Monday, October 30, 2006

Happy Halloween...from Mickey Mouse


We took Hunter tonite to The Picture People to get his costume pictures done. He, unfortunately, has a bad cold and couph and was tired from the Tylenol. This made his photo session SO easy:) We were only in there 10 minutes. He smiled every time and the photographer just kept snapping :) He was happy as he could be so decided to keep the appointment. I need to scan the pictures in but didn't have time. I just took a picture OF the picture. Hey, whatever works. I just knew I needed to post these. (I can replace with the real ones later:) He 's holding the Mickey Mouse that Maw Maw and Paw Paw brought him back from Disney a couple years ago. He has that one and big fluffy one that he has to sleep with every night, and carries them around the whole house:) He has DEFENTLEY become a big Mickey fan. He's learned alot of the other Disney characters but doesn't hide his preference:) We are thinking about redecorating his room in a couple months and making it a Disney theme. We have some pictures we got free when we ordered "Cars" and now these would be great in there. I love them!! I thought they turned out ausome!! He now has a high fever and is staying home with Mike tomorrow. He may go to the doctor if he isn't any better. Those fevers scare me because of how fast they pop up. He was fine today because I called my daycare provider and she said that he had been a little more tired but not bad. After his nap, evidentally, his fever spiked back up again. Poor thing, but what a great mood he's been in today. Maybe he just likes to be lazy and rest. Not sure but he's so adorable and it's so sad to see him weak eyed. Hope everyone has a great Halloween!

A BEAUTIFUL Day


What a GORGEOUS day. I'm home for lunch and was just overwhelmed by the beauty of the day. It just makes me so happy, so at peace. I just remember what is good and true in my life. I had such a great weekend with the family and am looking forward to the week. We have lots of stuff on the list we're looking forward to doing together. Just hope Little Man is feeling better. He has a cold and cough and has been running a little fever. He's supposed to get his Halloween pictures taken tonite so hopefully, he will be up to it. I got him some good (and yummy grape) medicine this morning and he should sleep good today. He loves his sleep and doesn't seem to be cutting out his nap ANYtime soon. The leaves in my front yard looked so pretty. It reminded me of the changes in colors we saw in the mountains. We are planning on going back to the same campground next weekend. They're having a huge Thanksgiving dinner and some friends are going the same weekend. We actually told them about it and then weren't sure if we were going or not. Well, she talked me in to it today and we're getting excited. I'm looking forward to another relaxing weekend with lots of pictures and fun. Hunter LOVES camping and gets excited every time we even walk IN the camper. Anyway, Have a wonderful day and enjoy all that is good about the day:)




A Visit from Santa

























Hunter got to visit with Santa Claus on Saturday. After we did the 5k run, a huge military helicopter landed right in the field near us. Out came Santa and everyone was so excited. Hunter patiently waited in line to see him and wasn't scared a bit. He talked to him and gave him a big hug. Hopefully, he will do that well when we get his picture done this year. He was so happy to see him! He'll be coming soon...

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Another Week Gone By..
























