Happy November First!

Welcome to November!

This Halloween weekend has been nothing but fun! Well, some work too, but more fun for sure! Friday Dave surprised me with Halloween costumes he picked out for the two of us, Little Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf! WOW! How thoughtful! The local newspaper came over to interview us about the way Dave does up our house with Halloween decorations. They took some really great photos, check them out here: //www.http//auburnjournal.com/detail/163611.html After that, we went to James and Lisa's Halloween party and then out to the Auburn Ale house where we shared funny dating stories (before we were an us) and laughed like we were young and dating. It was fun making people smile as we walked in all decked out in our oh-so cute costumes!

Saturday Mason played soccer and his team won - again! The Pistol Pete's Pirates are undefeated. It has been wonderful watching these boys learn to work together and work the plays they learn in practice. Dave and I made caramel apples for the team and I have no doubt the gummy worm coming out of a pile of candy bones made them all that much more fun to eat! We spent Saturday afternoon cleaning house and then it was time to get all decked out again for more parties. We went to a work party and then to Pistol Pete's where we met up with James and Lisa. We walked over to a little bar in town where we found our groove laughing and dancing enjoying all the costumes and smiles. After all that fun, it was hard to believe that we hadn't even arrived at Halloween yet!

Sunday, we got up and read our story in the newspaper and then went for a family run. Mason on his bike and Dave and I (with Spencer) went for a run downtown. It made me think, since we don't do Thanksgiving on Thursday, why don't we do the 5K Run To Feed The Hungry? I think we need to consider it. If you are local, do you want to go, too? I digress, so we ran some errands, got groceries, and watched Beetlejuice on TV. Dave did homework and then it was showtime! We had tons of kids, people who saw the house in the newspaper came to trick-or-treat and see the lights. It was really fun and made Dave really proud. Mason and Dave went trick-or-treating and now it's all done. I hope you had a fun weekend and I would love to hear from you, leave a comment and tell me a little about your weekend. In the meantime, scroll down and see the pictures from our fun-filled weekend! Happy Halloween and welcome to November!

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” Ashley Smith

Summer 2010 Highlights!

I thought instead of recapping the last few weeks of not-so-much-fun, I would go back over the summer and post some pics of the Fun, Friends, and More!

We spent lots of time at the ARD pool. I expect this is the last year Mason will pass for "little enough" to play in the water park.

I love this picture! Mason wanted desperately to mow the lawn. Something told me to capture this moment in time as I expect he won't be that enthusiastic ever again...at least about mowing the lawn! Priceless!

Many afternoons were spent selling lemonade in front of the house. There just wasn't an opportunity to get a good shot without posing it. I didn't want to stage it so this is what we get! Oh, and by the way, in this economy, Mason did alright selling lemonade!

If my memory serves me, Mason spent more nights sleeping on the front deck this summer than he did in his own bed. I say it's because his room was such a disaster, good, restful sleep was just not possible. He will tell you something completely different. No matter, that's what summertime is for, warm nights that make sleeping outside so enjoyable!

The girls had pretty feet all summer long! What girls you ask?

Kathy, Diana, and Julianne in this picture!

And here the three ladies are getting ready to go out with our lucky guy, Dave!

Max, Kathy, and Julianne.

We had a lovely cocktail party one Saturday in July while Julianne was visiting from Minnesota. We had such a wonderful visit. I hope I can post pictures next summer of my family visiting hers in Minnesota!

Lots and lots of new Smoshpellow recipes! These are caramel smoshpellows, one dusted in powdered sugar and the other dusted in cinnamon chocolate. Oh yeah, they are to die for! And don't forget Teresa's homemade truffles. Mason said they are the best candy he's ever eaten...now that's say'n something!

Mason got his own set of paints and figures to paint while school was out. This is really a milestone for us because painting miniature figures is Dave's favorite pastime so Mason being interested, too is pretty cool!

Spencer turned one!

We celebrated with cake while we sang Happy Birthday!

Just so y'all know, Spencer ate the vanilla icing but not the chocolate cupcake.

That part was just for show!

Back to school! Mason started the 1st grade!

Ms. Morris is his teacher and he gets to ride the bus! Note: It's very important to Mason to look like a teenager...note the jeans and shoes - key pieces!

With back-to-school came soccer! Yay! Mason is #6 and plays on the Pistol Pete's Pirate's team. He really loves soccer and loves playing goalie! This is gonna be great fun for all of us...can you tell who's really getting in the spirit? Opening day for SoccerFest 2010 and Dave was our official "Pirate!"

Mason got to call the toss! We won the flip!

My little goalie in action! This was his first scrimmage...or real game as he will tell you. Hey, they played another team, I'd say that's real!

And of course, he had to pose for mom!

It's been a great summer. I'm ready to head into fall and then winter. We have big plans for ZipperBack Gloves and you all know we are planning to move from the Aeolia house after the first of the year. We will be staying local for another couple of years, but we all know how fast time flies! I hope you had as much fun this summer as we did! Drop me note and tell me what your highlight was over the last few months. I love hearing back from all of you! Have a great week and thanks for not giving me too much grief for being late! Smiles!