I elfed us!

I've been trying to elf myself all day today, what with internet problems and so on it's been crazy annoying! I figured out the internet problem, and finally got elfed! Check it out!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9630410257

Florida

Every year in October / November I go to Florida for John Deere training. Mom & Ron have a house very near the training site and they are there for the duration of training, so I am able to bring Andrew with & mom watches him during the day. This year I got to go with our friend Charlie who has been a friend of Mike's for a very long time and also works at Ehlers. The flight down went well - Andrew was awake but in a good mood & fell asleep when we landed - just like on our trip to Colorado! We got home & settled in before we headed to the beach to play in the sand and eat at the sandbar restaurant. Andrew had a blast playing with his toys in the sand, and I even let Charlie walk him into the water a little bit (even though he didn't have a life vest on!) I don't think I could say which beach event Andrew liked most - digging in the sand with his shovel, running up to the water, pushing his truck - every single thing he did made me wish I lived on the beach so he could have that much fun every single day! He was so cute when a wave would come in - he would stand sideways and put one foot up as if to stop it! We would pick him up and swing him out of harms way & he just loved it! The next day we got to go out on Ron's boat. We went to a restaurant on Cabbage Key (or something) which is the restaurant where Jimmy Buffett allegedly wrote the song "Cheeseburger in Paradise" about. All the burgers were served medium, and you could only get cole slaw or potato salad as any side. And their kids menu - grilled cheese! It was a great lunch, but it was humorous how simple it all was (especially for me who substitutes everything!) Andrew loved the boat - every time we would move, he would crawl up into my lap, put his head on my shoulder and go to sleep. When we weren't moving, he was up and running around - as much as he could! The next day Charlie and I started training, and the next three days went by very quickly. Our last night there mom & Ron had some friends over & we played poker and other betting games all night. I got a great hand of pocket aces, but my poker face gave it away. I tried to bluff the same way a couple hands later, and Charlie called me on it and won. Once Texas holdem was over, we played some other games, and I somehow managed to win some money! Our flight back wasn't so easy. Andrew should have fallen asleep on take off and didn't so he was awake & fussy the whole way home except for about 1/2 hour when he did sleep. There was a nasty old guy in front of me who kept banging his seat back at me because my fussy toddler knocked the tray with his head a couple times. Oh well - you can't win them all, and the trip was a blast!

Missy

So, I know this seems to be the Andrew blog, but there is more going on around here than just him - briefly I know, but it happens. Mike & I noticed that our cat's bathroom habits were not normal (without going into a whole lot of detail). It actually started before we left for Colorado, so she was on an antibiotic for a UTI, and was supposed to be done with her meds the day we left, but they wanted to recheck her. Of course, there was still an infection, so our friend Sarah got to give Missy her pill twice a day (Sarah, who is allergic to cats - bless her heart!). So, we get home, finish up the meds, and she is still having problems. I made an appointment with her doctor because now this was 3 weeks worth, and she wasn't getting any better & I didn't want some doctor I didn't know to just put her on more antibiotics. He agreed with me that it was time to look at something else. That something else we needed to look at were BLADDER STONES! So, Missy had surgery a couple days before Andrew & I left for Florida. It was a pretty invasive surgery. I got to go visit her (and almost passed out in the room!) and she came home the next day. She wasn't supposed to jump or have that much activity. There is so much activity around here (especially with Andrew - he loves her!) that we decided to keep her shut in the 3rd bedroom. None of the furniture is tall & it is so nice and warm in this room. She wasn't too happy about it, but she was on kitty morphine most of the time, so she was pretty loopy and passed out anyway. She's back to normal now & is on a special diet for the rest of her life! I don't even want to say what the vet bill was! I know I could have had so many free cats for the amount....but they wouldn't have been my Miss!!!

HALLOWEEN!

What a fun day! Mike, Laurie & I started out trick or treating with Andrew the Monkey & Liam the fireman at Grandma & Grandpa Sambrookes's house. It has been a tradition of ours to stop there with the boys before heading out, and I think everyone enjoys it. From there, Mike & I went to his parents house so his mom could get some pictures. We were only there for a few minutes. She was dressed as a very scary witch & Andrew cried everytime we took a step away so she could get a picture! So, back in the car we go to come home - Laurie & Liam met us - and we were off to trick or treat around our neighborhood. Liam did great going door to door, asking "trick or treat" and saying thank you. Andrew did a good job of walking - made it to a couple doors by himself, but had trouble leaving the houses! He was more entertained with sitting on everyone's steps! We tried to get him to say something that sounded like trick or treat, but he wouldn't. At one point, Mike & I walked him up to a door, said trick or treat, got the candy and left. At that point I decided we were just asking for candy, so if Andrew didn't go up to a door, we just stayed back! The boys got a lot of great candy, and had so much fun!


Liam the Fireman

Andrew the monkey

Oooh...candy!!

After a long day of trick or treating!

Pumpkin Patch

Laurie and I decided to take the boys to the pumpkin patch this year. We had an absolutely beautiful day! There were lots of activities for the boys - straw maze, a wooden John Deere tractor, sand box, straw climing hill, and a hay ride! I think the highlight of their day was the sand box, but I'd hate to say I paid money to get into a place for a sand box! They got to run around plenty though. Liam did great going through the straw mazes, though I couldn't draw Andrew away from the tractor long enough to see if he would go through it! The hay ride was short, and not quite as eventful as we thought it would be, but I think both boys liked seeing the tractor. Out in the field we got to see lots of pumpkins. I tried to stage a picture similar to last years with Andrew & the pumpkins, but everytime I tried a picture, he would cry. Even a kiss from Liam didn't cheer him up! All in all the boys had fun, and so did we, so it was a successful outing!

Johnson's Mound

In early fall I decided I wanted to do something a little different with Andrew than our normal walks to the park & playing inside. What could I do? Then, I remembered a beautiful forest preserve park called Johnson's Mound in Elburn. So, I packed up Andrew & Holly and off we went. Andrew loved it! There is lots of walking and exploring to do & Holly loved to be outside running around off leash (for the most part!) Of course, her leash was on her in case of other people or cars so I could grab her quickly...plus Andrew thinks it's a riot to walk her! Andrew loved looking at EVERYTHING - leaves, sticks, rocks - and he loved being able to run around not having to hold my hand the whole time so that he could climb on things and explore the forest floor. We did this twice & had an absolutely wonderful time. It is definitley on my list of things to do when the weather turns nice again!

Andrew walking Holly

She got away - SO SAD!


Having a blast!


Climing on a fallen tree!

Long time no post!

Yes, I'm still here, for the few of you who read this blog!!! We've been crazy busy & been having major internet problems which makes posting very difficult. Stay tuned though, and I will have updates on nature trips, our trip to Florida, Halloween & probably Thanksgiving...everything to catch up the last month and a half! Hopefully I'll be able to get to it this weekend, as long as the internet cooperates!