Monday, October 13, 2014

October fun and memories.

Our October has been keeping us stepping!  Literally!  We all upped our running priority a bit!  Mike put his bike to the side and is getting into running more during the colder months.  Last night, Mike told the two oldest that they need to both go for a jog.  They groaned but knew it would be good for them after their very lazy Sunday afternoon.  They came back and then I went for the same run.  Mike and Ashlyn went for a walk to in hopes that it would make Mike feel better!!!  He came home from the mountains on Saturday night with a major head cold!
 
Our October is also filled with fun events!  We went to Weavertown's School Sale and Ashlyn begged for a $1.  I said "no" because she wanted to win a fish and I didn't think our household needed a fish at this present moment.  Hadassah said this morning that our momma cat is not fat anymore.  Yep, four baby kittens were born this morning.  :)  Moments later, she came in all smiles holding and juggling this bag around!!!  It had a gold fish inside!  I asked how and where she got this fish?!?  She said so sweetly, "I used Meg's dollar."  Oh boy!  I gave Jody a dollar back to give to Megan and because she was so proud of her win and prize, we now have a fish bowl on the kitchen counter.  Is this right?  Should've I stuck to my word?  How am I supposed to respond to that?  Make a major scene or keep the fish?  They only last for so long anyway.  Yikes!  :/ 
 
 
While we were at the school sale, Mike texted me some pics of Matthew.  He went with Mike to the mountains to help build the new family cabin and to go hunting with Mike.  It ended up that the work he did, he enjoyed!  When it was time to go hunting, Mike was on the couch not feeling well, so Matthew bundled up and went with Dad hunting!  No dead deer but thanks Dad for letting Matthew go with you!

 I got to have a mentoring session with the photographer that took our family pics a few weeks ago.  We met at the local coffee shop and talked about our cameras and how I can improve on taking better photo's.  The whole two hours was fun and even though I am not looking to pursue any business in photography, I did learn how to shot in manual and some other new tips!  Thanks Di!  Here's what I got to sip on while we talked ... "Crème Brulee Latte!"

Even though it's pumpkin season, I opted to make a batch of chocolate whoopies the other day.  Mike likes chocolate whoopies better and these turned out way better than my pumpkin whoopies anyway!  Look who helped me! 


I took the plunge and bought my second new camera lens last week.  After getting some advice from Di, I bought a 50 MM, 1.8 Cannon Lens.  It does great for close ups and gives clear pictures.  Well, I have to practice on the clear pictures with shooting in manual!  I am trying!  :) 

Ashlyn loves to color right now and spends a lot time at her little table that I moved into the living room.  This small white and tan table is great for her and her crayons!  She does pretty good too!

I practiced my lens on Ginger.  She was laying on the couch the other afternoon soaking in the sun from the picture window.  Ginger is such a good dog!  We love her so much.

I should have taken a picture of Ashlyn's creation but I didn't even think about it at the time.  She loves to make tents out of blankets and chairs.  She got the folding chairs out of the front closet and lined them up.  Then she threw on some blankets and called it her tent.  I adore her blue eyes and that is what I captured during her creative tent making! 

This is Matthew.  Glued.  I am being challenged to get this kid off the electronics and into books!  He loves the computer and all the games it has to offer.  He could play and be on the computer for hours if I would allow it!  I wish so bad that I would not have to constantly tell him "no". Sometimes I feel like that's what I do a lot.  I wonder how other parents keep computer time to a minimum?.  I also wonder how I can get this boy into books?  He was all excited and into some history a few weeks ago.  Mike took the time to go buy some books that he used to have in his one room school house learning years.  Matthew was excited to have these books that "daddy" used to read and Mike even showed him some of his favorite stories.  You know what?  The books are still on his night stand in his room.  Mike told Hadassah and Matthew that if they both read a book (he assigned them both a book) and then write a book report about it, he would give them both $50.  Again, Matthew was excited about he challenge but I have yet to see him get into the book!  Sigh!!!

October is going by quickly and so when I wanted to cook some pumpkin the other day, I was sad to not be able to find my most favorite kitchen tool of all times!  Pampered Chef has the best serregated vegetable peeler ever!  I do not know where I left this tiny tool but I must have misplaced it because after an extensive search, it was still not found!  I finally ordered a second one and I was so happy to have it arrive!  It peels cucumbers and apples and veggies, whatever, in ease!  No other peeler works as good as this one!!!  Also, I love this Starbucks Bright Sky Blend Coffee right now.  It's smooth.  It's not bold and that's why I like it so well!  I don't like a bold coffee.  It's my waker upper in the mornings!  :)

October is bringing on a new adventure for us with this volleyball team that Hadassah is on.  I know that when I was in middle school, we didn't have this much fun and action!  I am enjoying it though and Hadassah is playing well!  She had a tournament on Friday night that involved four different schools.  It was raining outside but the boys still played soccer.  The girls played volleyball in the gymnasium and we sat on the bleachers cheering!  Mike met us there and cheered too!  Just one thing, I could not believe it when Matthew said four miles from our arrival, that he forgot his shoes!  What?  Sireously?  What now?  It's too far to go back home.  We wouldn't have the time anyway if it were close.  He walked around all evening without shoes.  Wet.  Cold.  Wet.  Did I mention it was raining outside?  Boys.  Gotta love them.   






Mike and Matthew left for the cabin at 9:30 Friday night.  We stopped for this movie on the way home from volleyball.  I've been wanting to watch it and heard it's funny.  After some warm showers and getting snuggled into blankets, we watched "Mom's Night Out."  I liked it.  It's true that being a mom is one of the toughest and hardest jobs ever!  Ever!  But full of blessings and kisses and hugs and kisses and hugs and laughter!  If you are a mom that needs a fun laugh, watch the movie!  :)

October is only half way gone.  We have another two weeks of O-C-T-O-B-E-R and it will be busy.  More volleyball games.  More weekend getaways.  More family time!

I love fall time!