Happy Thanksgiving!

Laughter

parade

aunts

uncles

cousins

nieces

nephews

loved ones

great food

bonfire

piling in cars

lights

fun games

snow machines pulling

ice fishing houses

flatulence

sleeping in a pile

pumpkin pie

more laughter

good beverages

men in the kitchen

great coffee

roller derby girls

laughter

mini doughnuts

cotton candy

more fun games

1am

Zorbas

hockey

Santa.

In a few words that was our weekend.  

We had so much fun we couldn't see straight :)

I am usually a peaceful person

So I like to think of myself as usually approaching things with a Buddhist mindset.  You know, peaceful.  I cover spiders with a cup and throw them outside.  I love watching the squirrels outside and dont mind them in the bird feeder.  I stop to notice the sunset and love when my kids do that same.  I take deep breaths before reacting.  When I saw a mouse in the garage I just prayed it would find nothing and move on to greener pastures.  But I was unpacking more things from the basement and when I found a large hole in the blanket a family friend, that has since passed away from cancer, crocheted for me, that was an obvious attempt at making a warm little place to spend the winter, I got angry.  SO, yesterday I did a very unBuddhist like thing.  I bought mouse traps....

But I did again pray that the little guy knew what I was doing and would run for the hills in search once again for those greener pastures.  I cut small, tasty looking pieces of cheese and carefully placed them in the little tray of the traps, hoping to not catch any thing, but still a part of me needed that mouse to die.  I carried the traps down stairs to set them and WHAP! caught my own thumb.  If its not broken, it at least is very bruised!  I guess thats what I get for wishing death on a mouse.

Yes, I still reset the trap....

No, its a sunrise!  Mik and I got up and on the road by 6:30 am, by choice mind you, on Saturday to make the second annual trek to the La Crosse, Wisconsin area to pick up Angie!!  The road trip was fun and I think they had a great time catching up with each other and socializing with Miks friends and family here.  Mik even talked Ang into getting up early on Monday and coming to school with her for the morning.  Very un-vacation of you Ang-good job! :)  We all enjoyed the weekend!

Luckily we drove east as a snow storm came from the south and dumped 4 inches of snow while we were gone for those few hours!  Things looked so pretty!  I am ok with it, I guess its time for snow!

It's coming along

As fall turns to winter and projects turn from outside to inside, I am pleased to announce.....I painted the living room-YEAY!

Looking into the dining room-

The entry (see both colors?) will be tiled and the sheet over the closet replaced with a DOOR!  

Things are moving at a snails pace here on the home front, but, they are indeed moving!  The living room is now happy shades of Arbitrary on the east facing wall and Baked Bread on the west.  It looks mighty pretty in here when the sun is shining in my lovely living room.  Lovely, lively and lived in.  Now we just need flooring...and the new windows in....and trim....and light fixtures....art on the walls...but it is miles from where it was a year ago!  Even 3 months ago!  So many bare walls, so little time :)  Its not only hard to decide what to hang where, its hard to put a hole into these walls where we worked so hard to fix the holes that were there!

Shims spot

Shim wanted to sign in and say hello to everyone!  Tell people what he's been up to.  Here are a couple of his favorite spots in town.  He and I try to spend a bit of each day at the park-he acts like a puppy there!  He loves to stick his nose way down in the leaves and sniffs deep.  He is probably smelling deer or mice but I like to imagine he is just enjoying the moment.  Ya know, stopping to smell the proverbial roses. He absolutely cracks me up!  If it gets late in the day and we have not been, he sits and stares at me and I know exactly what he is wanting :)  Then, he likes evenings on the stoop, in the sunshine, with a glass of wine, watching the deer pop out of the trees across the meadow.  Oh, uh, well, he sticks to water, but other than that we have very similar tastes.

He loves when friends stop by and throw the chuck-it for a while, or at least toss his beloved frog around.  So, if you're ever in the area, stop by for a bit.  It would make us all very happy!

Colors of my walk

It's even feeling like fall today.  Temps in the low 50s.  Yesterday was cool and rainy.  But today was nice enough for Shim and I to do our Park thing.  It has this peppery smell right now, not sure what it could be but it reminds me a little bit of the Texas coast in December.  Weird, I know.  I find myself a little melancholia as I think of fall.  Not so much for the winter that I know is ahead of us but for the friends I used to spend that time slowing down with.  I know we are all in each others hearts, but sometimes that's not close enough, ya know?  I yearn to gather, stretch, dance, create, cook and visit with those who do it best.  :)

Heading to the Cities this weekend for my cousins wedding.  That will be tons of fun!  Hoping to see some of you there.

