Dog Days

This dog always makes me smile. Whether he's playing and running around the house at 75mph, or cuddling with me on the couch, or just sleeping all by himself. He makes me smile.

He zonked all afternoon just like this. With his head on the edge of the sofa and his stuffed dog at his bum. Oh, and he snored....LOUD.

Haunted House

At Christmas time, we make Gingerbread Houses. So why not make a Haunted House at Halloween? Target sales the Haunted House kits....

Focusing on decorating...


And the cute final product! Looks haunted to me!

Pumpkin Math Day

I had to post about this because I thought it was such a cute idea.......Unfortunately though, I only have one picture to show you.

Today, the First Grade at Ashlan's school had Pumpkin Math Day with Daddy. Daddy's join their kids at school and together they open a pumpkin, count the seeds, then proceed to carve and decorate the pumpkin in the classroom What a cute idea! And only Daddy's are invited...

I have been excited about this upcoming event. Excited about taking pictures for it. Ashlan and I even went to another pumpkin patch yesterday after school to pick out a special pumpkin just for her and Daddy. (even though, throughout it all at the pumpkin patch, I felt so sick)

Well, today was the day. Pumpkin Math Day was here! UNFORTUNATELY, I spent last night in the local ER because we were certain I had appendicitis. I had ALL the symptoms, most important one being the pain and discomfort when I pushed on my right lower abdomen. Oh man, I felt so yuck. Good news - it was NOT appendicitis, so no surgery. Bad news - CT scan showed Acute Viral Colitis. Meaning 3 days diet of clear liquids only and 10 days of antibiotics. And as of this morning, antibiotics on a clear liquids only stomach is not going so well.

So, I just couldn't get it together this morning to get pictures of Brent and Ashlan before they walked out the door. But luckily, after the event was over, Brent came back to check on me and brought the pumpkin he and Ashlan carved at school!



Thank you for going with her, Brent. And thank you for taking such good care of me!

Pumpkin Patch

We had a fun outing to one of the fun Pumpkin Patches nearby yesterday after school! I always LOVE visiting Pumpkin Patches and Ashlan enjoys it, as well! Of course, I always take my camera with me so I can grab some pictures of her having so much fun! When we were packing up to go to the Patch, Ashlan asked if she could bring her Halloween costume so we could get some pictures of her in that too! Well, ABSOLUTELY!

It could not have been a more gorgeous day! Lots of friends, fun, pumpkins and picture taking!




And Ashlan's choice for her Halloween costume this year.....

Little Red Riding Hood

Nick

It's been awhile since I have posted about Nick and several of you have asked about him recently. He is doing great! He is in 10th grade, continuing to play lacrosse, eating us out of the house, and still the messiest kid around! His grades so far have been very impressive. We are very very proud of him!

He is growing like a weed! Almost as tall as his dad! He will be taller than Brent I do predict!

He continues to play lacrosse. He missed out on the Varsity try-outs due to an injury in practice, so he is playing for the JV team again this semester (with the hopes of moving up to Varsity in the Spring) He most recently bruised his right arm again, which left him in a splint for 10 days. Yes, lacrosse is a very aggressive sport! But we love how much passion Nick has for this sport, and throughout the injuries, he pushes on!

Here are some recent lacrosse pictures. He changed his jersey # to 99 this year.

Back to the 70's

Brent and I took on a fun task this weekend! We hosted a 70's Disco Party! It all started a couple of months ago at a Girls Night Out. About 8-10 of us girls talked about how much fun it would be to have a costume/theme party. I went home, talked to Brent, and we decided to pursue that idea and host a 70's party (yes, the 70's theme was Brent's idea which I loved!) Since this was our first costume party to throw, we kept the invite list small. 8-10 couples. It sooooo should have been bigger, but alas, next year we know what to expect and it will be!
Brent and I spent weeks stressing about decor, food, drinks, music, etc. And in the end, it was all worth it. So much fun! Enjoy the pictures!
Brent and I (and this is before Brent started to sport his afro for the evening)

There were disco ball necklaces, mood rings, and sunglasses for each guest when they arrived

We tried hard to make it seem like a disco club with strobe lights and disco balls

A couple of the male costumes

Now Brent is sporting the afro!


Some of us girls (with a pregnant disco dancer in the center...yes, she's really pregnant)


What a great time we had! Can't wait to have this party again next year, but with a MUCH bigger invite list!!!! The more the merrier, I now know!

