with the Chevy turned off and the emergency brake on. Hallelujah! Ironic, it took him 15 minutes and two phone calls to walk me through what he originally said was likely the problem in his first text message response to me. Certainly I gave him an great description in my initial text message but to be able to diagnosis it accurately just from there... AMAZING! The renter knew I was trouble shooting and offered to help if I needed her help. It was time to ask for her help. I needed her inside the Chevy with her foot on the brake while the engine was on for me to move the mechanism from neutral to drive with the engine on. Once I was out from under (for like my 15th time!), she made sure the emergency brake was on, removed her foot from the brake, the Chevy stayed still, and we traded spots. From there, I couldn't stop anywhere without someone holding the brake for me so I could shift gears again. No stopping at the third stop. No stopping for gas. No stopping unless I was at home or at a dealership to see if they could fix it. Talk about pressure! By then.. I was starving! I had already finished my small snack.

I talked to Lee again. We decided that it was best to find a dealership to see if they could fix it on a Friday afternoon rather than risking driving on the highway and have it pop out of drive causing the steering wheel to lock while pulling a trailer. Ack. The other option was to call for a tow truck (which we can utilize through one of our memberships) but then have to bring the RV back into Pittsburgh to pick up the trailer that has chickens on it! Ack. I pulled off to the side of the street with my foot still on the brake enjoyed the incredible view of Mt Washington to find the closest Chevy Dealership. It was 13 minutes away. Whew!

Upon arriving, I called to say "I'm in the parking lot. My vehicle is stuck in drive. I see a woman looking out the window on the phone. I waved saying "I'm in the SUV with RENT THE CHICKEN.COM on the side. Do you see me?" hahahaha She could see me and said she'd send someone out. Meanwhile, I felt like I was in the waiting room of the ER. People were coming and going. One guy was brought in by Ambulance (aka tow truck) with a flat tire. He was fixed up and well on his way before someone finally came out to see me after another phone call to inside. Meanwhile, I'm baking in the sun with a foot cramp while still holding the brake in! The tow truck driver did offer to 'fix it" for me from underneath. I assured him that I knew how to "fix it" that way too but that didn't help me if I had to drive away! At any rate, not before looking at the chickens did a few employees come out to make a plan. Turns out, they could fix it, had the part, and it would only take about two hours. The downside... they quoted $350! That was a better option than getting towed, trying to get back out to get the chickens and trailer, only to find out that our usual mechanic likely couldn't get to it for a few days anyway. I decided to stay. The mechanic said "I can get some ramps to get under to put it in park. I said "Why don't you just keep your foot on the brake while I unhook the trailer then you can drive it to where ever you need it to be!" I've been known to call myself a problem solver a timer or two in my day :)

I enjoyed a nice lunch (and dessert!) at Eat N Park while they fixed the Chevy. I still managed to pick up the third coop and it turned out to be Phil's final day of jury duty. I learned how to shift gears from underneath! I hope I don't ever need to use that skill again! Shout out to God for keeping me sane, Lee, and the staff at Jim Crivelli's Service Department in McKees Rocks, PA!

Traveling With Kiddos!

As I've posted previously, this summer was FULL! Our niece Brooklynn and Our Girl (pre-adoptive foster placement) were with us this summer. Our Girl is still with us but Brooklynn went back home to Oregon at the end of the summer. We spent A LOT of time in a vehicle. It takes us about 25 minutes or so to get to Walmart so any trip to the store includes some time in the car. When we started the summer, each kid was assigned the following:

A tote bag including small crafts, coloring, books, etc.

A neck pillow - because who wants to sleep in a vehicle and have your head flop around?!?

High quality water bottles all around! It took some research but I had some requirements - no sweating, stays cold for ages, doesn't spill, large mouth for easy ice filling, easy to clean = no straws, etc. I ordered each of us one of these bad boys: Water Fit Water Bottle! 16 ounces for the kids and 20 ounces for Homestead Phil and I. Different colors for everyone with the rule that everyone was responsible for cleaning and filling their own water bottles! :)

Brain Quest Cards! Found here and available for all ages: Brain Quest Cards. I admit that the US Presidents pack is TOUGH! haha

Of course snacks! The more snacks the better!

A few things I learned and changed up from previous road trips. As much as I LOVE my Camelbak that I posted about here previously, the fancy water bottles were necessary! I did bust out the Camelbak for our trip to Kennywood though! It was more practical than us carrying our individual bottles :)

We took the kiddos on a canoe ride. When we were finished, they asked to go alone. We obliged although the anchor was dropped so they couldn't go very far and we pulled them in when it was time to be done! They went together and then separate enjoying every minute of their travels :)

Also, it may sound like making balloon animals in the car can be a bit on the edge of dangerous but it's so worth it! :) These two girls had so much fun and giggled the most when the balloons were out. Whether animals were created or not, many laughs were had! Balloons were popped on accident! More laughs occurred! So don't discount balloon animal making for longer car rides! You may end up with a balloon hitting the back of your head from the backseat but it's all worth it :)

Any must do, crazy, out of the box, options while traveling with kiddos?! We learned a lot when we traveled for 10 days with Brooklynn in 2016 and when we RV traveled with our last Little Guy in 2017. Balloon animals is now a top fav for a long trip in my book!

The Great Dayton Fair!

We LOVE our local county fair - The Great Dayton Fair! It's not the "Dayton County" fair as our county is Armstrong County but the fair is located in the very rural town of Dayton. This is year two of us camping in our little RV next to my sister and her family who have been camping at the Fair for likely 10 years or more! When we tell people that we will be camping at the fair, they assume we are showing animals as most people who camp do show animals. This fair does not have a poultry category so the chickens stay at home. We love our local fair so much that we want to enjoy all of it and not have to make the 45 minute drive home every night then tackle bedtime upon arriving home. Between our niece Brooklynn's, Our Girl's, and my entries (which Homestead Phil of course takes part in!), we submitted 30 exhibits in varying categories of canned items, baked goods, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, as well as items created at the 4H craft camp that the girls attended this summer!

Here's what Fair week and the week before the fair look like for us:

A few weeks before the fair, I start perusing an almost 200 page booklet to decide what items we should submit.

Before the Saturday a week before the fair starts, the official entry form needs to be filled in and submitted.

We trek to the Fair Grounds to reserve our camp site, pay for our wrist bands, pay for the ride all week passes, AND submit the forms.

Grocery shop for ingredients of the proposed baked good submissions.

Wednesday and Thursday before The Fair starts, the baking commences, the lego building is finalized, the craft camp items are gathered, and the eggs are weighed.

On Friday morning, the baked goods are plated. It's decided which of the vegetables we are able to submit vs ones we want to eat! The canned items are retrieved from the basement. The eggs are carefully wiped and placed into the cartons. The craft camp items are given a once over to determine if anything needs any last minute glue!

It's time to load the vehicle! Submissions are accepted only between noon and 7pm!

Exhibitor tags can be picked up earlier in the week but since The Fair is 45 minutes each way, we decide to tag our items at the Fair Grounds. We bring a stapler, scotch tape, a hole punch, a marker, and yarn to attach our appropriate tags! (not my first rodeo, friends!) This garden stone was created at Craft Camp. Imagine that the silver is the plate then you'll see the masterpiece all come together! This is an example of the tag with the yarn showing our heart shaped hole punch :) Without the yarn and the hole punch, I have no idea how we would have attached the tag!

We form an assembly line at the vehicle after picking up our tags.

There's a station for each category. Kids are in one line while I'm in another before going back to the car to tag and retrieve more items!

30 items submitted! Record amount for us!

Then we wait. The building doesn't official open until Monday morning to see what ribbons were earned for each item! Oh the wait!

There's still plenty to keep us occupied as we have to grocery shop for the week, prepare the RV, and load it up!

There are pre-fair events that happen like horse pulls and the like. Our main goal was to have the RV set up with time for relaxation before the crowning of the Dayton Fair Queen which happens on Sunday evening. This event was near to our hearts this year as our niece, Gabi, was handing over her crown to the next Dayton Fair Queen. Gabi's reign of 2017 Dayton Fair Queen came to an end that evening. Brooklynn and Our Girl knew the 2018 Dayton Fair Queen from their time at Craft Camp and were thrilled to be able to say they knew the Queen!

In other news, we were able to get into the Exhibit Hall to get a sneak peek of some of our categories that were already judged! Say, what?! We didn't have to wait until Monday! I'll share the ribbons below. To fill you in, we received ribbons for 20 of our submissions!!

Throughout the week, we enjoyed a concert of Danny Gokey, unlimited rides, plenty of rain, limited fair food, watching our nieces compete with their horse, seeing all of the fair animals, meeting up with friends & family, and of course, showing off our ribbons to anyone who would walk to the Exhibit Hall with us! :) Oh.. and of course the Demolition Derby & the Rodeo! Brooklynn exclaimed "I saw a real life cowboy riding a bull!"

Remember when I offered selfies with Reba The Chicken at the Southern Women's Show? Well.. I met her cousin! Reba The Horse! Of course I took a selfie! (I know you were just thinking "Did Homestead Jenn snap a selfie!?")

Friday night of The Fair, I caught up with my friend Molly and her family. Her husband's family has been involved with the fair FOREVER! His great grandparents had their name on a bench at The Fair for years. The Fair is working on replacing the old benches with new ones and offered the oldest benches to be donated back to the family members. Molly and her family had been walking around The Fair all week to look for the bench that they had no problems finding each year previous but without success. I made it my duty to try to find the bench on Sunday. I gathered up two of my nieces plus Brooklynn, and a few other random horse kids who camped near us. We strategically walked around the ENTIRE fairgrounds to try to find the bench. We were also determined to get our pictures in each of the wooden displays around the fair. It was quite an adventure! I promised ice cream at the end. I'm fairly certain that we walked for more than two hours! The littlest kiddo was 4 or so years old! *blink* The oldest was 14. We had fun! We took one last look at all of our ribbons and by this time, moldy baked goods :P We sadly did not find the bench but we did find ice cream! Molly and family were able to retrieve their bench on Sunday after The Fair. Turns out, it was in rough shape, still covered in cobwebs so it was thought that it wasn't even used this fair! We got a good walk in at the fair and enjoyed ice cream nonetheless!

The girls' ribbons:

Our ribbons:

There are a few items that we hoped to submit that we just ran out of time for. Next year, we are hopeful there is still a Duct Tape contest - make anything out of Duct Tape and submit the creation! I also hope to crochet some over the next 11 months and submit a few of my creations. See you next year, The Great Dayton Fair!