New Colors and Fall Colors

Well, it has been a busy couple of weeks for us!  My first yoga intensive weekend was just fabulous!  Everything I was hoping it would be!!  My parents were here the week before I left and stayed until last Sunday.  It was SO nice to have them here, both while I was here and while I was gone as Matt has been working 5am-8:30pm.  Poor guy is going to wear out!  Luckily those hours wont last forever.

One of the things we got accomplished was painting the outside of our house.  It looks so much better!  I love pulling up to it.  When we first started putting the tan over the green, we panicked a bit as the color was looking very, well, peach...But after all the green was covered and we got the darker brown on the shutters and things, it looks great!  Thanks Mom and Dad!

Between school, sports and friends the kids are very busy.  And happy! :)  It is homecoming this week so lots going on.

Fall is starting to show its colors around here.  When I run, I go past these vines that grow up other trees and they are among the first to turn so there are these gorgeous red ropes up into the canopy.  Its really cool.  Some mornings are foggy on the meadow and as the sun burns it off it is just beautiful!  Hope fall is treating everyone well!

Relaxin' with Relations-or-Don't let Anyone tell you all of Iowa is flat!

This weekend we got to meet about 60 people that Matt is related to and see several we already know.  We went to gorgeous Southwest Iowa where the hills are rolling and the fields are wavy to Imogene for the annual O'Connor family reunion.  That would be Matts great grandmother.  

It was the first annual for us but they have been doing it for several years.  It is held at a cousin of Pats (Matts dad) farm and there is great food, horse rides, hayrides, stick pony rodeo (complete with a queen,cowboys and trophies!) and ladder golf tourney!  It was quite a warm day but the fun out weighed the heat!  

Mik and Zane gave Ashton and Cameron (Matts cousins kids that we have had fun with before) their first ever horse rides and continued to ride about 4 more times each!  Matt and Tony gave their best in the ladder golf tournament while Dawn (Ashton and Cams mom-Tonys wife) and I gave our best on the side lines.  Best cheers and jeers that is.

After the reunion we went to see St. Patricks Catholic Church were Matts family bought a stained glass window for the church when it was built in the 1800s, the house where Pat was born and the house his grandfather built in the 1800s (a big beautiful 4 square house that is still being lovingly cared for) and then camped by Pat and Joanne on another cousins farm.  Mik and I woke up to an unreal sunrise!

We finished the trip by exploring the town Matt spent his first 5 years in-really a great little town with the coolest park I have ever been to!  That is where Zane took the family pic by climbing the rocket, setting the timer and displaying his super skills, dashing back down into place before the timer went off!

We all really enjoyed the weekend and will return next year.  I gotta spend some serious time brushing up on my stick pony skills before then.

First Day of School

Ok, so I am a week late on these but they haven't changed too much in that time.  We have a middle schooler and a high schooler now-hang on, this may be a bumpy ride, but it'll sure be fun!

What Jill did today...

Bought gladiolas at the farmers market, finished moving our stuff from the crates!, watched a beautiful sunset and sent my yoga teacher training form to Sun Moon Yoga in Mankato!!!!  Yippee!  I will start September 19.

View from our front door

The view from our front door-looks west over a field and the Des Moines River.

Mississippi-here I come!

We went to the Mississippi River last weekend on a seriously needed camping trip!  The weather was warm, the scenery was gorgeous and the company was great!  We boated up river a ways from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin and set up camp with the Hannas.  Serious fun followed for 3 days and 2 nights!  We swam, hiked, rock hounded, tubed and lazed in the river with the clams.  We made big fires on the beach and played in the sand.  We killed killed a spider that was, as Mikayla puts it, the biggest spider you will ever see in your life! Bigger then she ever wanted to see in the first place!  There were a couple girls on a Huck Finn style raft that were floating all the way down river that made us all jealous!

Jessy and Zane held the "Best Air while remaining in the tube" award while Abby and Mik took the "Best Air with a major crash-limbs flailing" award!  All were proud although it took the girls a while to realize they would, indeed, live.  Unfortunately no photos :(

The weekend ended rather abruptly when we were breaking camp on Monday.  We figured we would bring things back to the trucks and then play some more before we left.  So we took tents down, Matt and Chris took a load down river to the trucks while the kids, Cyndi and Jill finished up back at camp.  You hear about thunderstorms ROLLING in?  Well, we got rolled over by this one-complete with dime size hail and no tent to run to.  Chris came to rescue us after the worst was over and we made it back with no harm done.  But nothing dry either.  It was an exciting end to a wonderful weekend!