Happy Birthday, Matt!

Pinball. 
PF Chang's. 
$200 profit at the casino. 
Happy Halfway-to-90 Birthday, Matt!

Merry Christmas to Me!

Merry Christmas!  I guess it's time to get in the Christmas spirit since it seems every time I turn on the TV, there's a Christmas movie playing.  Don't get me wrong - I love Christmas, but I love celebrating Christmas AFTER celebrating Thanksgiving.  So, I guess I'll just have to get into the Christmas spirit early with an early Christmas present for myself:  a new camera and a new zoom lens!  Merry Christmas to me!! 

It's definitely quite an upgrade from my old Canon Rebel.  It's faster, sharper, has a flip-out LCD monitor, and even has wi-fi!  Now I just have to figure out how to use it!  Oh, just imagine how many Christmas pictures I'll be taking this year!  (My bit of advice:  you may want to wear sunglasses if you're in the frame of my camera lens this Christmas.  I'll be doing a lot of practicing and you'll probably feel like the paparazzi is stalking you!)

October's Blur

 

Either life gets too hectic at times...or I'm becoming a huge procrastinator.  Honestly, it's probably both.  October flew by and here are some highs and lows of the last month:

 

We went camping with friends the first weekend of October.  It was a chilly and wet weekend...but it could have been much worse.  It could have snowed.

 





 



 

The second week of October, my sisters and I headed down to Nashville to visit my dad in the hospital. He's totally into drama and giving us gray hair. I got a phone call during their trip out east that he was having trouble breathing and they flew into Nashville so he could be admitted to the hospital. He arrived with heart failure, lung failure, and kidney failure.  I arrived with six bags full of food and snacks and two-fully packed suitcases.  As much as my sisters teased me about over packing they were happy with all the food and extra clothes since we ended up spending six days in the ICU. Thankfully my dad improved enough to be released after two long weeks in a germ-infested hospital. He's still on the road to recovery, but hopefully he continues to get a little better each day.





We had to wear masks while they tested my dad for TB.
I gladly wore mine so I wouldn't get the plague anywhere else in the hospital. (Did I ever admit to being a total germaphobe?)
 





 

We got our first snowfall on Oct. 24th.  Luckily it didn't last for long because I hadn't switched my closets around yet and didn't have any long underwear or flannel pajamas upstairs.



This is after most of the snow had already melted.  I was too comfy wrapped up in a blanket on the couch to wander outside to take a picture of the snow on the grass earlier.

 

 

 On October 27th, Keaton turned 22...and I remained 29.
 

 

 

 



Matt & I went on a little fall color tour last Sunday.  We stopped by the lake that we're thinking of moving to in the near future.  Matt propped the camera on the back of the car to get a picture of us...and forgot that he also put his cell phone on the back of the car.  He remembered when he tried to use it a few minutes later...after we drove away.  Luckily, someone found it down the road...a little more beat up and missing the back, but surprisingly still working.

 

 

 

We dressed as Cinderella and Prince Charming for our Halloween party at home (Cyrus was a king and Keaton was a gladiator) and again to pass out candy on Halloween night.  Matt dressed as a short scientist on stilts at work for Halloween and earned 'The Wackiest Costume' award.  I think he should have earned the most creative...or 'The Best Mad Scientist' award!





 

     



 

 

 

Basketball season is upon us again for our last trip around the college basketball circuit.  Holy cow, it sure doesn't seem like it's been four years since Keaton started college.  We're hoping he's able to play more this season and doesn't have to battle health issues like last season.  We'll keep our fingers crossed that his last year is his best year!  Go Hornets!!



K @ WMU