Go, Go, Goers!

On Friday, Ava asked me if we could put up our Christmas tree this weekend.  I told her that might happen the day after Thanksgiving...but not one minute before!  I explained that this weekend was already full of birthday and Halloween celebrations, and even once we're done with that, Thanksgiving is next up on the holiday docket. When I was out shopping last weekend, I saw some Christmas displays, and opted not to venture down the aisles.  No wonder January feels so blah...we've been exposed to the holiday season (including Halloween) for at least three months prior, and when it's all done, it feels like a huge void! But, I digress. We are right in the middle of the birthday and Halloween events for this weekend, so I'll be posting all of that next week.  But, I do want to wish our little G a super duper HAPPY BIRTHDAY (yesterday)!  He's three, I can't believe it!  Three was the hardest age with Ava, soooo....I guess we'll see how it goes with G....

The right decision is often not an easy one to make...Scott and I had been struggling with a decision about our oldest beagle, Darla.  For the past year, she has been afflicted with multiple medical issues, and we knew that she wouldn't make it much longer.  It felt like we had been saying that for several years, but she kept on bouncing back and recovering from whatever ailments she had.  Over the past summer, she began licking her tummy to the point where she licked off all of her fur, and her skin was rubbed raw.  She also stopped eating around that time, and had no energy.  But, amazingly, she bounced back!  Then, just over the last few weeks, she started having multiple, daily accidents inside the house.  To the point where we'd let her out, and within an hour, she was going potty right in front of us, inside the house. I'm not sure how that became my tipping point, but it hit home that this wasn't something that we could fix.  Last week, s...

This week seemed to be all about making future plans...I bought tickets to see my favorite band in concert next August, I bought tickets for Ava and I to see a Minnesota version of the Nutcracker in December, and I'm looking into getting tickets for a holiday train ride in WI, and also going to a Vikings game with a friend and our daughters.  (It's nice that Ava's at the age where I can bring her to things, and she will actually enjoy them!)  We also have several holiday parties coming up in the next few weeks (Halloween, G's THIRD birthday (!), and a pre-Christmas party in WI!)  Plus, I'm thinking ahead to all of the travel I want to do next year...NYC with Ava, Napa Valley with my mom, and maybe a warm-weather vacay to the Dominican Republic with a group of friends in Feb.  And maybe even a long weekend with another friend...just to get away for some girl time. No wonder we feel like we're always on the go! :) This weekend also had a road trip component....

A few weekends ago, we visited a new-to-us apple orchard in Lakeville.  I don't think anything will ever top the Afton Apple Orchard with the tire mountain, petting zoo, and tons of fun kids things...but this one had a big play set, a tractor hayride, and a TON of apples to be picked.  I think it's safe to say that we'll go back there in the future!  Plus, we managed to be outside during the beautiful morning hours, so we had nothing but sun while we were outside! Interesting frost ring...didn't change the delicious flavor! Relaxing after a long day of picking apples... This past Friday we had family fun night where we each made our own pizzas and then put together an "I Spy" puzzle.  Thank goodness for Scott because Ava and I were doing pretty badly at finding the items in the picture! I like this...G was sticking his tongue out while running Yesterday I tried something new...glass fusing!  My neighbor pl...

Scott and I were talking about how we've moved out of the phase in our lives where we are attending weddings all of the time.  After that phase, we moved into the "baby shower" phase, which I reminded him that he never had to partake in...ever.  So, now when we get to go to a wedding, it's a fun, novel event - especially when it's a friend that I've known for 15+ years.  And then we get to see mutual friends that we've known for that long, too, and have moved onto other areas of the country! Last night, my friend Kristin married her Scott.  And it was a beautiful day/night, where the setting was gorgeous, the people were engaging, and the bride was amazingly low-key (but beautiful!)  The short and sweet ceremony took place at the Ft Snelling Chapel (need to get back there with the kids, so we can explore the area) and the reception was at the Medakota Country Club in Mendota Heights.  Another friend of mine had her reception there 13 years ago, so it was...