Season Opener

It's that time of year again! And I don't mean the Christmas season, although it is that time of year again too...but rather, It's Ski Season! Not to mention, there is NO SNOW right now :o) I love that about skiing...you don't need snow cuz they make it for you! Notice in the picture the white snowy ski hill with the background being all brown and autumn-like. It's really quite comical.

So how did it go, our first time on the runs since last March?? It's like we never stopped skiing! Sam and Elle are considerably faster already (my nieces will appreciate that!) and Jack is just incredible. This child never ceases to amaze me with his athleticism. He is a mere 4 1/2, and his first time skiing since last season he learns how to go down from the top of the Granite Peak ALL.BY.HIMSELF. Last year, he could go from the top, but he was hooked up to a harness (fondly known as the "leash") and Dean held the reigns as he bombed his way down the hill. By the end of our ski time today, he was turning, stopping, and avoiding other skiers with complete control as he made his way down from the top of the hill, all by himself. I had a lump in my throat as I watched my baby ski like such a big boy. He is still my baby, after all.

Needless to say, we had a blast, and we are looking forward to enjoying another ski season here in the northwoods!

No Longer Livn' in the Burbs - Part 2

I can't even count the ways life has changed for us since moving north 18 months ago. And one of those ways has much to do with living in our treehouse.

Gutting out our old fireplace and replacing it with a forced-air fireplace has done more for us than heat the house. It has turned my hubby (who, if you IL friends remember correctly...hated to mow the lawn!) YES - Dean...into a LUMBERJACK! My man loves to go into the woods to cut down trees! And not only does he cut them down, he splits the wood into nice burnable pieces, built his own trailer to haul the wood from the forest, admires his outdoor woodstacks on a daily basis, has cut enough wood to heat our home this winter and next winter, and has my children doing real chores!

Dean and Sam spent the whole day in the forest today cutting up fallen trees and came home with a whole trailer full of wood. Upon arrival, Dean also gathered Elle and Jack, who helped Sam stack all the wood you see in the picture above. That's right...my 3 children stacked every piece of wood you see in that picture! Dean did not help them as he was busy splitting the big pieces. I did not help them because, well, you know...I'm just that way....and it was cold out. Anyway, they worked for 3hours on that wood pile! They were so excited that they kept coming to get me to see how big the pile was getting :o)

And the rewards are amazing. It has been snowing lightly on and off for 24 hours, and we still haven't turned our furnace on. As a matter of fact, our furnace has not been on yet this fall! (except for the 2 weeks Dean was out of town on business and not here to maintain the fire) It's like the NienHouse challenge...how long can we go without turning on that gas-guzzling furnace? The fire you see in the picture was taken tonite, with the wood that Sam and Dean cut down today :o) It's a very typical scene in our home these days.

I often feel bad for not being more "green". But I am getting better at recycling, and we have replaced most of our lightbulbs with the energy effecient kind. And then I look at what Dean is trying (and really succeeding!) at doing with heating our home with wood, and I think of all the gas we WON'T be using this winter, and then I feel a little more "green" :o) More green for the environment, and more green in our pockets!

For the men out there who might be interested, Dean has cut and split 4 chords of wood. We have wood piles around the side of house, out in the woods by our house, and in our garage. It's quite amazing.

And nothing like living in the burbs!!!!!!

More Halloween PIcs

Here you will see our 2 Captain Jacks (Jack with his best friend, Caden...who really is like a brother to Jack as they spend every morning at school together and every afternoon together at each other's houses while his mother or I are substitute teaching...)

Here you will also see our 2 good Witches (Elle with her BFF Eden)

And you will also see Darth Vader with his daughter, Princess Leah (Sam and Erin, both in 3rd grade and trying to be good friends without getting teased about it!)

And then you will see the whole trick-or-treatin' crew! My gang with Beth's gang, with the cousins to Beth's gang too!

Happy Halloween!

This is the first time we have gone through a fun "holiday" for a second time here in our new town. (did that make sense?) As we have been here about a year and half now, we are starting to make memories for a 2nd time around....with phrases like "remember last year when we...?" It's so good to feel so at home.

