Ok, I am back.

Things have been so crazy busy and so busy crazy for quite a while now that I haven't taken the time to post anything. However, my one faithful reader complained about this and the lack of new pictures, so here I am.

Ok. We had a wonderful Halloween. We joined up with Dy and her family (that right there would have been enough for my kids without the candy) and walked this wonderful neighborhood. The people were so friendly and nice and appreciative of our beautiful babies! :-) I want to move there. This was Luci's first trick or treating experience, and she performed like a champ. She got to ride in the wagon with Baby Em; and after the first couple of houses, she got the idea that you jump out, run to the door, hold out you bucket, say thank you, and go back to Mommy to open a new candy. My cast of characters were a black spiderman, Capt. Jack Sparrow, and a beautiful bumblebee. (She was tired and done taking pictures.)

All throughout this, Ben was down in Birmingham doing a four week training. He got back just in time for Thanksgiving, which we celebrated with the Edingtons. Last weekend we got back together with them to go to a Christmas parade. The boys got to meet and play with their friends, with the added bonus of picking up candy from the passing floats.

We had a couple of additions to our family in the past couple of months as well. Sam has been asking for quite a while for a pet of his very own. In order to show his readiness for such an event, he was given responsibilities which included: feeding and watering the cat and dog. Well, he did so well, he got his Christmas way early. Towards the end of October he adopted a kitten from our local shelter. He named his sweet little kitty Daisy, as he had requested a girl and that's what we were sold. But the more I looked at Daisy, and the more internet research I did, the more convinced I became that sweet little Daisy was not a girl. Sure enough, little Daisy turned out to be a little boy. The cat formerly know as Daisy is now known as Yoda. Well, I have always wanted a Siamese cat for as long as I can remember. Not one of those nasty slinky ones, but a full-bodied traditional Siamese. So, yes, I am now the proud new momma of a Siamese kitten. We have named him Reepicheep. We got him a few days after Yoda, so they have been growing up together. Why did I ever get puppies before? Kittens are so stinking easy! Sam is fully in charge of the litter box, which is quite a responsibility with three cats. But he does his job well and without complaint, which I really appreciate.

Well, that is it for now. More exciting news to follow soon.

Returned

Oh, my goodness, it feels SO good to be back home. We flew out at the end of August for what was supposed to be a ten day trip to CA. We did not get back until the END of September. I am so very glad to finally be back home and with my hubby. My dog and cat too. :-o We drove out here with my in-laws, which the kids just thought was so great. They were really missing all that grandparent time and attention. We have come to the conclusion that we just need to move closer to home, whether it's in AZ (which I would REALLY, REALLY love) or closer to my SIL in Washington (which I would REALLY, REALLY love). Either way, if the opportunity ever comes up, it will be great to be close to family again.

Once we got back we went back to the final appointment with the specialist's specialist's specialist on Sam's arm. He said it looked great, and Sam can now go back to playing any sport he wants. hahahahahahahahahaha Mommy is not sharing that info with Sam right now. We had Grandpa and Grandma M with us for two weeks, but they decided they must return home so they started their return journey yesterday. It is really quiet without them and their 170 lb. "puppy." There is a lot of home stuff that I need to catch up on, but once again it is so GOOD to be back home. I will post new pics soon.