Meet Jack...

Here is the Jack-o-Lantern Erik and I carved at Ben and Jen's fall outing. Isn't he cute! We were going for a goofy-Cheshire-cat look, but he ended up looking just plain goofy. I love his smile. Happy Fall!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!! Here are the pumpkins I carved at school with the kids...their favorite part was "scooping out the goop" on the inside of the pumpkin! :)

Well, it's the end of yet another busy weekend and I feel like I need 2 more days off just to recuperate! I should have spent this afternoon catching up on some cleaning and laundry, but instead Erik and I went for a walk at Never's Road Park and enjoyed the breezy, beautiful day. Nothing beats being lazy on a Sunday afternoon. :)

I have no idea why I like taking pictures of things in the middle of the road, but I find it quite amusing. Here are some pictures of an acorn we found along the trail, the beautiful nature preserve in South Windsor and the trail at Never's Road Park.

Jones Family Farm!!

Today we headed off to the Jones Family Farm in beautiful Shelton, CT for a day of wine tasting, pumpkin' picking, and frolicking in the beautiful fall weather with friends. First stop was Ben and Jen's house in Waterbury where Ben cooked up yummy egg sandwiches for us to start the day! Next we headed to the Jone's Winery. After the wine tasting we drove over to picturesque "Pumpkin Hill". The place was packed! While at Pumpkin Hill we walked around and...

pretended to be farm animals...

got lost in a corn maze...

and chose the perfect pumpkins for the carving competition back at Ben and Jen's. It was lots of fall fun!

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.

~Elizabeth Lawrence

It's Apple Pickin' Time!

Decisions, Decisions...

If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise. -Robert Fritz

Paper or plastic, chocolate or vanilla, change jobs or keep the same? We all face decisions each day, both small and large. You would think that as we grow older decisions would get easier to make...not when your a worry-wort like me! AHHHHH!!!!

Goodbye Summer...Hello Fall!

one last look at summer...

Well, Fall is officially here and I couldn't be more excited!! Erik and I have been really busy this past month, but we took time on Saturday to drive to the shore and bid farewell to summer. It was a cloudy day and we kept thinking it was going to pour, but we were still able to enjoy a nice walk on the beach and smell the refreshing salt air. When I have some time this week I will post a few photos! Sorry for the lack of blogging in September. I have lots of make-up posting to do! Erik's birthday was on the 16th (Happy Birthday hun!) and we had a great meal at my parents house last weekend to celebrate. Dad made his famous German Chocolate Cake...yummy! I started taking an adult hip-hop dance class with my sister on Wednesday nights. (Yes...you read that right...I'm dancing!) I haven't danced since elementary school, so this should be very interesting. I'm just trying it out for now, it's a good workout and it's nice to spend some time with Mary. As far as crafting goes... I've been busy with 3 different projects. I can't seem to focus on one project at a time, so I've been working slowly but surely on all three whenever I get the chance! This week I will be knitting a comfy plum colored scarf, practicing my crewel embroidery skills (and still looking for the proper yarn to use...), and making a few felted projects that will be given out at Christmas. I promise I'll post pics of some finished projects soon! Hope everyone has a good week!

Leaves are falling...

I was amazed to see how many leaves were already on the ground this weekend while out and about with Lisa on Saturday and Erik today (it's his birthday!). I hope a few stay on the trees for the fall. This leaf was floating in the water at Nod Brook on Saturday and for some reason it caught my eye. I can't wait for more leaf peeping soon! But for now, it's Sunday night and in a few hours I'll be back at work, doing the same old things and counting down the days until next weekend. I might have jury duty on Tuesday...I'll keep you posted! Have a good week!

Guess what time it is...

It's birthday time!! Happy Birthday to my wonderful hubby Erik. Today he celebrates the big 3-1. We ate out at Rein's for breakfast, sipped on yummy coffee from Starbucks, went for a walk at Nevers, ran into Lisa and Krystal, did some light shopping, hiked a bit at Gay City State Park and then ended the day at my parent's house for a yummy birthday supper. We had a birthday feast fit for a king and dined on steak, sausages, grilled pork chops, corn on the cob and roasted potatoes! No birthday dinner at Mom and Dad's is complete without a delectable homemade birthday cake. Erik wanted my Dad to make his famous homemade German Chocolate Cake and it turned out great! I look forward to this cake every year when he makes it! Happy Birthday hun!

Fall is in the air...

Today Lisa and I took a mini day trip out to Nod Brook Wildlife Management Area in beautiful Simsbury, CT. It was a gorgeous day and we could sense that fall is just around the corner! We didn't plan on going to Nod Brook, we just sort of stumbled upon it. We like to go on "Adventure Rides" and this looked like a neat area to explore. Yippee! I can't wait for more outings this fall!

The dog days of summer...

Well, we are one week into September and it's still very hot outside. Not just kinda hot...real hot. I think it was close to 90 degrees in Manchester today, yikes! I love summer, but I'm starting to get excited about fall. Apple picking, cool nights, pumpkins and beautiful fall foliage here we come! After all, it's right around the corner. I think Jake and Rudy are sick of the heat too. We saw them last weekend for Labor Day and they were both pretty lethargic. I guess nothings worse than being a 145 lb. black dog sitting outside in the blaring sun. Jake was sitting by the gate when I took this picture of him. He looked like he was staring off into space... probably dreaming about bunnies in the yard...or trying to figure out how he was going to get the teriyaki steak off the grill and into his mouth. Rudy on the other hand was posing for me in the yard. He was sitting in the grass by my dad's beautiful flower garden just asking to have his picture taken. He's a lot more patient with the camera than Jake. Anyways, hope everyone is having a good week! Enjoy the warm weather!