Snow in October?!

I don't remember the last time we had snow like this in October!  It was a bazaar day yesterday when it started to snow and it was snowing - heavy!  I thought for sure it was not going to stick and it was just be a snowy rain but it was coming down hard and fast.  We lost power for about 5 hours during the day.  Just when we were trying to decide what we were going to have for dinner and how we were going to make it, we decided to get up and gather our candles and flashlights before it started to get dark.  As soon as Jack went to get the flashlights the lights came on.  Thank heavens, it was getting cold.



"Is there enough snow out there yet, Dad?"

"Now is there enough snow out there, Dad?"

Ok, lets get ready!

Time to play in the snow!

Snow is yummy!

Duke's first snowman!

Looking good!

Big hugs for the snowman.

All warm in his jammies and hat.

Apple picking day!  We were supposed to go yesterday but the snow storm changed our plans a little bit.

Cousin Avah is ready to go!  Looking cute as ever!

She was looking forward to teaching Duke how to climb a tree.

I gave my sister, B, the tough job of pulling the wagon through the thick, wet snow.

Crazy cousins.

Looking for big apples, and good trees to climb!

I can reach it!

Mommy and Duke

Avah is posing in a tree for a picture.

Hmmm, who could have taken a bite out of this apple?

All done.  Ready to go get some cider donuts and cider and get in the warm car!

Duke is all tired out and taking a nap now.  He couldn't wait to crawl into bed and now I am relaxing watching QVC and waiting for Jack to get home from school.  He will then take the remote from me so he can watch football.  I can't wait to hear all about his day though.  Today is the first day at the shooting range. 

Claire Bear

For anyone who knows me knows that my pets are my family.  They are not my animals, they are considered members of my family.  As annoying as they can be at times, my feelings will never change.  The hardest part of being a pet owner, which I had to discover the hard way last summer, is when one dies.  It is like taking a piece of your heart and it is hard.  Much harder than I would ever expect it to.  When one dies suddenly and tragically, it is all the more painful because you start thinking of all the things you could have done and should have done differently.  It is hard.  And I don't wish it on anyone, ever.

Last night, my Aunt Sharon and Uncle Jerry went through this.  They adopted a bulldog, Claire Bear, last year.  Claire Bear was immediately loved and became a part of their family.  Their daughters and their families loved her too, especially the boys, Zach and Elliott.  Claire Bear was so friendly and loved the energy of the kids.  She was gentle and loving and playful. 

Unfortunately she got outside when the pizza man came to the door and was hit by a speeding car in their neighborhood and Claire Bear died.  My Aunt had just posted a picture of her wearing a Cardinals hat for the world series.  It can happen that fast and a happy night can turn dark and sad in an instant.  When I got my cousins texts, my heart sank.  I remembered how sad I was when Stoli died and how much their entire family loved Claire Bear and my heart broke for them.  I know they will get through this tough time and move on remembering all the happy times with CB but it will take some time.  The snoring at night (and all day), the toys, the empty food bowl and leftover food will be reminders of her until eventually it's just the memories left. 

She was so good with kids.  Duke was loving her up during our trip this summer when we got to meet her.

Having a bully breathing in your ear is one of  a kind.  Duke spent a good amount of time with her when we were there.

She will be missed tremendously.

Halloween Time!

This has been the first week that we had time to get pumpkins and get ready for Halloween.  Thank goodness we picked up a costume a couple weeks ago.  We had a Halloween family dinner this week at mom-mom and pop-pop's and a Halloween parade at day care.  We got to pick a pumpkin and carve it tonight and now all we need to do is apple pick on Sunday after the snow storm (not a typo) and trick or treat on Monday!

We showed up to dinner and Daddy, er Batman, was already there!

Cute cousins all dressed up.

Eating some brains for dessert!

Lots of pumpkins to choose!

Having fun at the pumpkin patch.  Then Bridget showed us the way out of the corn maze!  So much fun at Merrymead Farm.

Found one!

Halloween parade at school.  Walking with Mr. Curt, er Oscar the Grouch, who Duke just loves.

Duke did NOT want to be Tom Selleck this year (or Burt Reynolds).  That was out of the question.

He got a new cup in the mail today from Gramma Beth so he got a chocolate, peanut butter and banana milkshake.

First pumpkin carving.  This is so cool!

Ewwwwwwwy, Goooooey

All done!

 

Family Photo!

Cutest family ever.

 Check out all the cute photos here at Joelle's Blog!

Been baking . . . a lot.

This week I had two requests for cookies.  Five dozen for a baby shower and five dozen for a bridal shower.  I love the creativity of baking cookies but my weeks have been much busier with Jack in school.  Trying to make extra money where I can, I am very happy to take on the extra work. 

Owl and Moon theme for the baby shower.  I went with the colors that were on the invitation.

This cookie was for a bridal shower.  I had free reign to do whatever I wanted to do so I went with something simple and classic.  The flower was on the invite and the color is the same as the bridesmaid dresses.  I was nervous about these.  They get picked up tomorrow so I can't wait to see the reaction.

I can't wait to clean my house tomorrow!  Yes, you read that correctly.  I have been so busy baking and decorating and keeping kids fed and entertained that my house has been destroyed in the meantime.

Jack's 3rd week of school was another good one.  He is doing well and enjoying most of it.  He is out tonight riding along with a REAL officer until 1 a.m.  I am nervous but excited to hear how his night went when he gets home.

For my exciting life, I am pumped that a new Shop Rite grocery store opened around the corner from us!  Yep, so good deals to get.  I now need to get back on track with my coupons.  Going to a new grocery store is as exciting as it gets right now.  Yawn.

It's Been Awhile.

Since last month . . .

Duke took his first bubble bath.



Kimmy and Brian celebrated their engagement!  Duke is going to be the Ring Terror Bearer!



We watched Avah play soccer.



We went to "Horganfest" at Matt and Kim's.





We jumped off hay stack mazes!



We got together to celebrate birthdays.

We celebrated Mom-Mom's birthday with grandkids and cupcakes!

Had some CRAZY weather.

Practiced for Brian and Kimmy's wedding Halloween.

So we had a busy month since my last post.  We have had many illnesses and family hospital visits over the past month too. Everyone is coming along and recovering but no more scares for awhile! I hope that the rest of the year sloooowwwwsssss down so we can enjoy the fall weather, the holiday's and each other more. 

Jack started the police academy at the beginning of October!  He is on his way to a new career.  I am happy to see him so happy.  From what I can tell he is really enjoying it and made the right decision.  I also know that this is life changing for all of us so I need to get used to having a cop for a hubs.  That means strange hours, working holiday's, worrying about Jack everytime he goes to work, and a gun in the house.  A patient of mine has a husband who is a police officer and her advice to me was "Make plans as if he's not going to be there" - what?  She meant party/event plans with him having a hectic schedule.  I think we'll adjust just fine.  He has to iron his uniform every night so that's cool ;-)

I started watching QVC again.  Every October I start turning the channel to QVC just to listen.  I don't buy anything, it's just like my mac 'n cheese, my comfort food.  Something about the cooler weather and the preparation for all the holiday's makes me enjoy watching QVC.  Does this qualify me for a psych eval?  I hope not.

My cousin, Hilary in MO gave birth to a precious baby boy named William Collins Austin.  He is ADORABLE.  I wish you all could see the cute birth announcement we got in the mail.  I have it on the fridge and everytime I look at it I smile.  I want to kiss his chubby little baby cheeks.  Come on over and take a peek at it.

Some other events since we chatted last - our hot water heater bit the dust, the breaks in the Taurus bit the dust and I (did not bite the dust) celebrated another birthday.