Pumpkin farm

We went to a nearby pumpkin farm yesterday for some Halloween fun. We rode the hay wagon, and picked out pumpkins. I had a good time taking pictures. We tried out the haunted house, but it was a little too scary in the pitch dark!  The kids had fun exploring all the haunted aspects of the farm and playing in a playground where they could ride a zip line.

Report cards came home on Friday. I have to say that both kids are doing very well. Son is doing as well and better, as we have hoped. His grades are mostly good. The elementary school here does non-grades, using a 1-4 scale of proficiency. I think I like this. Best all all was his separate report card for band. Son's grades for flute were straight 4s, the highest marks possible!  We are very proud of  him. 

We are slowly settling in to our life in Nebraska, and day by day it begins to feel a little bit more like home.

Maverick says

Hi Everyone!  Maverick here.  I just wanted to tell you how great my life is now!  I've been with my furever family for a whole year now!  I have my very own girl, who takes me for  walks and teaches me things. She doesn't know that I'm training her well, too!  It was just a little tough this last summer when we packed up and moved from Louisiana to Nebraska. All my family came, too, so it wasn't  too bad. I still have my aussie that I boss around, and grumpy, little Mickey, who is the other papillon in the family. I'm much bigger than he is!  The sheltie and the cats came too. My new house is big and has a great, fenced yard. Best of all, is the walking trail that goes right behind our house!  I bark at the people on it to stay away from my house, and my girl and my mom take for walks along it down around a little lake. I've been going to class to learn something called flyball. I get to play with a tennis ball and run fast, so it is really fun! My aussie goes, too. Mom and Dad say I'm going to start agility classes again soon.  I can't wait. I picked my family out at an agility trial, so I'm glad they know that I want to do agility.  I'm sure glad I saw my family that day. I just had to tell them that I was supposed to live with them. Now we are all very happy!

On the mend

Here's Annie after her surgery, Friday. The vet sent her home with a jaunty, new fall bandana, but it didn't entirely distract from the big, shaved hole and 11 staples in her butt!  She is recovering well. The cone has been a pain, but all the staples are still in. She will get them out next week. She seems to be feeling much better now that big, nasty cyst is gone. We might even be about ready to leave the cone off. 
It finally quit raining today, and I took Annie and Maverick for a walk after lunch. Annie got to try out the new doggie backpack I just had to get for her. It has a special place for dispensing poop bags and a pocket to carry the used bags home. She carried my keys and cell phone today. I'm thinking it will be useful in the summer when I usually walk in exercise clothes with no pockets. I'm having these visions of camping and hiking with the dogs next summer. Those who know me will be shocked if this actually happens. Meanwhile, I'm giving up on the new walking shoes I bought last month. Usually New Balance are good shoes for me, but I've been wearing this pair and they just are not comfortable, so I'm going to be on a quest for new shoes. I'm doing my small part to stimulate the economy.

Poor Conehead

Poor Annie!  She burst open a cyst on her hip Wedsnesday. I'll spare the gory details, tomorrow she is having minor surgery to remove it. Meanwhile, she is moping around the house and bashing into walls and the back of my legs with her cone. I suppose we'll have to put up with it for another week or so, she is determined to lick her "owie" if she can.
I just wanted to share a couple of pics I took of the wonderful butterflies at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.  It is a fabulous zoo, and we can't wait to share it when we get visitors from out of town. Yes, that's a hint!
I have a small confession. Duane and I ate sandwiches from Subway on Monday night while Daughter was at dance class. Otherwise, we've kept to the no eating out rule this week. Hey, it's my game and I guess I get to make up the rules. I forgot to impose a penalty for breaking them!

Outdoor Ed

Son left this morning for Outdoor Ed, otherwise known as 6th grade overnight camp. He was a little nervous, since he's rarely slept away from us. I didn't let him know that I was going to miss him a lot more than he would have time for missing us! I know this is going to be a great experience for him, but I'll be one of the first parents at school tomorrow afternoon to pick my boy up.

The not eating out experiment is going well now. We have not eaten out since Oct. 1. Somehow just taking it off the table as an option is making it much easier to live with. We have been eating more sandwiches and leftovers. I hope I get more creative with fast, easy ideas for dinner. The hardest thing is that we are rarely able to eat at the same time during the week, as it seems like every night we are getting the kids to various activities, and they get home late enough that they need to eat before we go. 

The good, the bad, the poopy

I took Mickey along to Petsmart today, and he put in an unofficial and unanticipated therapy dog visit. We met with a nice young teenager named Steven with Down syndrome who was out with his teacher and another student. Steven spent about 10 minutes sitting on the ground petting and snuggling with Mickey. For Mickey, it was the only part of the trip he enjoyed!  I was proud of the little guy. He seemed to know just what to do. 

So, I have this grand plan for the month of October. After reading an article in Reader's Digest, I decided that it would be a great experiment for our family to go the entire month without eating out;  at all. As of Oct. 1, the score is:  dinner at home 0, Qdoba Mexican Grill 1.  And this after I explained to a friend about not being able to go out to lunch! 

I thought I was done cleaning up dirty bottoms when the kids were toilet trained. Having hairy dogs, I should know better.  Yesterday I finally confronted the source of my stinky Aussie dog.  I put Annie in tub and scrubbed the business end. Yuk! No wonder she didn't smell good. Then, since I'm not diligent about keeping the dogs off the bed, the linens went in the wash! I'm considering the idea that my next dog should not have a hairy butt.