Something New..

Jack got something new the other day for winter...can you tell what it was?
 In true Jack style, he wore them ALL day!

What I am Reading...

Just finished the non-fiction book, Zeitoun by Dave Eggers.

The book starts two days before Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, where Zeitoun live with his wife and three children. Zeitoun is a highly respected person in New Orleans and decides to wait out the storm at his home while his wife leaves with the children.  After the storm devastates the city Zeitoun travels around the city in his canoe saving people, checking on his rentals, feeding abandoned dogs and other "good Samaritan" acts. Everything takes a surprising and drastic turn one day when the military comes to his door. Oh, Zeitoun is Muslim.

While reading, I would share bits and pieces with Jason and found myself asking him, "Did you know that?  Did you ever hear about that?"  The story makes me mad, due to the assumptions of the label "Muslim" and how that one word can take away all your basic human rights. This book really made me think and I still find myself thinking about it at random times.

Trick or Treat...

Another successful Halloween in the bag...we headed back to our old neighborhood for trick or treating and the boys had a ball. Both were determined to trick or treat for the FULL two hours. Thank goodness it was an awesome night!

Jack was Einstein and "pondering" an idea...Sam was Jengo Fett, a Star Wars character (it is the 4th Star Wars character in a row!)

Happy Einstein (you know...Einstein doesn't smile much!)

Jengo Fett, a bounty hunter, taking in our large pumpkin.

Einstein trying so hard to make the two hours...needed a little help from dad.
We then headed to our house for a bon-fire. The adults hung out around the fire while the kids ran around the yard having light saber fights. It was a perfect Halloween night...until Jack got sick on Sunday....

Ta Da...

We have finally put furniture in our new living room...it is coming along and close (yea!) to being finished.
The TV is where the fireplace was once located.  The color on the walls looks more Carmel/orange than it is in reality.  The color is a warm "toasty" brown.

One of the favorite things is our new bay window...Jack loves to sit up there.

Since this picture was taken, the banister, in the background, has been stained and the baseboards are all painted white...As you can see in the corner of the picture, the alcove/bookcase is not completed.

A view of the kitchen...from the living room. You can see Jack on the right side of the photo..that is the entry way to the sun room. The wooden posts (which hold up the entire house) have been a bit of a hazard...Sam was talking to Jack, who was sitting at the counter, and he turned around and ran right into a post...as have I, too.

and one last view of the kitchen...

Next week we will be getting a new roof...we had terrible ice dams last year and with our house improvements, we don't want to take any chances. The roofer came to check it out and told us it was "spongy."  Not a good adjective when referring to your roof!

Hey, Grandpa R....

Yea!! I am back!  The blogger helper people got back to me and it was a very simple fix...Yea!!

"Check out my awesome t-shirt, Grandpa R.!"

My dad use to own an International Dealership and I came across this t-shirt and just had to buy it. Sam loves "big red" just about as much as my dad does and this shirt was perfect for him!

Ugh!! Day 2

I am SO frustrated! Every time I go to upload MY photos, it won't work!! I even went to the extent of writing a HELP ME post on blogger. Is anyone else, who uses blogger, having these issues? I can upload other images, but not my own from Picasa.

Each time I go to upload a photo and it doesn't work, I feel like the man below...

Ugh!!

So, if you hadn't noticed, I took last week off. trying to get the house back together. Went to post pictures to show you the semi-finished product, but I cannot get my photos to post...so another day off. Sorry, don't forget to come back tomorrow to see if I had any luck!

Off to Warmer Weather...

Last night, Jason's mom and grandma came over for dinner. It was their "send-off' dinner, because tomorrow they are heading to Arizona for the winter. They will be back May 1st...

Had to take a few photos with the boys before they left....

The boys and Grandma Sharon...

Sam with Great-Grandma Darlene...

Jack snuggling with his Grandma Sharon...
The weather in Tuscon was 86 degrees and fabulous. I am enjoying the cooler weather here, but in about a month I think I may head south, too!!

What Does Jack Do?

Several people have asked, "What does Jack do at Sam's football games?"

Well..it depends on the weather and Jack's mood...

Last weekend was pretty warm, so he bought some Army men and had them visit the desert. He also buried his feet a couple of times and smashed sand bugs...kept him busy until....

he spotted my sister, mom and dad at the other end of the field. Being the polite boy he is, he didn't want to block any one's view by walking in front of them, so he ran down to my family bent over....

He did that a couple of times. OK, I know, he is bare foot, his feet are obvioulsy realy dirty (yuck), shorts are dirty and too small...it was just that kind of a day for me...

Then instead of running back like a hunchback, he decided to crawl...nice. He couldn't' go very fast due to crawling on the sand and so on my end it was very painful to watch...because it took SOOOOO long for him to get back. After that, we decided he could go around the back to see my family...