This Halloween..

I loved that I could only see leaves instead of road on my morning run.I loved seeing the leaves fly away from the tippy tops of trees like bats with a spooky sky backdrop. I loved this Pirate and this Indian girl.
I loved how beautiful this plain old road could look on a dreary rainy day. I loved this friend who got all dressed up to take my girls trick or treating and spoil them to death,

So I could stay home with this sick little boy whom I love very much.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Pumpkin Post

All that plus Apple Cinnamon doughnuts, Apple Cider Slushies, and yummy homemade fudge.

Yeah- it was a pretty good day!

They Said It Would Rain...

But I still wanted to go on our last camping trip of the year. What is better than fall camping?Nathan said there is nothing worse than camping ANY time when it just rains. I still wanted to go.

I won.

We had exactly one hour to get everything packed up and out the door. Eek. That's not much time, but I was determined to get it done.

As we were putting the final things in the camper Nathan says, "Oh- I got called into work tonight." This after already working 75 hours THIS WEEK. "I will get you guys set up and then I will go in. I will be back before you wake up in the morning."

Still going...

Then one of the kids (who shall remain nameless) said they would prefer to stay home and play video games.

Now we were going for SURE!

The campground we decided on is owned by a co-worker of Nathan's. It is small so it's never too crowded and the property is stunning! Hiking trails, pond with a row boat, and a beautiful boardwalk that takes you out to a river supplied with a kayak and canoe. Words just don't do it justice. Actually- I'm not even sure pictures do!

I think that the thing I love the most about camping is connecting.
We all took turns in the kayak- something the kids have been wanting to try for a long time.

The skies continued to look ominous, but we kept on like it was the perfect day. And it really was. The kids remembered that it was way more fun to learn to whistle a piece of grass, and to search for bad guys in the woods than it is to master a new Wii game...
Miss J collected leaves

and found uses for them along the way. I realized that a one hour packing job doesn't actually DO the job, so we were all excited to go out to eat at a fun little restaurant.

Yeah, the rain came but amazingly it only came when we got in the car to go somewhere. By the time we got there- it was done.

I HAD to stop along the road to get a few early fall beach pictures

This last weekend was just what we needed to keep us going. We all agreed that it was perfect.
Now, does anyone have any kayaks for sale???

Stupid Cape Just Chokes Me Anyway

Every so often I get a superwoman complex. I feel like I need to be doing more of some things, less of other things, and everything else in between. Every other women can do it, right??

I went for the cape the other night.

uh.... yeah.

I decided I would can tomatoes, do the laundry, wash the dishes and pick up the house... all at the same time. Start time? 10:30p on a school night.

By the time the night was over I had broken 3 quart jars, dropped a nasty rusty dirty ring into the stewing tomatoes, and 5 quarts didn't seal.

In the midst of the canning, I notice that the washing machine is exceptionally loud. I opened it and noticed that the agitator was not moving. I did my best to research the problem in between blanching tomatoes, and by the end of the night, I had the washing machine torn apart.

Now the kitchen is a horrendous disaster with tomato splashes, canning supplies, tools, washing machine parts, and laundry everywhere.

Funny because things like this affect me differently than they do my husband. I just get really tired. Well- that and it is now like 2am and the kids will be up soon.

While I was quickly cleaning up what I could, I started sneezing like crazy!

Finally sleep.

Woke up the next morning, ordered the part to fix the washing machine- $2.95. Awesome!

Decided to make spaghetti sauce with the tomatoes that didn't seal for the neighbors to be nice . Great idea!

Realized that my nose was running terribly, I had a headache and my throat was on fire. Not so good.

Washing machine part will be delivered in 5-7 days. Um, yeah. That is a bag of scrubs with "stuff" on them from Nathan's work last night. Gross. 5-7 days is a long time...

Delivered a container of freshly made spaghetti sauce to the neighbors who graciously accepted, but found out later, they still had leftovers from the spaghetti they made for dinner last night.

As usual, I sit and wonder how "everyone else" does it all. I only tried to be superwoman for one night, and it all backfired.

Then I remembered something we found while cleaning out my Grandma's house.

I clearly need to be in on the secret. Anyone know where to get this stuff?? :)

You Better Believe It!

Saroya is definitely NOT one to give up. She asked and asked when she would be able to try again on water skis. So many times have been canceled due to our vacations, phone being down, and lastly Ethan being sick. Today, we finally made it out!!

It was a PERFECT day. 80 degrees, bright blue sky, silky smooth water, and no one but a turtle on a log around.
She was ready, excited and determined to give it her best.With a couple of rough starts-

and a couple more falls, she was always right back to try again.

Then she finally DID IT, and continued to get up every time she tried after that!

She took two rides all around the lake, which is a big deal when your arms feel like rubber for working at getting up for a good half hour! Nothing feels better than working hard... and succeeding!!! YEA SAROYA!!

Before this summer, Avery family- 1 water skier. After this summer, Avery family- 4 water skiers (and one that REALLY wanted too! Maybe next summer??).

Perfect end to a perfect summer.

Tomorrow's weather forecast- Sunny, clear and 71 degrees...

Welcome Fall.

We are ready!