Trick or Treat

The Royal Family certainly had a happy Halloween indeed. Knowing that to send any child trick or treating by walking from house to house in our neighborhood might be considered child abuse (because of the long distance between houses) I asked David's good friend Elena if we could tag along with her and their crew. That was a couple of weeks ago and what started out as just a few of us grew into a huge friends and family party! It was awesome. Here are some pictures from last night.

We borrowed my nephew Ben's hat and hook since David wouldn't keep his other hat on.

Bobby as a Giraffe-he did really good in his costume.

Lana-her parents dressed up with her and it was really cute. They pretended to "hold up" each house and raid their candy.

Me and my nephew Will in his skeleton shirt.I didn't get a picture of Elena in her costume, but she was

Remy from the movie Ratatouille.

My sis Lara and I. I'm seriously going to cut my hair to her length now.
Our boys- Ben aka Spider man, and David.
Oma and Pop with their youngest grandson.
Ben, Drew, and Lara enjoying the fire. Julie had a nice little set-up for all of us. She made apple and pumpkin muffins with apple cider. After making the rounds we let the kids play together and eat a little candy, while the adults ate and relaxed by the outdoor fire pit. It was just perfect and we vowed to do it again next year...except, about a week ago (after I had long made plans with Julie) our neighborhood decided to put together an annual hay ride to take the kids to trick or treating at each house! Next year I am really going to have a tough time trying to decide what to do!

Every Dawg Has His Day

A post of blogger shout-outs...

Tara, this is how I know what Evan's next move will be ; )
For Angela per her special request. We finally caved in a bought David a toy vacuum. On Friday I was able to vacuum without David yelling "my turn". He was content to use his alongside me copying my every move.
Caron, Caitlin, and all the other Georgia fans out there...HOW 'BOUT THEM DAWGS? The highlight of the weekend was watching the Georgia/Florida game. The dawgs had their day on Saturday as they won 42 to 30. Whoohoo!

Honored Again

Jason just came back from a four day trip to North Dakota. Once again his father was honored, and this time he had a interpretative nature trail named after him.

Dan's Memorial
L: Pat and Jason R: Don, Julia, and Cathy*

*Don and Julia are Dan's brother and sister in-law, and Cathy is their daughter and youngest of four children (this makes her Dan's niece and Jason's cousin). David and I were originally going to attend as well, but we decided against it once we saw the prices of plane tickets. We made the right decision as there were flight delays, missed connections, and lost luggage!

Here is a press release from the event including a few edits from me for our privacy/safety. (I know you can read the name on the memorial, but this way no one can "google" us.)

MCCLUSKY, N.D, October 22, 2007 – At a North Dakota ceremony on Saturday, Ducks Unlimited honored a devoted Georgia staff member by dedicating the Dan {last name} Memorial Nature Trail. The nature trail is located on Ducks Unlimited’s new Coteau Ranch, southeast of McClusky, N.D.

{Last name}, who passed away in June 2004, was a resident of {city}, Georgia. He served Ducks Unlimited for 32 years in Georgia and had a keen interest in the waterfowl breeding grounds of the Dakotas. During his life, he encouraged others to contribute to waterfowl conservation throughout North America.

“Dan worked hard to create an awareness of the connection between waterfowl that breed in the Dakotas and waterfowl that winter in the southeastern United States,” said Jim Ringelman, director of conservation programs for the Dakotas and Montana.

The {last name} Trail is open to the public and features interpretive panels that describe the importance of wetlands and grasslands to wildlife and people. The Coteau Ranch is also open to walk-in hunting. Hunters can obtain a permit and map of the property from permit boxes located on the two main access roads to the ranch.

“The trail will provide an opportunity for the community to visit the Coteau Ranch and learn about prairie grasslands, range management and waterfowl,” said Paul Bultsma, Ducks Unlimited regional biologist and manager of the Coteau Ranch.

The Coteau Ranch is nearly 2,500 acres of native grassland, pasture and fallow cropland interspersed with small and large wetlands. Nearby landowners lease the property for grazing and haying. Ducks Unlimited plans to use the ranch as an outdoor classroom to educate people about prairie ecology.

Additionally, Ducks Unlimited will conduct research on grazing and haying rotations that could improve wildlife habitat and cattle production. Additional research plans include evaluating best management practices for grassland restoration and weed control.

