Randy

On October 29th, we had to say good-bye to a beloved member of the family, our cat Randy.  We have had Randy since July of 1998....through six moves, across the country and back, over to Germany and back.  He has been a royal pain, and a real sweetie.  He will be missed.

Vermont trip

I decided to take the kids to New England this year.  They'd never been to the Big E (the New England state fair) and never had fried dough!!  For you Southerners, fried dough is sort of like funnel cake, but it's only one piece, fried, with your option of toppings (although I think it's best with powdered sugar!).

We had a great time!  We not only went to the Big E and ate...and ate...and ate...oh my goodness....  we had lobster rolls, blueberry pie, maple cotton candy, fried dough (a few times!), fried veggies, hotdogs....

We also went to VINS....an amazing place near Quechee, VT with eagles, hawks, owls, vultures, and other various birds that are rehabilitating.  We LOVED it and would go again in a minute.  As an added bonus, it was definitely educational, but the kids didn't even notice, they were having so much fun!

We got to see where my cousin lives and works (a horse barn) and meet her horse, Glitter.  Caroline and Victoria rode her, as did my Nana.  My mother-in-law threw a little tea party, too, which was great fun!

My baby's....no baby!

My baby is seven!!  I realized awhile ago that I am out of a stage of life I felt I would never leave - that of having at least one preschooler.  It's a bizarre feeling.

Victoria asked for a Barbie cake, which I had never made, but I think it turned out really well!  We ate about half of it, then wrapped it up, put it on the counter... and the next morning we discovered our dog had knocked it down, smashing the plate in the process, and ate the rest of the cake....and the plastic wrap that had covered it.  Victoria took it really well...better than I did...am...!!

We tried to grow dill...

I have only tried to grow dill once before, and it died.  This year, I tried to grow it for pickles, and it got eaten.  Not nibbled, EATEN.  But who could complain after we figured out what was eating it?!?!  Swallowtail caterpillars!  Needless to say, we'll be growing dill every year from now on.

Double Digits

Caroline has finally hit double digits!  She had some friends over for what was SUPPOSED to have been an outdoor water party....but it started storming shortly after everyone got there, so we decided to do it inside.  Still fun!  Of course, we celebrated again another day with her grandparents...and another cake!

We are Family

My mom hit the big 6-0 this year, so we had a party for her....well, two, sort of...one for church friends and then a week or so later, her mom, sisters, and other friends came over.  We had a friend take pictures for this momentous occasion.

So close to being a teen...

Hard to believe Jonathan is twelve!  Here are some pictures from his birthday party and his birthday celebration with us.  We also took him to the circus!