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Annual Pumpkin Carving 2008

Our Annual Pumpkin Carving was held the night before Halloween....We have carved pumpkins with the kids for as long as we have had kids and I even think Brian and I did them when it was just us!......It's usually a good time. This year we only had the boys....I also think this was the first year we could "trust" the boys with knives!! :)

Ben digging the "stuff" out.......

Now it's Gabe's turn......

A pumpkin before the cutting begins!

Silly guys, with silly hats.......

Brian was in charge of designing and cutting out the big pumpkin....See it's our last name!!

Gabe made this at school and it hung over our dining room table......

The boys hard at work.......

This was the first year Beau did not need any help with designing or cutting his.....

Costume photos to come......

Happy Halloween from.........

Have a spooky and safe Halloween.........

Funny Photos......

Remember this photo.......I have already shown it but look below.........
I was looking back at October 2007 photos and found this one!!! It's the same gorilla at the Halloween Parade 2007!! Isn't that funny......I wonder if it's the same person in the costume??

A Trip to Pumpkin Patch.....

Monday we took the boys to a Pumpkin Patch that the First Church of God was having. It was freezing!! Literally......the temps were very close to freezing. It took us all of about 10 mins. to find pumpkins, run in a straw maze, play a few games and pay for our stuff!!

Ben sitting among the pumpkins.....
Beau showing off the great pumpkins they had.....

Gabe having a great time, always.......

This photo was taken the day after......See the little one, that's Abby's! :) The huge pumpkin to the left they gave us that one for free! They said at this time of the year they can't "give these things away!". They still had alot left over......It's huge and I think even bigger/heavier then Shakes!

Halloween Parade Time!!!

The Annual Halloween Parade was yesterday.....It was a very sunny and windy day! The boys always have a great time collecting candy....

Gabe with a Gorrilla......
His Hat from Long John Sivers......He was not able to wear it very long cause it kept flying off.....

Ben and Gabe with the Long John Silver's float behind them......

Gabe loved this Scoopy Doo float......

Miss Abby smiling and marching......

All the girls did great!

Hey.....there are my in-laws (Bob and Jane).....yes they are riding trikes!

Ben and Gabe watching the BIG men drive the LITTLE cars.......

Beau waiting for the parade to start.......

It was fun....

An Update.....

This was taken on our drive last Sunday out between Sigel and Strasburg.....Brian says that iron bridges are rare these days!
We have been busy the last week with school and work.....the time goes by fast. Last Friday we went to Ben's schools Carnival, Saturday Brian participated in the 3Pigs Cookoff and I helped with the EHS Band Invitational where we had over 30 bands come. Sunday we went to visit our new puppy (see post below). This week has been been several meetings with school for fundraisers and parent/teacher conferences. All the kids did great on their report cards and also are doing great in the classrooms. The kids have tommorrow off and this weekend we were going to go camping but it will be raining the next few days so we won't now. We are going to work on the finishing touches in the kitchen. Sunday is the Halloween Parade where Abby will march with the band. Work is going great and we even got a few new customers this week......See...we are busy!!

Visiting our New Puppy......

We took a drive this afternoon to see the puppies from where we are getting our new one in a few weeks....They were so cute....There were 5 girls and 3 boys....They are only 5 weeks old.
Look at the little one licking Gabe's shirt!

This is one that we picked out.....A girl....we just need a name....any suggestions???
Also....they still have some available and they are free! Just let me know and I can get you the phone # of the couple who have them. They are full blooded beagles but have no papers.

Happy Columbus Day....

I know it's a little late (the day is almost over)....but Happy Columbus Day!!

Homecoming Dance 2008.....

Here are some photos (ok alot of photos!) of Abby's Homecoming Dance.....

Abby and Nate......

Cute couple......
Abby and her friends Brytnie and Debbie.....

The Girls.....

The BFF's.....
The girls having a fun time running.....
Now they are jumping!
Of course what is a "photo shoot" without Gabe....he likes Nate and wanted to stand by him.....

The Girls and Boys together.....

Isn't Abby's dress pretty??? After trying on over 20 dress it should be!!! :)
These photos were taken at Ballard Nature Center.....that seems to be a our favorite place lately.

Blessing of the Pets at St. Anthony...

We took Shakes and Jane up to the Blessing of the Pets after school this afternoon. It was a beautiful day and a nice service.

Here is Abby (her back to me) holding Jane.....
I would say that there were about 15 or so pets there this afternoon....
Fr. Daren blessing the pets with holy water...... Beau and Gabe (and Shakes) watching Fr. Daren with the Blessing....
Here is Fr. Daren, Beau holding Shakes, Ben with Jane and Gabe......As you can see Jane was not really enjoying herself! :)