The Dan {last name} Trail memorializes {last name}’s contributions to the ducks and provides a lasting monument for his family to visit and remember his life. Ducks Unlimited and the people he influenced will always remember his impact on waterfowl habitat conservation.

With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization with almost 12 million acres conserved. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands − nature’s most productive ecosystem − and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres each year.

Jennifer P. Kross

Communications Biologist

The Vacuum

I'm not going to be the one to tell him its not a toy...

Oma's Birthday Post...Finally!

So blogger wouldn't let me post anything yesterday and I was quite frustrated as Sunday was my mom's birthday (and I was anxious to post about it). We celebrated with Lunch at the Evergreen on Saturday. When the waitress came by and asked if this was our first time eating there, the conversation that followed went like this:

Me: No, I've never been here before.

Dad: "Yes you have! Don't you remember..."

Me: "How old was I?"

Deja Vu all over again. I swear we have this same conversation at least once a year (with different locations of course) but that's neither here nor there ; ) Moving on to Sunday...Oma and Pop made a special visit out to see us. Jason thought it would be a good time to bring out the jeep again...

David was so happy his feet finally reach the pedals.

Here he is tuning in Larry Munson

No concept whatsoever of CB radios...one day his daddy will show him "Smokey and the Bandit" or "The Dukes of Hazzard" and then he may understand.
The Birthday Girl

Birthdays have always been special to me and it sure was nice to spend my Mom's with her on the actual day. I don't think I ever truly came to appreciate the woman she is until I became a mother myself. Having been a nurse for 30+ years (and still going strong) she sacrificed so much for my sister and I, being a working mother. She worked nights and weekends for many years so my sister and I wouldn't have to go to daycare. She would cook, clean, iron, drive us to gymnastics practices and meets, and most importantly she would love, love, love. She always bought for us before she would buy for herself; she was always happy with what she already had and still to this day embodies the phrase "waste not, want not". She has a humble heart and would never think its true, but few women in this world will ever do it as good as she did-I know I won't! It is with great joy that I watch her now with my son and re-live some of my own childhood memories. I happily wait in anticipation of the day she can retire and be a full-time Grandma. Happy Birthday Mom. I love you!

Pirate! Arrrr!

First let me start by saying-Yes, its a bad picture, but No, I couldn't do any better. We decided David should be a pirate for Halloween this year. For the longest time I thought he was going to be a train engineer, but Jason brought up a good point; since he pretty much pretends he's an engineer every other day of the year, he should be something different for Halloween. David loves the pirate episode of the backyardigans, he pretends he's a pirate every time we go to a playground, and he even points out pirates in real life , so it was pretty much a no-brainer. What was difficult was finding a pirate costume that wasn't "edgy" because of the popularity of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and certain characters in the series. Last year David was still a little to young to enjoy much about Halloween (he wasn't walking yet) so I'm excited for David to experience trick or treating for the first time this year!

Videos for the Grandparents

Pat, if you haven't heard it enough today...David wanted to tell you "Happy Birthday Grandma" two more times.

Oma and Pop, David is really enjoying the basketball goal you have him for his birthday. As you can see, he's already perfected the reverse dunk.

A Guest Toast

Jason and I were married six years ago today. I've decided to let our best man (on our wedding day and forever thereafter) propose a toast to us again...

Here is Matt's guest post, er, toast...

"I've had a friend for the better part of my life that I'm proud to call my best friend. And he has a wonderful wife that I am equally proud to call my friend. Jason and Andrea were married on this day six years ago and although we had to miss a Georgia vs. Tennessee game, it was well worth it. These two are a model of a good solid married couple, models of devoted parents, and models of faithful Christians. To my wife, Christy, and I, they have been loyal friends always willing to go that extra mile. These two amazing people have been through too much in the six years they have been married. The way they have preserved and relied on the love they have for each other and for God is a true testament to the people they are. I am proud to have been a part of their lives and grateful that they have been a part of mine. So today as I sit and watch the Dawgs I will toast my friends. Here's to you Jason and Andrea!!"

Cheers! We'll drink to that Matt, and thank you for your incredibly kind words.

Happy Anniversary Jason! Love you.