Posts
Halloween 2006
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Picking Pumpkins
Sunday the kids and I went out in search of a pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkins. In past years we have always gotten our pumpkins fr0m Target or Wal*Mart. Sadly, those are two of the best places in Central Florida to find pumpkins. This year I was hoping to find a more traditional pumpkin patch with a little Fall flavor from which to choose our pumpkins. Luckily, as I was out driving around last week I saw a few signs for a local pumpkin patch. I had no idea where it was, or what they would have, but we went anyway.
We ended up in a small town about 15 miles west of our town. When we arrived at the location we were happy to find that the pumpkin patch was a fundraiser for a local Cub Scout pack. They had a very nice set up and good prices.
In the center of the pumpkin patch the Cub Scouts had set up a nice photo spot with hay bales, mums, scarecrows, and lots of pumpkins. Caitlyn and CJ chose their pumpkins right away, Caley took a little bit longer.
After looking and looking, she finally decided to get a tiny little pumpkin. It is about the size of a softball, but really cute.
On the way home from the pumpkin patch we stopped by a house that we love to drive by every Halloween. This house is located about 1 mile from our house. The house is on a quiet two lane road that is lined with big moss covered oak trees. It is perfect for a spooky Halloween scene. The people who live in it go CRAZY with decorating every year, and every year it is a little bit different. When we stopped to take a look, there were about 6 other car loads of people doing the same. The home owners have posted signs inviting people to walk through their yard and take a look at all of the decorations. In the day light it was spooky, but not too bad. When we drive by at night it is all lite up and very scary. Walking through in the daylight is good enough for us.
Now that we have our pumpkins we are one step closer to being ready for Halloween.
We ended up in a small town about 15 miles west of our town. When we arrived at the location we were happy to find that the pumpkin patch was a fundraiser for a local Cub Scout pack. They had a very nice set up and good prices.
In the center of the pumpkin patch the Cub Scouts had set up a nice photo spot with hay bales, mums, scarecrows, and lots of pumpkins. Caitlyn and CJ chose their pumpkins right away, Caley took a little bit longer.
After looking and looking, she finally decided to get a tiny little pumpkin. It is about the size of a softball, but really cute.Now that we have our pumpkins we are one step closer to being ready for Halloween.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Go Orange!!!
The WGLL Minors Orange team got another win on Thursday night. This was the second meeting of the season for the Gray and Orange teams. The Gray team was a bit weak on pitching, which made this a pretty easy win for Orange.
Final score ~ Orange 10, Gray 0
Way to go Orange!!!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Remembering...
Last Friday we had to say "Good-Bye" to the sweetest dog that I could ever hope to own. Shelby was a part of our lives for 13 years. She was a part of everything that we did. She traveled with us on our vacations. She was part of every milestone that we celebrated. It has been a very difficult 4 days trying to get used to the fact that she is no longer here. I never realized how much one little dog could fill up a house. I didn't realize how quiet the house would seem when she was gone. I didn't know how lonely I would feel when she wasn't there to follow me to bed each night. I took for granted how nice it was to have her meet me at the door with her happy face. I have been thinking about all of the happy times and I wanted to write about it in this blog so that I never will forget...
Shelby was born on April 22, 1996. She was one of a litter of 6 puppies. A friend of mine from work was trying to go into the Sheltie breeding business. My friend soon found out that she got too attached to the puppies to be in that business. Still, she couldn't keep all six, so I asked if I could buy one from her. She said yes, and I bought Shelby from her for $50.00. Shelby was kind of a gift to Chris, who I was dating at the time.
I was working the night that I got Shelby. My friend brought her and her 3 remaining brothers and sisters to work, for me to choose from. I as actually kind of interested in one of the other puppies, but Shelby choose me. She came up to me and wouldn't leave until I picked her up. She hooked me in at that moment with her sweet smiling face and her soft gentle eyes.
As soon as Shelby moved into Chris's apartment she made herself at home. She was a very easy puppy. She didn't cause too much damage. Her biggest faults were that she liked to chew on the edges of carpet, which later turned into throw rugs when she was afraid of thunder, and she had a small stuffed bear that she chewed the face off of. Pretty good, considering some to the damage that I hear other dogs cause.
When Chris and I got engaged, Shelby was there. When we moved to Buffalo and bought our first house, Shelby was there. When we had our first baby, Shelby welcomed him into the family and watched over him like he was her own puppy.
Shelby was a great dog to photograph. All we ever had to do was set up the shot, back up, and say "puppy treats?" Shelby would look straight at the camera, perk up her ears and cock her head a little to the side. It was a perfect shot every time.
We were always coming up with different crazy ideas for dressing Shelby up for holidays and special occasions. One Halloween she was a tacky tourist, another year she was a pumpkin, and the best was the year that she was dressed as a Fireman and CJ was dressed as a Dalmatian. Shelby liked her costume a lot more that CJ did that year. He was only 16 months old and not really into Halloween yet.
It wasn't just Halloween costumes that she wore either. Every year for Christmas she wore Santa Hats and Reindeer Antlers. She never complained or got mad at us for it. She always just sat there with a look on her face as if to say "do you really have to do this to me?" And, yes of course we did. She was so cute and she put up with it so well, that who could resist dressing her up and getting that perfect Holiday shot.