So Darth Vader, the Good Witch, and Captain Jack trick-or-treated in our pseudo-neighborhood again this year. (My friend Beth, who lives in the same neighborhood as my sister, has a home in our 2nd neighborhood) Beth's kids...who went as Princess Leah, another Good Witch, and another Jack Sparrow, trick or treated with our kids and scoured every house in the neighborhood, coming home with way too much candy. The weather was perfectly warm for the last day in October, which made the evening even more fun.

All the kids already know what they want to dress up as next year ;o) And now the candy begging begins......

Our house Rule: Let them eat as much candy as they want for a whole week...then it's gone and the begging is done. The faster it is out of the house, the better!!!

Post-Military

"Cause I Can". It's a phrase commonly heard by Dean. But there was one thing he could never do....until now. Grow a Goatee. His military commintments wouldn't allow it, and it was the one thing he wanted to do once he became a retired Major. So if you'd ask him now...why are you growing a goatee???

He'd say "Cause I Can. Finally."

So.

It's been a while. I have pics to show, but they are all on Dean's computer, and Dean is out of town for business, so I guess you will just have to wait to see the pics of Dean with a goatee :o)

I've been subbing a bit. I was the high school art teacher for 3 days in a row. Let me tell ya....B-O-R-I-N-G. I took the job cuz I thought it'd be easy. Well, it was. Too easy. Kids come in, I take attendance, kids work on their art, do homework, try to sneak food, try to sneak a text, I stop them, watch the clock slowly tick by and then they leave....only to have another group come in and it's more of the same. It made me appreciate the excitement and non-stop of grade school kids. The day certainly goes faster in an elementary school. Next week I'll be a fifth grade teacher and a third grade teacher. I really do love subbing. I can pick my days and the jobs. And none of it comes home with me at night!

I have to take a class this weekend, the first of 5 classes this year. It's out of town, and I'm going by myself. I'm not scared to travel and stay alone, but it's just not they way I want to spend my weekend. Oh well, I'm an adult now. I have to realize that in the real world, we can't always do just what we want to do. whine whine whine whine whine

Well, until I get the pics off Dean's computer....I'll be seeing ya.

Vegas, Baby. We love it there. Our 5 day long date was just fabulous. The MGM hotel and casino with 90 degree weather, a gorgeous pool (make that 3 pools and a lazy river), dinners to die for, a show that is out of this world, and yes, a little POKER. Ok, like I said earlier, ALOT of poker :o) You win some, you lose more, but you have so much fun doing it!! Nothing beats sitting at the table, listening to the sound of chips clinking into the next pot, wondering what card the English tourist or annoying dude next to you has, while sipping on drinks on the house. Nothing. Nothing beats watching Dean put all his money in the pot only to see that the guy who bets against him has him beat....until the last card comes up to give Dean the "trip Jacks" he needs to win and take all the other guys money!! Nothing beats it.

On other fun notes, we saw the show "Le Reve". WOW. I can't even describe it to you, so I won't.

Have you ever had shrimp that melted in your mouth?? I hadn't had anything like that until we ate a place called "Simon's" (last pic shown was Dean sitting at the bar there) Again, you can't even describe it except it was out of this world!!!

Fun conversation:
Cab Driver: (to me) I like your sunglasses. What are they?? (as if they are some sort of brand name...)
Me: Ummmmm, I just got them at a store. They aren't anything. (how embarrassing)
Cabby: Well, I really like the sides of them....
(In the meantime, the cab, which is much like a minivan, stops. I pull on the handle and let myself out)
Cabby: How did she know how to do that door? No one ever figures it out.
Dean: She's a soccer mom.
Cabby: SHE'S a MOM???????
Dean: Yup. 3 kids.
Cabby: Does she....drive . a . minivan?????
Dean: You better believe it!! She's a soccer mom!!

So you see...I still got it :o) It doesn't come out often, but being in Vegas seems to bring it out. 40 is the new 30...so that makes me 25, right?????? :o)

In the pics, you will see Dean and I in front of our hotel (MGM)... Me inside of the Wynn hotel and casino (fancy schmancy) ....and the 2 of us on top of the Palms at the GhostBar, overlooking the strip at night. We won't be back for another couple years, but we have some great memories.

"You can't lose with the stuff I use". quote by annoying drunk smelly guy while playing poker...spoken at least 30 times in 20 minutes. no lie.