We came home last Sunday from the mountains to go to our friend, Rod's birthday party. First, they had a Pampered Chef party, where we spent way too much. We're both suckers for the stoneware. Now, we have about 7 pieces and it's ausome to cook with. Then, his birthday celebration followed. We had some yummy Coldstone Creamery ice cream cake. As you can see, Mindy had a hard time getting through the top but it was really funny to watch her..Sorry, Min...you know I love you!! She goes on travel all the time with her job. This time, she was on a long trip. She brought us back Gummie Bears from Germany, a Sachet Soap from Paris, and an adorable stuffed animal from Germany for Hunter. He loves it too. (He stayed at Grandmas and Grandad's while we were at the party) He also has a duck from Germany they gave him when he was born. They are the most thoughtful people and we're so glad that we're friends:) This Friday night, we went to church for a Veggie Tales Movie Night. It was a blast!! Hunter got a goodie bag, a new Veggie Tales Cd, a snack, balloon and a ball. It was really a great event. We bought a new Veggie Tales Nativity Set for Christmas. It's so adorable and I can't wait to put it out. There's a star on the manger that sings..cute! Hunter played it the ENTIRE way home...only bad part:) Saturday morning, we both ran a 5k run for Toys For Tots. My time still sucked but I'm proud of myself for doing it and finishing. It really wasn't that hard. I just want to work on my times before next time. Mike stuck right by my side and was my biggest fan. I know he's really happy that we're running together. It's really made our close relationship even better!! This run was at CBN and we saw a military helicopter land right in front of us. We got to go inside and ask questions. We ALSO got to see Santa. Hunter ran up and hugged his neck. It was so precious! I got pictures that I'll post tomorrow of that! Santa will be here before we know it...AAAHHH! It makes me nervous but we'll be ok this year. We both got shirts for running in the race, lots of free food and drinks, Hunter got a free CBN DVD and Mike won a Portable DVD player. We already have a new one we just got replaced becuase our old one broke and was under warranty. SO, we took it back to Best Buy, explained it was a gift and they gave us store credit toward Mike's IPOD. He's happy..we've been playing with the IPODS all day. We were slack today and it sure was nice. Hunter has a cold and has had a high fever. After going to church we knew we wanted to take a break and rest most of the day. It was so wonderful feeling. Tomorrow we are supposed to get Hunter's picture taken, if he's feeling better and then, of course, Tuesday is HALLOWEEN. We're planning on going to the same church we've taken him to for the past 2 years. They have tons of food, games and "TRUNK OR TREAT". He'll be the perfect age this year. Well I'm going to bed now. Hope everyone has a wonderful week:)

More Camping Pictures



























These are the last of my pictures from the beautiful Shenandoah Valley in the mountains of Virginia. It was so nice there, and very peaceful-Just what we needed! Hunter's cousins were there and he loves to see them. He loves his little cousins, and all of his family. D was a cowgirl and K was a Redskins cheerleader. (Her dad is a big Redskins fan, while her mom is a Packers fan...I wonder if she will be a Packers cheerleader next year:) They were both really adorable. The kids all got to "Trick or Treat" around the campground. As you can see, Hunter did VERY well, and he didn't even go to all the sites. It was his naptime and he was kinda clumbsy, but stuck it out to the end. After a nice nap, we went to dinner and then played on the swing set. We saw the ducks and the view was beautiul. I love the picture of the trees over the water. I'm going to try to make this into my Header and change my background color but not sure how to yet:( I didn't take as many pictures this year. I had a lot on my mind and I just relaxed. It felt good; we've both been pretty stressed the last couple months. We REALLY want to go camping one more time but not sure if time will allow it. Guess we'll see how the schedule works out. I know that most of my shopping is done for Christmas and I plan to do alot more Holiday festivities this year. I always finish mid December and I'm tired of it. I bought things as I saw them or thought of them this year. I only have my father in law, our Granny and Papa and some of my family. But I have a list with everything I need to get so I hope to be done in the next 2 weeks. Ya! We leave for Disney in one month and eleven days..I CAN'T WAIT! This will defentley be a vacation well needed. It's Hunter's first time in Disney and we want him to enjoy every moment. It's so had not to put up my decorations now! I already started listening to Tran Siberian Orchestra but we're just getting ready for the concert in a couple days. We've been the last couple years and although it's usually before Thanksgiving, it's like the beginning of the holidays for us. Well, gotta go. Got some more cleaning to do and maybe later I can post some of my week's pictures. Hunter Man has a little cold and a fever so I need to give him a nice Vicks Vapor Bath and put out his vaporizer before he goes to bed.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Camping in the Mountains



























