Pumpkin Carving '13

 Nothing like forgetting about our pumpkin and carving it at the last possible minute before Halloween... Ro will be out of town for most of the rest of the week so we finally carved our pumpkin last night. The kids get all excited UNTIL we lift the lid off and they have to scoop the goop. They lasted all of 30 seconds and then Mom had to step in and scoop it out. These are the same exact kids that played outside the previous night until dark and came in completely covered in mud, BUT that wouldn't scoop out this pumpkin.

He is finished and the kids are thrilled with their design this year. Onward to Halloween now.

Weekend Wrap Up

Here is a small glimpse into this past weekend that absolutely flew by...

 Leah's teacher sent me this picture of her artwork that is currently hanging in the "big" school. She was pretty excited that her project for chosen.

 Seth supported our friend who is battling breast cancer currently along with the many others by wearing pink on Friday to school.

 Our niece Lexy went to her first dance on Friday night. She looked so cute in her costume. Ahh the memories.

Seth's team won their first game of winter session and Seth scored 3 goals. He is loving his new, more aggressive team members this time. Roland and I had a date night Saturday night. We hardly ever go out without the kids anymore so it was fun to chat and reconnect. We tried the new restaurant in the mall and we really liked it.

 Sunday was pretty standard; CCD classes for Seth, church and then we did some raking while the rain stopped.

 Sunday night we had our friends over for dinner and Halloween cookie decorating. Not sure why we waited until 7:30pm to load them up with sugar, but they really enjoyed it.

Happy Halloween Week.

See You SOON

 I'm having a very hard time writing this post and I still feel like I am in denial that this is even happening tomorrow. Basically, IT SUCKS. I hate the fact that one of our closest friends has to go away AGAIN. He has to be apart from this family for the 5th time in his life, the 5th. It is awful and my heart is breaking for him, for my best friend and for Jake and Linds. Lee is like a second dad to my kids. They love him to pieces and today is a tough day all around. I dread picking up Leah this afternoon, looking into Lee's eyes, hugging him and saying, "See you soon." It sucks. We had the most amazing summer together. We were as close as two families could possibly be. If you wanted to find the 8 of us, just head to the lake. That is where you would find us on any given warm, sunny day. We soaked up as much friend time as we could. It was probably our last full summer together before they move so we made the most of every opportunity.

 We did even hit the river for one day too.

 I think Leah will take this the hardest. She LOVES Mr. Lee. She lights right up at the thought of spending time with him.

Please God, keep Lee safe over the next 9 months and look after him. We will miss you like crazy and promise to take care of your family while you are away. xoxoxo

Charlton Adventures (A week late)

Last week flew by so quickly that I didn't have a chance to update the blog on our Columbus Day weekend adventures.

 Leah is all about fire safety this year and she begged us to go to the fire station and check out all of the fire trucks so we headed there last Saturday before Seth's soccer game.

 In the evening we headed to Rochester to hang out with Aunt Sheryl and Rachel. The boys went to the football game and Leah and I went out to dinner and did girl stuff back at Sheryl's.

 On Sunday we went to Wickham Farms. We did it all; corn maze, hay ride, train, mini golf, bounce pillow and batting cages. The kids had a blast and I think the adults had an equally fun time.

 On Monday we had a special visitor stop in to see the kiddos and to chat. We love Sara to pieces and were so excited to see her.

 This weekend our favorite little god daughter turned 4 and we had a special evening to celebrate with her.

 I also had my unannounced observation on Friday morning and it went fantastic. One down one to go.

 Lee watched the girls after school on Friday too. They played dress up and Leah cried when I picked her up. She did not want to leave her Mr. Lee.

There is your two weekend wrap up. :)

THANKFUL Thursday

I am feeling extra thankful today. It seems like every week is a whirlwind now that the kids are getting older. They are both involved in sports and music and all sorts of activities. I find myself trying to cram too much into any given evening, but I remind myself that I am doing it FOR them. I am truly lucky to be surrounded by friends and family who are willing to help me out. I am so grateful for Roland's new job. He is settling in well, learning the ropes and enjoying it so far. The challenge for me is that with one less parent home a few days/nights per week I am having to ask for lots of extra help. That is where the THANKFUL thoughts are coming from today. I just don't know how I would get through any given week without many MANY helpers. I have generous helpers taking to school, picking up from school, keeping the kids during days off, taking to music class and so much more. I am truly THANKFUL for these wonderful people.

 I am thankful for Mr. Pumpkin Heads that made the kids giggle last night.

 I am thankful for a handsome son who is doing wonderful in school and looked extra cute this morning for picture day.

 I am thankful for a sweet friend at work who wrote me a note this morning that made me tear up and a sweet little gift for no reason at all.

I am VERY thankful that despite the mandates that the state has put upon teachers this year that the kids are still as sweet as ever and keep trying their hardest despite what we now HAVE to throw at them.

Thank you to all the people in my life that despite the craziness of life, are still there. It doesn't have to be daily or weekly, but getting an unexpected text or a piece of snail mail means the world. Life seems to be moving in warp speed lately so it is the little things in life that mean the most. Thank you.

Surprise Visits

Last Saturday we stopped to see Grandma Bonnie at the mall before Seth's soccer game. Both Leah and grandma were all smiles. It's the small things in life that pack the biggest punch.

Pre-K Picture Day

I can't believe this is the second year that Leah has had a school picture taken. Where is the time going? She was all sorts of excited and even let me curl the back of her hair. I can't wait to see the pictures when they arrive.

I feel badly because I didn't take any pictures of Seth last weekend (bad mom). He was busy with soccer Friday night and Saturday and with my new status of a soccer mom I was cheering him on during his game and shouting out for him. Since he loves it so much we even signed him up for the next 10 week session. If you want to see us we will be at the Fairgrounds Y until the middle of January every Saturday. Come cheer on Seth.

Apple-umpkin Festival

Leah absolutely LOVES to go to the library and she also LOVES to do crafts so she was over the moon when I told her we were heading to the library to do crafts last Saturday. She made a necklace, a tree and a mobile. She also got her face painted and played pumpkin bowling.

Our library is truly wonderful and always has so many fun activities for kids.

A Very Proud Aunt

 Leah and I stopped by Lexy's swim meet last Friday night and we were so blown away by the talent of these young girls. I felt like such an inadequate swimmer after watching them. Lexy did fantastic and we couldn't be more proud of her.

Way to go Lexy.

How Much Can We Cram In?

This weekend is FULL of...
* Sports; going to family sporting events, transporting to sporting practices and attending games.
* A trip to Leah's favorite place...the library. She cracks me up.
* Getting hair cuts for Leah and I.
* A trip to SYR to enjoy some adult time with a special friend who will be leaving us for 9 months. We plan to celebrate him as much as possible this month before he leaves.
* Church and church school
* Celebrating Poppy Puccia's birthday.
I'm tired and the weekend hasn't started yet.

Apple Apples Everywhere

 Sunday we played hooky from church school and headed to pick apples with the family. It was such a beautiful fall day and we soaked up the sun and fall scenery. This was the second year in a row that we decided to go to Appledale instead of Behlings and we were so happy once again. It is so much calmer and laid back. We picked our favorite apples, went on a hayride, found our way through the corn maze and got some munchies at their country store. It was the perfect day.

 I LOVE the fact that my grandparents still want to come with us on these adventure days.

 Seth and Leah ate their weight in apples for sure.

I love my family.