A glimpse into our lives...

What Kind of Pumpkin Are You?

Scary or Loving…

When carving pumpkins I get to help the kids draw the faces on before Steve carves them. So I asked Allan what kind of face he wanted and he said, "Scary face." Together we came up with a scary face. The picture of him with the pumpkin is him trying to make a scary face. Actually both pictures of him look like the scary face.

Lorelei wanted to draw her own face this year. She said, "I want my pumpkin to be loving." So she drew her face first on a piece of paper, then she drew it on the pumpkin. Good thing we use washable markers because she had to do it multiple times. She drew it really small, then too close together, then just right. She helped Steve carve it and push out the pieces.

What do you think? Which one looks scary and which one looks loving? He, hee, hee! Boo!

My 100th Post...

Whew! What a milestone. I know many of you have already surpassed it, but I am feeling like it is quite an accomplishment.

I wanted to post this link to blogthings.

Put in your name and it spits out info about what your name means. Do you think it describes me?

What Alanna Means

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic “Type A” personality. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

Welcome Madeline!

We want to welcome Madeline to the world! She was born 10.22.08 and was 8lbs. 0ozs. and 20.5 inches long.

Congratulations Andy and Kara, she is truly beautiful! We couldn't be more happy for the two of you.

Lorelei was so taken with baby Madeline. She kept telling me how cute she was. Then she sat next to Kara while she was holding the baby and just rubbed the Madeline's head very gently. She is very excited for our baby to be born.

Moto GP Weekend

One of the first weekends in September Steve and I took a short weekend vacation all alone. My mom agreed to take the kids for two nights. This was the first vacation we have had alone since Lorelei was born 3.5 years ago. We went to watch the Moto GP race in Indianapolis. Easy to get to, cheap and fun.  Little did we know Mother Nature had a different plan for us. Of course I had pictured 2 mildly warm days sitting outside doing nothing. Sounded perfect. Steve could enjoy the motorcycle bliss surrounding him. Life would be good.

We arrived Sat. afternoon just in time to watch the big names race their prelims for the next days race. The kicker was it was about 95 degrees outside and I hate heat. I especially hate heat when I am pregnant. But I sucked it up and walked all over on the asphalt and was mildly  enjoying myself. We found where our seats were in the stands and there was some shade there. I was thinking it would be a great place to sit the following day. We had an awesome view of some of the corners and Steve was really proud of himself because he had bought the tickets off someone on the WERA board only a week earlier. (Thanks to whomever you are. You gave up some good seats!)

The evening was perfect. We stayed in a camper with some friends, roasted some steaks on the charcoal grill and relaxed.

The next day rain was predicted. Hurricane Ike was making its way towards us. Michigan had already been getting hit with the hurricane weather all day Sat. We considered ourselves lucky that we had avoided it in IN.

The morning was really warm and humid. So we headed to the track in shorts and t-shirts, but we were smart enough to bring the ponchos and a couple snacks. We settled up in our seats. The sky was clear and sunny, life was good. About an hour in that started to change. Gale force winds, dropping temps and canceled races. I was freezing and the wind was whipping everything in its path, including our ponchos. It was a funny sight to see everyone all freezing cold and trying to stay completely covered so they wouldn't get rained on. You can see Steve in his lovely poncho trying to keep his head dry.

The other photos show the trucks with dryers trying to get water off the track. And the lead bike during the Moto GP race, Nicky Hayden. In the end he finishes in 2nd place when the race is cut short because of the 40 mph winds and sideways rain.

We survived and now we have a good story to tell. The kids were very excited to see us when we got home and we had really missed them during the whole weekend.

Silver Bella Excitement

I have been hard at work on items for the 3 swaps I am in. Silver Bella has become the highlight of my Fall/Winter. I can barely wait for the classes and the Vendor Faire. I have already started packing my craft things and I am not leaving for a couple weeks yet. Above is a little sneaky peek of the packaging for one of my Silver Bella swap items.

Maybe excited isn't even a strong enough word. I think I call my sister every day and talk at her about Silver Bella. She is attending too, but she hasn't been able to get as caught up in it as I am! So for all you Silver Bella gals that have been reading my blog, I can't wait to meet all of you in a couple weeks. I am really excited to see what you have been glittering for your swap items!

If you have no idea what Silver Bella is, then please check out this link: Silver Bella. Maybe next year I can convince you to attend with me, or better yet there are still some spots open!

Happy Sweetest Day and Dating Anniversary

I am reminiscing about what happened today 18 years ago... Eighteen years ago, you might wonder? Yes, I was a freshman in high school and my true love asked me to meet him out by the drinking fountain after gym class. Oh, I was nervous. I really liked him and it was pretty obvious he liked me. I think every one in the whole 9th grade knew the two of us were making googly love eyes at one another.

At the end of gym class, which Steve was in with me, I changed my clothes and tried to look all beautiful despite the glistening of my sweat from class. I left the girls locker room and went to the gym door so I could go out to the hallway by the drinking fountain, when the teacher announced, "No drinks today." Umm, what?

So Steve and I looked at each other and I wondered what would happen next. I waited for the bell to ring and found a spot next to him as we walked down the hall to our lockers. And finally the big  moment. He said those five beautiful words, "Will you go with me?" My answer of course was yes. The rest is 18 years of history. My mom would later ask me at home, "And just where do you think you are going with him, you aren't old enough to date…"