It's on now!

Cold Nights.
Frosty Mornings.
Colorful Mums.
Rustic Corn & Pumpkins on the porch & fence posts.
Football!
Halloween.
My Big Boy's Birthday!!
Thanksgiving.
Hayrides.
Apple Picking and Dessert creating.
Crunchy Leaves.
Hooded Sweatshirts.

I look forward to next summer as much as I have looked forward to this Fall, as much as I cannot wait till Snow and Christmas... 
I Love New England!

Driving through town this morning there were Farmstands, Mums & Pumpkin Stands, Tag Sales (and a line at the DD Drive-Thru a half a mile long!)
I Love Hebron!

Why did we consider moving?
The grass is always greener, I suppose.  I am so, SO glad we learned (the relatively easy way) that this is our town, this is where we belong.  We may have wandered had the situation gone differently and who knows what might have happened.  We may have been very happy, we may have been quite regretful.
What I know for sure - I do not regret putting the house on the market, we put it out there on our own terms.  I do not regret taking it off.  Our terms were not being met.  We could not sell for the inflated price we wanted, we could not find a place that we preferred to 131.

We love our house, we love our town, we love this part of the country.
Life Is Good.

(and it's ever better with a Quad to Plow our Driveway!!)

This entry is dedicated to Pete Peterson.

He didn't start out with a last name.  

It was seven and a half years ago that I named him "Pete" and we called him "Petie".

But at our kennel where he and Maggie stay on occasion and get groomed a few times a year they almost always say something about "the lovely couple".

"Maggie and Pete are a lovely couple."

"Maggie & Pete are so cute, they are so good - they are our favorite couple."

So we now often refer to them as "The Petersons".

While we were on vacation we had the dogs groomed and this time, we had Pete's hair cut, not just trimmed but ....  shaved.

I hesitated to do this in the past because I worried that his hair kept his body temperature the way it should be.  In the winter that dog likes to lay out in the snow bank and let more snow pile on top of him.  And in the summer he pants and cries in the heat, he can't get comfortable and no matter how many ice cubes I put in his water, he never seems to relax.

Jay insisted he would be more comfortable with less hair and I finally agreed.  I'm sorry it took me this long.  I promise to do it every time from now on.

I won't miss the clumps of hair although I know they'll be back soon enough.

As a reminder - here's Pete in recent months:

ew.  remember this carpet?

This is Pete's serious pose.

One of my Uncle's greatest pics ever.

And here's the handsome devil now:

That's one nice hiney!

 

And here's one for the road:

To think we once worried about Maggie's temperament with our future children.  Go figure!

Happy Birthday to the Love of my Life, the Fruit of my Loom, the Peas to my Carrots...

My heart, my soul, my provider, my best friend.

{& now Abby can stop telling everyone that Mommy is older than Daddy!}

Florida, St. Pete Biz Trip Days 2 & 3

Hard to say what's the best part so far...

Is it the beach?

Maybe it's the pool?

Or it could be just enjoying my family...  the 4 of us.

We needed this.

Life IS good.

Florida, St. Pete Biz Trip, Day One

We woke up very early.  Very, very early.
We flew to Florida.
It was fairly routine and uneventful - except for this:

Here's Wyatt steering the plane.  Yes.  He's on the pilot's lap, steering.  I shit you not.

Here is a list of things on my mind, as I am restless today and not feeling the "bloggy vibe".

• I am sad and worried about my friend.  She is not well and it is none of your business what her problem is, or what her name is, but you should know that I am sad.  It's my blog.
• I am uber-excited about vacation tomorrow, but like most vacation-eves, I am more anxious & worried and OCD about leaving everything just right and remembering to bring everything.  Also, getting there safely and getting to the grocery store to get everything we need so that I can THEN say "aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh".
• At the mall yesterday I watched a person sit in the parking lot with their blinker on waiting for a car to pull out of the spot, second from the storefront.  There were - seriously - about 2 dozen cars in the entire mall parking lot.  And this person was waiting for this one spot.  Insanity.
• WifeSwap is a really great show.
• I gained 6 pounds this summer.  Most people lose weight in the summer.  Not me.  I sit around and eat.
• Wyatt is the most charming little man I have ever had the pleasure of hanging out with.  That kid can charm through the worst behavior with a sweet face and an "I Love You" like no one's business.  I'm probably not doing him any favors, but it does me plenty!
• Abby is, by far, the tallest girl in her class which gives me nightmarish flashbacks.  I pray for strength and guidance to make my daughter a proud, strong, confident girl.
• I am already planning to send Wyatt to preschool next fall and, most likely, straight on to Kindergarten even though my mother won't approve.  I don't think my mother-in-law or sister will, either.  But I'm in charge here, right?   ...  right?
• When we took our house off the market I felt such an amazing wave of relief that now, as I look around, I can't seem to figure out what I disliked so much one year ago.  We have a really great house.
• I miss the beach.  I know, I know.  Not only are we going on vacation tomorrow but it's only been, what?  A week since we last went?  But I do.  I miss it.
• The cheap, piece of shit Buzz Lightyear backpack that Wyatt so proudly carries around the house broke.  The zipper broke off.  Completely.  The day before the trip we bought it for.  It is less than 2 weeks old and has never left the house.  CheapPieceofShit.  
• Abby thinks she's Sandra Dee from Grease.  And she wants me to be Danny.  I want to be Rizzo. 
• THANK YOU FOR MY NEW BLOG ART (AGAIN), GINI!!!!!!!!

School started on Monday and I already miss the sandy bottoms & fresh sunburned cheeks of summer.
Yes, it was 97 degrees today.  But I went to Ted's and did laundry.

It's school time.

First Day, 2010

First Day, 2009

Back to routine, structure, bed times and healthy snacks.
All the things I've missed and looked forward to.


But, man, summer was awesome!

Oh, and did I mention I'm also pretty busy packing for our vacation to sunny, sandy Florida?!

Yeah - that takes the sting out a bit.