Piano

We are lucky enough to have a sweet friend in the neighborhood who teaches piano. When I asked Ashlan if she would like to take lessons and learn to play the piano, she was all for it! So last week, she had her first 30 min lesson from our friend Judy! Ashlan loved it! She came straight home to practice what she had learned during her first lesson, so she 'wouldn't forget it'.




I took piano lessons as a child and loved it! I hope Ashlan sticks with it!

Getting Hooked

We ended up having a great weekend at the lake, but most of you know, it didn't start off all that great!

Here's the story (short version):

The sun is starting to go down, the water is smooth like glass, and it's the perfect time to Top Water fish!
Brent is ready to get his top water bait/hooks all ready to go on the pole!

Okay, about ready to go!

Amazing! He's been top water fishing all year with no success! Finally, SUCCESS! A pretty bass!

Now here is where the story turns from excitement from catching a fish on top of the water to screaming, crying, blood, fainting, and nearly vomiting...
See, that fish you saw above was STUCK on one of three massive hooks. Plier weren't even getting that hook out of its mouth. Brent couldn't do it alone so he asked me to step in and help hold the fish still so he could work his magic and get that hook out. Well, NOT a good idea! I was holding the fish (along with Brent) Then the fish decides to go FREAKING NUTS on the hook and flaps everywhere! I freaked out because the fish was slapping my hand and I wasn't comfortable with it. Brent and I both let go, but with the fish flapping and going FREAKING NUTS, one of three hooks decided to go straight into my pointer finger. I mean, it went ALL the way in! Somehow during that ordeal, the fish unhooked himself and I got hooked. Brent now has humor about it and likes to tell people "I went from hooking a 2 pound bass to hooking a 130 pound piece of ass" (No, it's not funny to me at all)
Okay, so anyways, I looked down, saw the hook engaged in my finger and actually tried to pull it out. Nope, not happening. That barb on the end of the hook was NOT allowing me to pull it back out. It was in way too far. That's when I started freaking out! It was bleeding, it was PAINFUL, it looked nasty horrible, it wasn't coming out, and we were in the country NO WHERE near an emergency room! All I could think of is.... I need medicine and I need surgery!

Bless my husband's SWEET heart, he TRIED to calm me down. I was crying, shaking, and screaming. He took me inside the house and put my finger under the running water to wash the blood away to see what he could do. He tried pulling the hook out too. Nope, not happening. Remember, that BARB on the end of the hook was ripping at the insides of my finger while he was trying to pull it back out. OUCH! Then I started feeling faint! Big time! Then came the nausea. Brent took me over to the kitchen table so I could sit. I kept my head down and my eyes closed. I could FEEL the pain, I didn't want to SEE it!

Brent's only option at this point was to find a wire cutter and cut the hook so he could push it out the other end. WHAT? NO! I want to go to an emergency room. I NEED MEDICINE! But Brent, being the surgeon he is, was not about to take me to an emergency room to watch someone else do what he could do at the house. I am guessing that would be a sign of defeat for him. I kept telling him, 'BUT THEY WILL GIVE ME MEDICINE, and YOU don't HAVE THAT" I guess he blocked that out, because he found wire cutters and I kept crying.
Yes, he managed to cut the hook. And yes, he pushed that hook out the other side. Yes, I cried. Yes, I passed out and almost puked.
But let me tell you - that boy was amazing! He was so patient and nurturing to me. I can say that now since the hook is out and I seem to be fine, right! Hahaha!

Ashlan was totally traumatized by the incident. I would have been to if I had seen my mom screaming and my dad causing even more pain! But in the end, it's a happy ending! I am up to date on my tetanus booster, we didn't have to pay some other doctor to remove the hook, and I survived. Although, afterward, Brent did tell me "That was one of the top five hardest things I've ever had to do in my life" I know how I felt during that ordeal. I can imagine how hard it was for him to see me hurting so bad and him doing everything in his power to make it better, even if it meant causing me more pain temporarily.

Here I am about an hour after the ordeal (since immediately after the hook was removed, I had to lay down in bed and process what had just happened)
Yes, my face is very pale. I had been crying for awhile obviously. And at this point, Brent had me soaking my finger in ice cold water... Yes, I managed a smile completely out of RELIEF!


Ashlan and Bismark were concerned obviously.

The bluish lower mark is where the hook went in. The upper red mark is where Brent had to push the hook out.

Darn that hook!


Thanks Brent for taking care of me!!! I love you!!