Our Jack-o-Lantern

Not quite your traditional carved pumpkin but we did it!!!  I picked up a $4 pack of tools at Target and ventured home with a pumpkin.  Neither James nor I had carved a pumpkin since our childhood so we were pretty clueless.  I had great intentions of roasting the seeds but ran out of time.  Needless to say, I was thrilled with the end result!  We weren't planning to carve a pumpkin this year BUT there was a pumpkin decorating contest at work that motivated me.  Our pumpkin wasn't daylight friendly so I didn't take it to work.  Instead we've kept it lit at home.  Enjoy!

Roxy -

I'm very sad to say that Roxy went to doggie heaven this morning.  She's been sick for about 8 weeks now.  Our vet has been amazing; looking to find what was wrong.  A little less than 2 weeks ago we "thought" we had found the problem - allergies.  She was allergic to practically everything underneath the sun.  Between a new food and some medication, things were really looking up.  We knew we hadn't resolved the problem completely as changes in her medication caused the problem to start to come back over the last day or two.  This morning Roxy suffered what we are pretty sure was a heart attack.  She was my little lover.  I cannot even describe how much we'll miss her.

Happy Birthday Brother!

Today, on 10-10-10 my big brother turns the big 4-0  I cannot even describe how much I love this guy.  He was my hero when I was a little girl.  I mean whose brother is Chuck E. at Chuck E. Cheese's?  Then he was always the highlight of my birthday parties.  My girlfriends and I would always wait for him to get to my party.  As I entered my teenage years, he encouraged our parents to put me in situations where I would learn the land of "reality" - public schools, etc.  A little later in the teen years, he and Laura would take me out for late night movies and bowling.  So many memories that I cherish.

For Joe's birthday, I thought and thought about what to get him.  There are lots of memory books that you can buy that reminisce about the year you were born.  Wasn't quite what I was looking for.  So instead I filled a box FULL of candy that you just don't see these days.  Jawbreakers, wax juice containers, candy cigarettes, abba zabbas, lemon heads, pop rocks, bit-o-honey's, boston baked beans, candy necklaces and the list goes on.  (I think Sheridan and Garrett were pretty excited about this gift as well.)  Then I made a CD of music that reminds me of my big brother.  From Led Zeppelin, Guns-n-Roses, MC Hammer, Queen and a few others.  At the end of the CD is a very special song.  A song that makes me think of him.

I love you brother.  You mean so much to me.  Words just cannot describe how much I admire, appreciate and strive to be the person you are.  You are the perfect father to my niece and nephews, the most unselfish person on the planet, a kick ass husband, the king of cooking ribs and other yummy things, and you remain so calm, cool and collected during times when most would blow a fuse.  Thank you for being my friend, my protector and my brother.  I love you very, very much!

There are places I remember

All my life though some have changed

Some forever not for better

Some have gone and some remain

All these places had their moments

With lovers and friends I still can recall

Some are dead and some are living

In my life I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers

There is no compares with you

And these memories lose their meaning

With I think of love as something new

Though I know I'll never lose affection

For people and things that went before

I know I'll often stop and think about them

In my life I love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection

For people and things that went before

I know I'll often stop and think about them

In my life I love you more

William Robert Burnett

I've been dying to snuggle up with this handsome little guy.  After cancelling a trip the previous weekend due to a cold, there would be no stopping me today!  He's soooo tiny.  We enjoyed lots of snuggle time.  Liz and I chatted about her speedy labor and delivery.  Then Eric filled me in on groupon.  Oh and who can forget the trip to Claim Jumper for bread pudding and a chocolate chip calzone.  Mmmmmm.  Only another week and I get to cuddle with Billy again.  I absolutely cannot wait!

Step Out for Trouble

Many, many months ago I did a little internet surfing and ended up on the webpage for the American Diabetes Association.  I was very excited to find that there was a fundraising event scheduled for October at Knott's Berry Farm.  Pretty neat location, in my opinion.

Watching Amanda being diagnosed with diabetes then managing it on a daily basis has been a real wake up call for me.  Not sure how to explain my emotions about this.  I just knew that this was an organization I could passionately raise funds for.  Soon I went to work on recruiting friends and family to join our team for the walk and start our fundraising.

Pretty sure that there were 17 of us who walked and our team raised approximately $1400.  Outstanding!  Let's do it again next year!

My inspiration!

Love this man

Jessica and Haley are ready to go!

Official Duck's Fans!!!

I'm super excited to say that we are official season ticket holders to the Ducks!  We have a friend who has had Duck's tickets for several seasons.  After chatting with him, we decided to share tickets so that we could buy four tickets to every game.  This gives us a chance to take friends or family along with us.  Plus I have no doubt that 21 hockey games is more than enough to get us started.  I have never enjoyed a professional sport as much as I am enjoying hockey!!!

(Sorry Jackson's --- I didn't take any pictures of the first game --- check out Haley's blog for those pictures)

Another Goodbye

A bit of a sad day.  Another goodbye.  It seems like friends are moving away so often.  Tracy and I met at church.  We taught Sunday school to 2 year-old's.  Quite an adventure this was.  We started a room together.  What does this mean you ask?  Well normally a new volunteer/leader is added to a room.  Welllll we started a brand new room.  Pure chaos for the first few weeks.  From dirty diapers, kiddos that were potty training, children upset that their parents had left them with pure strangers, toys all over the place - we were a mess.  Though because we started "fresh" we were able to figure out our own routine and develop some awesome relationships with our kids.  We watched so many turn 3 and move on to another class.

It became obvious, that Tracy and her then boyfriend, Zach, were very serious and were planning to spend their lives together.  An engagement followed with a November 27th wedding in the works.  Tracy and Zach both work for Disneyland but they are both from the east coast.  I knew this meant she'd be leaving us one day.  I just didn't realize the day would come so soon.  Tracy and Zach were blessed to both be offered positions at Disney World, not only a wonderful career opportunity but also the ability to be closer to family.

Tracy's small group held a bridal shower for her today.  It was her final day with our kiddos then we celebrated her upcoming nuptials.  Best of luck to you Tracy (and Zach).  I am going to miss you immensely!