As Shelby got older she began to have a few health problems. The biggest of which was lympho-sarcoma. She was diagnosed with cancer in April of 2004. At the time we had the choice of putting her down within two weeks or treating her with chemotherapy. We choose the chemotherapy. After 5 chemo treatments and a very tough summer, the vet told us that Shelby was in remission. At that time we were hoping to have another 2 years with her. To our surprise and joy Shelby stayed in remission for 4 plus years. Actually, even at the time that she died, she never had any signs or symptoms of cancer. This is nothing short of a miracle.
The condition that finally took our sweet friend from us was degenerative myelopathy, a degenerative condition of the spinal cord. We tried to work through the condition, but in the end Shelby let us know that she was ready to go. She was paralyzed from the center of her spine back and could not walk. Our wonderful active dog could not go outside to chase birds or run to the fence to bark at the neighbors dogs anymore. After two weeks of living this way Shelby told us it was time for her to go. She stopped eating and just laid calmly on the floor all day long.
Making the decision to have Shelby put to sleep was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. We knew it was the right thing to do, but it did not make it easier to do. I know that she is happy now and can finally run and bark like she did when she was young. I just wish she was still running and barking in our backyard.
Shelby was the sweetest most trust worthy dog I have ever known. It will be hard to find another dog like her. We will always miss her. We will always remember all of the great things about her and we will always be grateful that we got to have her as part of our lives for 13 years.
Good-bye sweet girl, I will never forget you!
Shelby was born on April 22, 1996. She was one of a litter of 6 puppies. A friend of mine from work was trying to go into the Sheltie breeding business. My friend soon found out that she got too attached to the puppies to be in that business. Still, she couldn't keep all six, so I asked if I could buy one from her. She said yes, and I bought Shelby from her for $50.00. Shelby was kind of a gift to Chris, who I was dating at the time.I was working the night that I got Shelby. My friend brought her and her 3 remaining brothers and sisters to work, for me to choose from. I as actually kind of interested in one of the other puppies, but Shelby choose me. She came up to me and wouldn't leave until I picked her up. She hooked me in at that moment with her sweet smiling face and her soft gentle eyes.
As soon as Shelby moved into Chris's apartment she made herself at home. She was a very easy puppy. She didn't cause too much damage. Her biggest faults were that she liked to chew on the edges of carpet, which later turned into throw rugs when she was afraid of thunder, and she had a small stuffed bear that she chewed the face off of. Pretty good, considering some to the damage that I hear other dogs cause.
When Chris and I got engaged, Shelby was there. When we moved to Buffalo and bought our first house, Shelby was there. When we had our first baby, Shelby welcomed him into the family and watched over him like he was her own puppy.
Shelby was a great dog to photograph. All we ever had to do was set up the shot, back up, and say "puppy treats?" Shelby would look straight at the camera, perk up her ears and cock her head a little to the side. It was a perfect shot every time.We were always coming up with different crazy ideas for dressing Shelby up for holidays and special occasions. One Halloween she was a tacky tourist, another year she was a pumpkin, and the best was the year that she was dressed as a Fireman and CJ was dressed as a Dalmatian. Shelby liked her costume a lot more that CJ did that year. He was only 16 months old and not really into Halloween yet.
It wasn't just Halloween costumes that she wore either. Every year for Christmas she wore Santa Hats and Reindeer Antlers. She never complained or got mad at us for it. She always just sat there with a look on her face as if to say "do you really have to do this to me?" And, yes of course we did. She was so cute and she put up with it so well, that who could resist dressing her up and getting that perfect Holiday shot.As Shelby got older she began to have a few health problems. The biggest of which was lympho-sarcoma. She was diagnosed with cancer in April of 2004. At the time we had the choice of putting her down within two weeks or treating her with chemotherapy. We choose the chemotherapy. After 5 chemo treatments and a very tough summer, the vet told us that Shelby was in remission. At that time we were hoping to have another 2 years with her. To our surprise and joy Shelby stayed in remission for 4 plus years. Actually, even at the time that she died, she never had any signs or symptoms of cancer. This is nothing short of a miracle.
The condition that finally took our sweet friend from us was degenerative myelopathy, a degenerative condition of the spinal cord. We tried to work through the condition, but in the end Shelby let us know that she was ready to go. She was paralyzed from the center of her spine back and could not walk. Our wonderful active dog could not go outside to chase birds or run to the fence to bark at the neighbors dogs anymore. After two weeks of living this way Shelby told us it was time for her to go. She stopped eating and just laid calmly on the floor all day long.
Making the decision to have Shelby put to sleep was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. We knew it was the right thing to do, but it did not make it easier to do. I know that she is happy now and can finally run and bark like she did when she was young. I just wish she was still running and barking in our backyard.
Shelby was the sweetest most trust worthy dog I have ever known. It will be hard to find another dog like her. We will always miss her. We will always remember all of the great things about her and we will always be grateful that we got to have her as part of our lives for 13 years.
Good-bye sweet girl, I will never forget you!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
That is What I Like to See
That is the best news I've had all week!I sure hope they are right. We could use a cool weekend.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Just Wondering...
Why do kids always get sick in the middle of the night? By sick I mean, why do kids alway wake you up at 2:00 am or 4:00 am vomiting? Why don't they ever do it at 2:00 pm when you are wide awake and equipted to deal with it? Just Wondering...?
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