Oops! October

OK - I some how managed to not post about October, so let me make up for that oversight...

We were able to attend Family Camp held at Camp George Thomas. La looks forward to this every year because she really likes to camp! Lots of fun was had by all!

Then Last Frontier Council celebrated their 100th year, so RTC & Scott went and camped on a different weekend. RTC was able to meet Reed Timmer and represent their pack in the flag ceremony. So grateful for our 221 Pack friends!

WatchD.O.G.S is a program at our school and Scott served on Halloween. He had a great day with both kids. He enjoyed helping their teachers.

Finally it was Halloween! What fun to go trick-or-treating with friends! We had Princess Anna & a soldier this year. Now they're making plans for Halloween 2015!!

Halloween

It's hasn't been a week yet, so this isn't late right?!

This year we had a Brave princess and a hunter...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Scott asked RTC when he wanted him to be serve with the WatchDOGS at school and Halloween was chosen. So Scott spent Halloween at the school. If you don't know much about the WatchDOGS program you can go here and find their Facebook page. They're a great organization helping to get more dads, step-dads, uncles, grandfathers into the schools. This year Scott split his time between am Pre-K & 3rd grade. Next year he'll have to have 2 separate days...

Then that night it was trick-or-treating. I've started an online degree program that has mandatory Thursday night meetings, so he was on his own with Merida & Jase Robertson. 

• The girl didn't want to wear a wig so we sprayed her hair red...
• Not sure if this is much of a costume for him (other than the facial hair & wig) as he had the pants & shirt...

Bottom line - they met up with some friends and had fun...and those things are what make great memories!

Friends

Today I am so thankful for all of my friends. I don't take photos when I'm with my friends as much as I'd like. Not sure why - it just doesn't seem to happen. Silly really when you think that we all have decently sized cameras on our phones...oh well - I'll just use the photo from last year. I know we haven't aged so it will work just fine.

While this photo was taken at a sad point in my life - it just reaffirms what friendship really is. It's when you connect on a much deeper level. It's when you can tell someone how you are with a simple look regardless of the words coming out of your mouth. It's being able to read between the lines in the picture perfect idealic reality that is painted in the status updates on Facebook. It's having inside jokes and laughing at them 20 years later. It's knowing that while mileage seperates you - it doesn't dimish the connection you share. It's the friends that you make in all stages of life and while you may not have as long of a history you have respect for one another. You don't judge one another. It's helping each other out without keeping score.

I just want to say thanks & I love each and every one of you!

Good Old Friends

I have been so fortunate throughout my life to be blessed with really good friends. Last weekend I was able to spend time with one of those friends and it got me to thinking about our history together...

To say that we're "old" friends is an understatement. Hopefully she won't get mad at me by revealing that we've known each other since just after my birthday in 1973. My family moved on to the same block as hers. There was one house between us and I think it's safe to say we made a few memories...(yes that's sarcasm). We were fairly inseparable until 6th grade when we both started hanging out with other friends. We didn't have a huge blow up, we just started liking different things. Nothing wrong with that, I think that's what middle school is supposed to prepare us for; I mean at 12 years old lots of things start to change and your friends do too. We graduated from the same high school with the same 40ish other people. I then moved to Washington state. She went to college in Wichita. She came to my wedding. I visited her when she moved to Dallas. We kept in touch pretty good. Whenever I'm in Dallas I try to make sure our families can get together. She's fearless in my mind. I admire her quite a bit. She's done things I don't know that I could do.

I sell Private Quarters linens and bath accessories so when she offered to have a get-together and that meant the 4 of us would spend the weekend at her place I jumped at the possibility. (I also wanted to take the new car on a road trip.) I wanted my kids to know her and her family too. She has loved animals and critters as long as I can remember. She has 3 dogs that my kids loved doting on. Then they have some critters too, you know like snakes, turtles, a hedgehog, lizards, a dragon, I think you get my point. So off to see the critters we went...

This is her sweet hubby with RTC. That's a snake he's holding.



And not to be outdone here's LNC with the same snake. I held the snake too, but getting my picture didn't seem nearly as important as getting the kids'...everyone can vouch that I did indeed hold the snake. Scott touched the snake, twice. See we all did something we hadn't done before!

They also have a great backyard! They are making a fort/playhouse for their grandkids that is great! He's done all the work himself and it's cool!

Here's LNC getting ready to play in their backyard fort.

 

Here's RTC getting ready to go down the slide.

It's a shame his face doesn't show how much fun he was having!

LNC is so helpful. Here she is brushing Sasha so the grass wouldn't go inside.

Here's Penny's turn - such a helper!

We had such a good time with them! I feel so blessed to have this opportunity for so many reasons. I guess one of those is purely selfish on my part. I want my kids to know some of the people I grew up with so when I'm the "no fun mom" someone will be able to tell them that once upon a time I was fun!

Humbled

It's interesting - I now am in the "lost a parent" club. I'm sure that really won't hit me until the holidays. What I can tell you is how humbled I was this past week. From the friends of my siblings to my own friends it seemed like every time we needed something there was a knock at the door or a call on the phone. What amazing people!

These are just a few of the lovely ladies I am lucky enough to call friend. I am truly humbled.