Cricktoberfest

Michael held his 10th annual Cricktoberfest last weekend out at the camp. This is a yearly gathering of friends and family. The friends have changed over the years but a few remain steadfast and true. The family dynamics are the most fun to witness. We had a herd of kids running around during the day. Brady and her friend's spent their time raking leaves into piles so that they could jump into them from the swing. Oliver did all that he could to destroy the leaf pile and aggravate the girls. Ha! Little brothers!
My mom actually kept my kids over night so this was the first full night Michael and I had away together since Oliver was born. We camped out in a tent and even though it was really cold we were warm and no way was I giving up that night away to wimp out and go home!
I got some great pictures:







I can't even begin to explain the depths of my love for my babies:

Down on the farm..

I have some catching up to do with the blog. Last weekend Michael and I took the kids and headed to Trax Farms. There was no football game and the weather looked promising. The weather turned out to be super hot. I mean, hot! And the place was packed. It is such a great place but it was kind of hard to enjoy with the sun beating down and being crammed in with so many other people. Note to those who may go. Get your man to skip football and go when it will be less crowded. Most of the crowd will be home watching the game. We did get to meet up with Michael's cousin and her husband and managed a few minutes with Pap and Noreen. It felt like we didn't really get to see them because we spent so much time standing in line. Oliver loved the petting zoo and the train. I think Brady was a little nervous about feeding the animals with a baby bottle. As soon as they saw the bottle they came for her FAST.
We ended our trip with a hay ride to the pumpkin patch and the corn maze. Brady and I are going to carve the pumpkin tonight. She has informed me that she wants zero help with carving. Ok. I'll post pictures of her finished product!
Some pictures from the farm:

Busy, Busy

It sure seems like we are never lacking for things to do. Especially in the fall. Last week we finally had the pleasure of getting to meet Miss May Devine. May is the first child for our friends. I have been patiently waiting to meet her. These pictures don't do her justice. She is sweeter than sweet. She has the softest little head of hair. She makes all the baby faces and sounds that a new baby makes. She just follows Jeananne everywhere with her eyes. She reminded me sooo much of Brady at that age. I wanted to take her home with me!!!! She made me want another baby. (And then reality hits when you leave. So no need to raise an eyebrow!)I really can't put into words how beautiful she is, so I will let you see for yourself.





I am not so sure Oliver was as enthralled with May as I was. I think he was a little more thrilled with Ned. But for those of you who are big fans of fur babies, you'll love little Ned.


Oliver was actually really good with Ned. Brady wants a dog sooo badly ( a chocolate lab)but we have been holding out until Oliver gets older. Honestly, I don't think that I am ready for a dog. I am just getting to the point where Oliver has gotten a bit easier!
The blog is undergoing a makeover. I ended up deleting my widgets when I changed the template, but I will have the links back up in no time!

Here we are again...

2+ weeks since my last post. I have been working about three days a week and sometimes those are very long days. By the time I finally feel caught up and rested it is time to work again! Between work, soccer, home life, and trying to get out and do stuff, I haven't had much time to post. Excuses,excuses.
Brady, Oliver and I recently traveled to Kingwood, the town that I grew up in, to attend the Buckwheat Festival. It was the first time in 5 years that I have been down. Brady usually just goes with her dad and his family and it is a special weekend that they have shared for the last five years. They were kind enough to let us intrude. We were supposed to stay with a friend of my mother's on Saturday night. After we watched the parade, we strolled over to say hello and weren't given a very warm welcome. I didn't think too much of it then. But when we went back for dinner, mom and I both felt something was up. So I said to mom, just ask her if us staying with her will be too much of an inconvenience. So she asked. And the answer was, "I don't know." We had our answer right there. Unfortunately we were getting this info at about 8pm. So Oliver had been on the road for almost 12 hours and was in full melt down mode. So after trying to weigh out our options, we finally decided we should just head back to Wheeling. (a two hour drive, mind you)I can't even begin to tell you about the tears and disappointment coming from the backseat between Brady and Dylan. I understood. I too was disappointed. They pretty much cried for the first 15-20 minutes in the car. Then something came to me. I told Brady to look in my purse and see if my keys were in there. They were. I had the key to the camp. So I suggested we drive to Fairmont and stay at the camp. The tears turned to happiness. We stopped and bought a bottle of shake and pour pancakes. It was a great, unplanned side trip. What started as pure frustration had a surprisingly pleasant outcome. Here are a few photos from the trip: