My husband, the traffic cone

We're just two months away from the Disney Marathon, which means Dave's getting into the thick of his training. Last weekend he ran 20 miles (he's nuts), and this weekend was "only 13." He usually gets up before the sun rises on Saturday morning and sets out on his run. Now that it's getting colder, that's becoming a bit more challenging. So he was on the prowl for some running gear (a top in particular) that is simultaneously warm, but bright in color...since he's usually running in the dark. I think he found it. Hence, meet my husband, the traffic cone. This picture really doesn't do it justice...this shirt GLOWS in person...it's flourescent orange. It nearly hurts my eyes to look at it. I'm pretty certain the planes overhead could spot him. :)

Aren't these socks hilarious? He swears by them.

Happy Halloween

I think Andra enjoyed her second Halloween. We dressed her up as a clown. It's a hand-me-down costume that my mom made for Zayda a few years ago. I think handmade costumes have a little more love in them. :) So this was the clown's second go-round, and I doubt it will be the last!

Andra went to her grandparent's house on Thursday night to meet up with her cousins.

Here's Zayda as Dorothy...another handmade costume by Grandma. Hmm...I wonder if Andra will be Dorothy in a few years? :)

Complete with ruby slippers...

A not-so-happy clown with her cousins Zayda and Garrett (the Cowardly Lion!).

Grandma V. also took me around the neighborhood to show me off.

"Explain to me again why I'm in in this goofy costume..."

Our little trick-or-treater wasn't in the best of spirits Halloween night. We could tell she was starting to come down with something, and sure enough, we were up all night with a cough and fever. Now we're in full-blown virus fighting mode. Hope she kicks this one quick.

You've Got A Friend In Me...

I think Andra and Pudge are having more fun together with each passing day! So here's a video of Pudge being his typical crazy self, which of course, Andra finds very entertaining. (and it's got SOUND!...thanks to our new camera. yay!)

Boiler Up

We took a little day trip up to West Lafayette today to visit my little bro Jonathan, a freshmen at Purdue. It's still SO weird that my baby brother's in COLLEGE. That makes me old.

We had such a fun day! Jonathan showed us around campus. There's this one spot where you can stand and clap, and there's this weird chirp you get in your ears! It was totally weird...Jonathan says the smart PU engineers figured out a way to make the sound waves cause that?? It was probably someone's senior thesis project. :) Campus was beautiful...Dave and I wanted to pretend we were college students again.

We also took him out to lunch and checked out his dorm room. Andra had fun hanging out with her "Uncle J." Here he is entertaining Andra in her carseat.

Goofy girl. I wonder if she'll be as goofy as her Uncle J?

In front of Jonathan's historic dorm :) Tarkington Hall. Love those freshmen dorms!

Headed home. Shew! What a day.

Autumn Afternoons

Have I mentioned I love autumn? I'm pretty sure I have. :) I actually found it in myself to rake a few leaves today (I typically never rake leaves. What's the point? More are going to fall. And they'll all blow away without the help of my rake. Just let Mother Nature do her thing.)

BUT...I remember going to my Grandma's house as a little girl and "helping" rake leaves into a HUGE pile. And our reward was to jump in them! So I decided to rake a small pile for Andra to play in. And she seemed to like it. She did her typical 'wrinkle nose face' that always makes me laugh.

And I had to include this photo too. I was cooking dinner tonight, and Andra usually hangs out with me in the kitchen emptying cabinets and drawers while I get dinner ready. But tonight, I noticed she'd disappeared and it had been mysteriously quiet for several minutes. I called for her. Silence. I listened for her. Not a sound. So I decided I better go see what she's up to. This is where I found her. Under the dining room table snuggling with her big bro Pudge. Don't they make a cute pair?? Pudge is an excellent big bro. He lets Andra climb all over him, play in his food and water bowls, and apparently use him as a pillow too. I'm sure they'll be buddies for a long time to come.

Four Years and Counting...

Our four year wedding anniversary was last week, so we wanted to do something special over the weekend to celebrate. We took a little day trip down to Oliver Winery in Bloomington. It was the PERFECT fall day...warm, but not too warm, and lots of sunshine! The leaves were beautiful and the grounds were gorgeous. I knew it was supposed to be a nice place, but it definitely exceeded our expectations. If you haven't been there, you should definitely go. We're certainly not wine-o's, and we still had a great time.

We took a tour of the plant and learned how they make wine there, then we had a free tasting, which was a blast. The only thing I know about wine is that it's usually red or white, and I don't know how to pronounce the names of most of it. So it was fun to look at a list of wines and be able to try a sip of any of them. We apparently have the same taste, because we both didn't like dry wines...and thought the sweet wines were TOO sweet. All the wines we tasted that we liked were in the semi-sweet or semi-dry category. We ALWAYS buy Oliver's soft red and soft white at the grocery store, so it'll be fun to know different wines we like now!

After our tasting, we just walked around the grounds and sat on their beautiful deck out back. It really was a gorgeous place.

This is the stash we came home with...a half case of newly discovered wine that we REALLY like! Riesling, Camelot Mead (the wine that made them famous in the 1970s), Soft red (our old standby!), Muscat Canneli, Beanblossom Hard Cider (so yummy warm!), and Catawba. Our taster lady said their wine lasts for about two years unopened. That's about how long it will take us to drink all of this. :) And those are some roses in the background that this handsome guy bought me. :)

Playin' Around

We've been trying to savor the warm weather while it's still here. Despite my obsession with fall, I know it means winter is right around the corner...and the cabin fever that comes with it. So since Andra's walking now, we took her on her first trip to the playground, and she really enjoyed it! (And it gave me a chance to break in our new camera!) She even went swinging...in the past, she's always started crying when we tried to get her to swing. She seems to be a fan now. So here she is hitting the slides and just enjoying the fresh air!

Daddy even took me on the BIG slides. Mommy was a little nervous about that, but I loved them!

Peekaboo!

Hey Grandma G., check it out! I've figured out how to CLIMB my rocking chair you got me...all by myself! Forget rocking...climbing's WAY more fun!!