No Tricks, just Treats!!

Our annual "Treat Night" with the girls was tonight and it's a treat for us for sure!!  It begins with pizza unlike any we have in our small town!  A great place just down the street from Mike & Lori has deep dish pizza only to be rivaled by that we used to eat in Chicago...yum!  Then the girls get dressed and off we go!

 This year Emma was a fish and Bailey was the Queen of the Sea!

 An excited one at that...ready to go see her kingdom!

 The next few pics were taken by Bailey, our new budding photographer.  We have to giggle a bit at recent pics of Emma...she is so fair that she "glows" in many pictures. 

 Bailey's pic of her Aunt Jamie and Uncle John....

 and one of her grandparents...Lori's parents.  Good job Bailey!!!

 One of us with the photographer...

 and bidding goodbye to the men in the family as is our tradition.  The guys stay home to hand out candy while the ladies forage out.

 The girls with next door neighbor "Strawberry Shortcake"!

 Collecting candy and being polite.  I was surprised at the great idea many had of putting an outdoor firepit  next to their chairs as they handed out candy.  It felt good and smelled so good as we walked down the street.

 Bailey ready to "treat" all night....

while Emma was ready to head home to bed to dream of all her candy!

Good Night, Irene....

My mother-in-law passed away yesterday and with her went a gentle, sweet soul.  She knew that she was going and asked my father-in-law to sit by her side during the night.  (They were in a nursing home.) He got up in the morning to briefly visit the bathroom and she said,  "Don't be gone too long,  I won't be here much longer..."  He promised her that he wouldn't but when he returned, she had already passed.    They were married for 70 years, -had married as teens, and this will be so very hard for him.  I saw her last on Saturday and even then, she had a smile on her face. 
Life goes so quickly...I remember first meeting her when I was in nursing school and it seems like yesterday. She was always kind to me and I appreciated how nice she was.  It's easy to set someone on a pedestal after they are gone but  she was quite ill for the last few years and yet that smile seldom left her face.
One of the things that brought the biggest smile to her face was the love of family.  She would share pictures that she got in the mail from her children of the great-grands.  She loved hearing stories about the new ones in our family and would always finish them with "Isn't that something?" 

 Somehow, despite the saddest of days, life does go on.  We came home to find that Chelsea had taken Bryden to a Halloween party and he was dressed as a puppy.  He didn't want to be held and realized he had a treasure in that candy bag!

  He was thrilled with the whole thing and was wagging his literal and figurative tail! 

 When sitting with my father-in-law today, the only time he smiled was when asking about Bryden. When I told him how he enjoyed Trick or Treating, he smiled and then asked again.

The circle of life seems not to stop even in the seconds that make your heart stop for a while. 

Good Night, Irene....you will be missed!

A Fall Day with Two Little Pumpkins...

We headed north today, bright and early to babysit for Mike and Lori who had early morning commitments.  The girls weren't even up yet, but were soon after our arrival and we all had breakfast together.    That's an unusual event that we all enjoyed.  Mom and Dad headed out and we started our work of...play!

 Bailey decided she wanted to be the photographer for the day and took over the camera.  I have many headless shots on my camera but this one wasn't too bad...you just re-evaluate things from a new angle...and extra chins as well.  You have to wonder why grandchildren love you like they do when they see you from this angle.....ha!

 Paw-paw took over their dad's comfortable chair and the remote.  Actually Emma and he battled for it and I'm not sure who won?!

 Outdoor, it was a wonderful, crisp fall morning and we got this pic while we checked out the pretty flowers.

 The many hats of Bailey....

 and Emma's beloved binky!!

 Lori (& Mike) came home and we headed out for another adventure....

dressed in their coats that reminded me of little pumpkins and hats that Lori's mother made.   I think they are amazing!!  That alone makes cooler weather worth it!!

Free Saturday....

 It was a "funny" week...one where everything that could and would go wrong....really did!!  I won't bore you with all the details, but suffice it to say that it was a rather stressful week. 
    The weather changed too and the wind literally blew Fall in big time!

 The nice thing that happened this week was that my sister, Lynn, passed through for a day on her way to see her daughter who lives in Delaware.  She will come again Monday on her way back home.  Since our parents died, it's wonderful to connect whenever we can even in the simplest of ways. 

Just spending time talking finds a real pleasure for both of us!

As for the "Free Saturday"...we got up today and read the paper.  We knew that babysitting Bryden was part of our day and we saw three Fall festivals happening in our little town.  We had time to go to two.  The temp had really turned cooler and it was very windy so we bundled up and headed out. The first festival was at an orchard where they were giving wagon rides...FREE.

They also had FREE caramel apples, popcorn and hot dogs!! Yum!  The lines weren't too long yet but I felt sorry for the clean-up crew because the wind caused many a paper plate and napkin to go flying!

There were also many FREE photo-op spots and face painting for the kids.

We went on to festival number two which was a farm.  It is known for it's wonderful produce and also for pumpkins this time of year.  There was a FREE horse drawn wagon ride out to the pumpkin patches. 

There were not FREE food stands here, where the wind was taking down some of the decorations. (not sure where it was putting some of the help too...)

There was also a FREE petting zoo, and hay maze for the kids that ended in this slide.  Bryden went down about 25 time and loved every minute.  

It was a fun afternoon that didn't cost much, took us all home tired from the fresh air and badly wanting a nap. zzzzzzZZZZZ!

the Last Hurrah of Summer....

 Even the dog feels it...the cool crispness in the air at night makes him snuggle in a little more.  The leaves have literally rained down on our yard this weekend and I see a lot of work coming in the weeks ahead.  I wanted to do yard work this weekend, but Larry wouldn't hear of it.  He said that this would probably be the last of the remarkably good weather and we should just enjoy it. So....

 We headed south to watch another of 4 year old Cooper's soccer games.  They are blissfully short and so much fun to watch!  Coop is #17 and here is volunteering for something...

 from his encouraging coach.

 A break during the game brings a drink and more encouragement.

 He takes the ball away!

Concentrating on the game...

 Chest bumps in the end...good going Cooper!! (they lost)

 Today, we decided to go down on the pontoon to clean it up.  We haven't had much time to spend on it this summer and wanted to just relax too. We discovered that was a popular idea when we saw a full parking lot as we entered the marina. The turning leaves are so pretty to look at along the shoreline.

There was a lot of end-of-summer partying going on as we saw many boats that "link-up" for that purpose. 

After cleaning, Larry fished while I like to simply sit and read and boat watch.

It was one of those times you wish would last for a couple of days.  We stayed until the bitter end, -grateful for this moment before the work week starts.