We went to Verona camping this weekend and it was wonderful. Mike and I took our time Friday, pretty much slept in and then finished up some last minute packing. We got to the mountains around 3 and it was perfect. It had been really warm at home but it was nice and cool by the time we got there. We usually go earlier in the month but going later this time, the colors were much more vibrant. I didn't take too many "scenic" pictures. I just enjoyed a lot slower pace kind of schedule. Shortly after we got all settled in, Mike went for a good run workout. (about 6 miles) Hunter and I colored with the windows open and right by the window so we could enjoy the scenery. It was so relaxing. We had to go out to get some laundry detergent and ate around the corner at the Wendy's. We love it there because of their yummy salads. Their prices are so good on everything...you coulnd't make a salad at home for what they charge:) Always looking to save a buck you know.. Anyway, we had their yummy chili since it was getting colder. It really hit the spot. Then, we went back to the campground and enjoyed a little lounging. It was nice. Saturday, we slept in again and then went to the apple orchard to get some yummy apples. I picked up a bunch for me and the family. I love them for snacks. Hunter loves them too and I'm all for him eating fruits and veggies rather than candy. By the time we got back, the kids were already getting ready to trick or treat. We hurried in to get Hunter Man changed and he got to Trick or Treat. He was Mickey Mouse and he spotted another mouse he really fell for! She was so cute with him too. Lots of the sites were decorated so creatively. Mike cut out our pumpkins the night before after I printed the patterns from the KOA site. While he and Hunter worked on that, I worked on the pumpkin seeds. (We ate them the entire trip up:) There were 1 or 2 haunted houses that Hunter was so interested in but wouldn't dare go in:) By the time we were done, he was ready for his nap. He took just an hour nap and then we went to dinner. We took a side dish and the campground covered everything else. They had cooked a pig. It was more food than you could imagine. We went to the playground afterwards and played for a long time before going to settle in for the night. It was a great time to just relax. We did alot of resting and it was really well needed. We usually go somewhere and stay busy so by the end of the weekend, you feel like you need another trip to recoupe. We are talking about going camping one more time this year. No plans yet but we didn't go as much as we had planned. We were doing so much cleaning and home improvements that we didn't get to go much. Seems like the summer just slipped away:( Hopefully, we can get our other home improvements done before the Spring so we can enjoy next year. We just need to take care of some things before we start thinking about moving. I'd love to move away close enough to come home on a weekend but far enough to have some space and see other parts of our country. Mike is a civil engineer and is getting ready to take his 2nd big exam to be licensed. After that, our possibilities are endless. He sends me emails about living in Europe all the time for 3 year intervals. I'd *LOVE* it, but as long as I have family here, we don't think we can. (Especially the Grandparents) We'll probably stay pretty close though:)
Anyway, getting off the subject...my batteries died in my camera so I'll post some more pics later. I'm tried. Mike and I went to the Olive Garden for his bday and then played around with the IPOD so I can use it tomorrow morning. We're both running 5k's this Saturday for Toys for Tots so we need to get working. Good night:)

Thursday, October 19, 2006

A trip to the Pumpkin Patch











We went to the Belmont Pumpkin Farm this past Sunday with Hunter. Boy, did we have fun! There were lots of pumpkins and beautiful fall foliage; I got lots of pictures, as usual:)
Hunter rode on a big hayride down to the pumpkin patch. We brought his wagon so we could load his own pumpkin and it really came in handy. One of his best buddies, Maddie and her family were there also and she got to ride in the wagon with him. He was SO EXCITED..I think he has a little crush. (that's cool..she's a very sweet little girl) He also got to see the pigs, goats, ducks and turkeys. He loved it...he kept running from the duck to the pig, almost confused on which one he liked better:) We had so much fun playing. I was tired when I got home but it was just a memorable experience. It was his first time. My mom goes with her kindergarten class every year and told me about this place several years ago. It's really neat! I hope to go for many more years and have lots of pictures to tell stories for a lifetime!

Sunday, October 15, 2006

To My Better Half


Mike had his big half marathon today and I was SO proud of him. It was really a big deal for him and he was a bit nervous. He's done a ton of 5k runs on the base that he works on but this was the longest run he has ever done. He runs longer distances at home, though so I KNEW he's do fine. He did wonderful and I was so happy for him. He set a goal and he did it. He ran 13.1 miles in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 30 seconds!! He's hoping to do longer races in the future and I'm hoping to do some with him. I had a fun 5k that I ran Saturday and I was pretty disappointed in my time and performance. My MP3 player went dead for no apparent reason the first lap in the race. I got so frustrated that I nearly gave up. I finally pulled it together and lost the attitude to finish but it was HARD without my motivation. I'm hoping to do better next time but on the brighter side, this race was a benefit for MPS, a great cause, and it was my first run. Mike and I are planning to do some more runs together in the future but for now, I'll just keep trying. He was SO supportive of me and he REALLY is my better half. He is my lifeline, my confident, my best friend and I'm so lucky to have him. He really made me feel better after my run and I nearly cried with pride for him after his. I'm just proud of the person that he is and what he stands for. He is really the best and I love him so much!

*Blogger has been a real bummer tonite so I'll enlarge this other pics later so you can actually see them. But after 2 early days full of fun, I'm ready for bed tonite:)*