Adventures in Babysitting.....

This past week Brian and I have been "babysitting & housesitting" for our friend's 3 boys, 1 dog (ie. 10 week old puppy) and 1 cat.............this is our blog entry about our "adventures :) This is the youngest brother Apollo! He had a cub scout Space Derby event while we were with him! Apparently his rocket crashed and burned..but he still had fun!
This is Fielding, the middle brother....because Echo (the oldest was at a friends house and Apollo was at the Rocket Derby) he wanted to go eat sushi at Red Ginger! Yum! He ate his whole California roll!

Last weekend we took the boys to my parents house for "Turkey Day" a week early, because we will be in Tampa with Brian's mom! We ended up taking the dogs (Webster & Hickory) for a hike in the woods....

It was fun and we even saw some real hunters with guns..which the boys thought was so cool!

The turkey we ended up deep frying..the way we have done the last few year! And everyone helped!

The crazy chefs! :)

The group before dinner! Notice that my mom and I are really out numbered!!

Apollo and Fielding walking to the school bus...this was a day we were hoping for a snow day! No luck!

Half day of school! We went to Hands on Art to paint hot chocolate mugs!

Then we met up with Brian for a celebratory dinner at Blue Tractor...celebrating that everyone survived (included Brian & I) and that all the boys had all ten fingers, ten toes and everyone had a blast!

Echo and I at dinner too!

It was a great week......Brian and I had a lot of fun and learned a lot about ourselves and each other! The boys were so much fun to be around and the week was very rewarding..from Apollo scoring 100% on his spelling test and learning to tie his shoes (way to go Brian!) or from the boys telling us we will make a good mom & dad (I think that is the stamp of approval!) we couldn't have asked for a better first babysitting adventure together!

It is time to be more thankful, even if you have less!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. Historically it is a holiday where people gather and give thanks for all the blessings in their lives. Unfortunately, and possibly consistent with the adage that we are all victims of our time and place, the Thanksgiving spirit does not seem to be as prominent as in years past. Instead, too many people seem to be focusing on what they do not have or what they can not do this year because of no job, less money, etc. rather than recognizing all their blessings. It leads me to question whether it is easier to give thanks when you have an abundance of "stuff" or when you have less than what you had hoped for but still plenty to forge ahead? My belief is that it appears easier to give thanks when things are going well. However, it is when things are not going so well that you need to be even more thankful.

Despite the ever-floundering economy, bleak job and housing market outlook, and overarching sentiment that we are in some of the worst financial times in our country's history, I am more thankful this year than ever before, and it has nothing to do with how much or how little "stuff" I have. While I am not insulated from any of the stressors or pressures facing others, I am choosing to be thankful for what I have. So I will be giving thanks because I am married to my best friend, my wife and I are healthy, my family is doing well, my friends are the best, and I am challenged and rewarded everyday professionally. Granted I face challenges daily, but not one, let alone all of them together, can detract how thankful I am for my family, friends, and the opportunities presented to me thus far in my life. Call it strange, but I am also thankful for the less favorable times, bad breaks, or unexplainable, shitty situations presented to me throughout my life. Simply put, I am thankful for the way things are because it offers something very powerful - perspective. I am a big believer that you do not enjoy the highs when you have not experienced the lows.

Ultimately, I am more excited for the present and the future than I have ever been in my life. I see nothing but opportunity in my professional life. I am more involved civically and philanthropically than ever before, and I fully intend to continue to be so. I am in control, and while the economy and outside influences may be distracting and somewhat limiting, they will not be prohibitive. I undoubtedly will face dissapointment, failure, and downright heartache as my life moves forward, but I will continue to be thankful. All the while, my goals will not flutter, and I will achieve them all.

So I challenge you to be more thankful this year than you have in years past. Do not take things for granted and do not ever feel a sense of entitlement. If you fail, be thankful that you will have a chance to succeed in the future. If you have succeeded, be thankful for the opportunity to do so. If you think you have nothing to be thankful for, drop me a line and I will help you brainstorm.

As Dicky Fox said in Jerry Maguire, :

Hey, I don't have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I failed as much as I have

succeeded. But I love my wife. I love my life. And I wish you my kind of success.

Nolan's 1st Birthday....

Our nephew Nolan's 1st Birthday was this weekend!
We celebrated his birthday along with his sister Macy's too...

The birthday plate Brian & I made for Nolan...

Nolan's really cute bib...BYOB.

A cute picture of Nolan & Uncle Brian!

Macy's 3rd Birthday....

Our niece Macy turned 3 years old this week! We celebrated with an Ariel theme birthday party for a princess!
Macy taking a little lick from her cake after blowing out the candles...

Emily, Nolan and Macy

Macy and the chest Brian & I made for her to store her Barbie clothes...

Macy & Emily's friends over for the party...

California Dreaming...

Brian was in Long Beach, CA this week for work...check him out!

Ta Da!!

Brian came home from LA to a "new" me or I guess the old me...I got my braces OFF today!! Yippee!!

Last MSU home game of the year....

This weekend Brian and I went down to MSU for the last home game of the year!
And it is getting cold! Before Brian jetted off to Long Beach, CA for work this week we sat thru a bitterly cold game only made better by the Spartans winning and a cup of hot chocolate!

And when we got back..we woke up Sunday to SNOW! Yes! I think winter is here :(

Walk with Mom & Webster...

Today I went on a walk with my mom & Webster behind our house and the tip of the peninsula....
Check out some of the pictures I took....

Grandma....

Last week Brian and I went down to Ann Arbor for the day, he had a conference and I spent the day with my Grandmother. Grandma McClatchey is 93 years old and an avid knitter and reader! Currently she is knitting her #501 little cap for the children at Mott's Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor! She and my aunt Colleen drop them off a hundred at a time and each little newborn gets a little cap straight from our Grandma....we love you Grandma & I know the little babies at Mott's do too!!
"Grandmother's sprinkle stardust over children's lives..." Author: Unknown

Halloween 2008

Happy HALL-o-ween 2008!!

Brian and I were...a deviled egg & heavenly ham :)
This year we celebrated with a big party at our house! Look at all our spooky and crazy friends!

The party scene: that me, my mom and sister so diligently worked on.....
Bloody blueberry punch with hands (ice) in it!!

The bar......

The spooky entryway...

The haunted bathroom...(black lights)

OUR GUESTS......

we had it all from go-go dancers, McCain, pirates and more..see a sampling below!

Elmerfud and his rabbit...

Me & Spider man...

The bubble bee, tooth fairy and the deviled egg...

Peter Pan and Tinker bell....

Sarah Palin & John McCain...

Lions, Tigers and Bears..oh my!

Fred and Velma (Scooby-doo), Justin Timberlake, Christmas Present and Tinkerbell

The bumble bee and deviled egg...

Tinkerbell, McCain, Christmas Present, Sarah Palin, Tooth fairy and Snow White...

The Christmas Presents sharing a pre-holiday hug :)

Cat woman, the devil, Chad from Altell, not sure?, and the heavenly ham...

a little green alligator...

Heavenly ham, tooth fairy, and the Christmas present...

Snow White and Velma passing out candy to the kiddies...

The scene across the street...we went thru 7 (120+ piece) bags of candy!! wow!! and ran out at 7:30!!

Snow White and Velma....

The bubble bee kicking of Halloween trick -o - treaters at 5pm!

The later the dance party began!! Look at tinker bell light up the dance floor!!

The deviled egg was EGG-cellent!

And the Heavenly Ham busted a move with those wings!

What a great party!!