A reason to love western Pennsylvania.......

it is perfectly acceptable to wear your Steeler jersey to church on any given Steeler game Sunday....which is almost every Sunday from September to almost February, depending on how the team is doing. This makes my 9-year-old a very happy young man!

Alec is 5!

Alec had a wonderful birthday and it is hard for Darrell and I to grasp that our baby is 5! Birthday tradition at our house is that you get to choose all the meals on your birthday, so here was Alec's menu:

• Breakfast - Bagels with Nutella
• Lunch - Macaroni and cheese
• Dinner - Chicken nuggets and french fries.

Dessert was rootbeer floats with chocolate ice cream! Since Alec's birthday is so close to Thanksgiving this year, his birthday party (and birthday cake) will be December 4th.
Alec was excited to open presents from family....thank you to Aunt Carla for some new legos....
and to Aunt Sheila for a new DVD.

Alec continues to bring so much joy to our lives and we are thankful for our Thanksgiving baby! Happy Birthday, little guy!

Random pictures

Fall yard work is well under way.....Evan is now big enough to help drag garbage cans full of leaves all the way down our steep yard.
It was time to bury "Miss Juliette", Ann-Marie's faithful tomato plant. She produced wonderful tomatoes right up until the end. Ann-Marie insisted upon the burial spot.
Comet has a biscuit problem....sometimes his "stray" mentality still shows through.

lazy, rainy day

the last three days
have been filled with
a long family bike ride in unusually warm November weather
a school night sleep over
gymnastics
and several playdates.....

so today brings
rain, cold, and dreariness
sleepy children and dog
sharing a heating vent

it's good to slow down every once in awhile

Kalahari 2010

We ended our trip with an overnight to Kalahari...we visited last year and the kids have been begging to go back again. If you visit during the school year and in the middle of the week, you get great prices!






We had a great time on our vacation!

Chicago trip 2010

A trip to Chicago was just what our family needed. We enjoyed staying and spending time with my Aunt Sue and Uncle Lyle. The first day, we were pretty tired so we did two low-key activities in Wheaton, Illinois: Cosley Zoo - free with our FONZ zoo membership and Catigny park. On Sunday, we went to church and just hung out, roasting hot dogs and s'mores with my aunt and uncle. Needless to say, we had GREAT weather in Chicago!

On Monday, we headed into Chicago to visit the Museum and Science and Industry and we had a wonderful time. Highlights include the weather exhibit (40 foot tornado and experiencing 80 mph winds), the body exhibit (giant heart beats in time with your heartbeat), and watching baby chicks hatching. Our Carnegie Museum Pass got us in free, parking is $16.00 and lunch in the museum was plentiful and affordable.

Fall Festival

These pictures are little late, but here they are. I was in Colorado when our church hosted the Fall Festival, so Darrell got to handle the pumpkin carving and dressing up. This was the first year he let Evan wield a knife by himself and carve his own pumpkin. He did a fine job!

Ann-Marie was a cat, Evan was Darth Vadar, and Alec (for the 2nd year in a row) was Spiderman.


Ann-Marie really wanted a picture with Comet.....cat and dog!