What a weekend!

Adam was laid off Thursday night (a good thing) but since he has been working nights, he has not been getting a whole lot of sleep. Friday, he was fighting the laundry. The laundry won.

Saturday, at 3pm, Zeke and the RRL Flyweight Hawks played Genoa Orange for the Championship Title in the NIFC league. AND THE HAWKS WON! 14 - 6! A MONSTER victory! After the game, each player got a medal to wear around their neck and Coach Morley got a HUGE trophy!

All the families brought food and we all then proceeded to the pavillion area to pray, present the coaches with their Thank-You gifts, eat and socialize. We also got a chance to cheer on one of the other RRL teams that was playing after us. It was a wonderful evening filled with many great families. No one minded the cold, the overcooked or undercooked meat (meat was thrown haphazardly on the grill and flipped occasionally by whomever was passing by) or the ending daylight. Truly a feeling of community.

Since getting Reggie, actually right before Bourbon, I joined an online forum called www.bigdogsporch.com. Lots of big dog pet owners who offer lots of encouragement, support and advice - all of which I needed, having never owned a large dog before. A few members of the Forum are from/live in the Chicago area and decided to meet in Sycamore, Illinois for the annual Pumpkinfest. Adam, I, the kids and Reggie trucked down there and met some fabulous people and their beautiful big dogs.

All assembled together in front of the courthouse, where we agreed to meet, we must have been quite a spectacle because over a hundred people came over to pet our dogs and ask us questions! Someone commented that they were looking for the sign, announcing what shelter we were with because we looked so organized! Very funny!

Pumpkinfest

Most of us stayed for the parade, which was very fun. Reggie stayed pretty mellow through most of it - he only stood up when the Clydesdale horses went by. Kendra's Great Dane, Basja, did NOT like headless characters... freaked her out a little. And little Edna, the pug who thought she was a big dog, attempted to run off with a passing chihuahua in the parade, much to her owner's embarrasment!

We all agreed to leave a little early, since the wind picked up (gusts of 30+mph) and it began to rain. Reggie was so good though. Let everyone and anyone pet him, barked twice the entire time and even got to sniff a few dog butts. He lays beside me now, snoring, because I think he feels as content with his day as we do

Agrotourism is cool

It is our new "thing" to do. Especially since it almost always involves food of some kind!

Edwards Orchard

This time we went to Edwards Orchard outside of Rockford. No corn maze but a beautiful store, a petting zoo, a small playground, a Pick-Your-Own orchard that we did not partake in because we were feeling lazy and a bakery that served fresh, hot apple doughnuts. I don't think the apple doughnuts were made there though - I think they were sent straight from heaven.

Until the first snowfall, we intend to visit as many farms open to tourists as possible. Partly for the fruits & veggies, partly to absorb the beautiful scenery as the leaves change, partly because it is cheap entertainment.

Yesterday the kids and I also went to see "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" at the local community theater. It was funny, sweet, poignant and pretty well done. Gave us lots of stuff to think and talk about the rest of the evening.

All in all, a very good weekend.

The Playoffs

Zeke's team, the Roscoe-Rockton Lion's Flyweight Hawks, made the playoffs last week and today was their first Playoff game. They played Kaneland Knights Silver and WON 26-6! It was a cold, cold morning - lots of parents had the same idea I did and went to a local coffee shop to stock up prior to arrival on the field.

The kids did great and they are so excited! Their next game is Saturday against one of the Genoa teams, both of whom are EXTREMELY difficult. Whoever wins that game is the Champion of the Flyweight division. The loser is 2nd place is the division. So either way, they have had an amazing season. We are all so proud of those boys and their coaches. A wonderful group of people.

For more pictures of this game, click here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/TheIllinoisMayFamily/PlayoffGame1#

Fall is Here

Weather is in the 50s during the day and in the 30s at night. We are burning wood in the fireplace semi-regularly now. The air smells clean and fresh. The leaves are changing, although I think we have at least a week or two until peak.

Columbus Day we went to another corn maze, this time in Janesville, WI. They had two: One had a book theme and the other was called "The Impossible Maze".

Corn Maze II

Clare made it out first, and quickly, from the first one. I paused after Stop #2 (there were 13) to take some pictures and when I began again, the next one I found was #10. Go figure.

The Impossible Maze we decided to go on together, as it was shaped completely of octagons and looked REALLY hard... hence the name. We made it through in about 30 minutes, but only because of my excellent map reading skills. :)

We had a good time and brought back lots of apple & pumpkin treats from the market!

Article in today's Dunkirk Evening Observer - Our Dad

Dunkirk honors Person of the Year

By JOEL CUTHBERT
POSTED: October 13, 2008

Town officials nominated the late John Kall as the 2008 Person of the Year in Dunkirk.

The Dunkirk Town Board will host a special dedication ceremony for family and friends of Kall - a longtime employee of the town and active member of the community - Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the town hall with the regular meeting of the town board to follow at 7 p.m.

The Person of the Year recognition award was started as a town of Dunkirk tradition in 1996, with a brief hiatus from nominations in 2005 before being resumed.

"When we started Person of the Year we didn't want it to be an elected official," Supervisor Richard Purol said. "We wanted it to be someone who was instrumental to the town, and John Kall was certainly that ... Even though it's been a few years since he passed, he's not forgotten."
Kall worked as a police officer in the town of Dunkirk for 26 years, beginning in 1979 and serving until his death in 2005. Although he worked on a part-time basis, Purol said, he was always on call, and despite serving as law enforcement for the township, maintained friendships with all town residents. In addition, Kall worked as a police officer for the town of Pomfret, village of Fredonia and city of Dunkirk.

Kall exemplified a truly civic-minded mentality, and embodied a healthy dedication to his community and love of his fellow community members.

Among his many services to the community, Kall was a member of the Chautauqua County Deputy Sheriff's Association and a helicopter pilot in the DWI unit of the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Department; a member of the Northern Chautauqua County Catholic School Board and former Eucharistic Minister at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church; a volunteer for the Catholic school fundraiser, Summerfest; a volunteer for the United Way Day of Caring for years; worked bingo twice a week; was a local baseball umpire; and assisted local fire departments when he had free time, to name just a few of his many selfless activities.

"He just did so much for the community," Town Clerk Jean Crane said. "He was a great guy."
Family, friends and past town officials will be in attendance for the Person of the Year dedication ceremony in which a tree will be planted in the memorial garden next to the town hall in Kall's name. A short reception will be held in the town hall following the dedication.

http://www.observertoday.com/page/content.detail/id/511678.html

We are so proud of him!

Snoring

For those of who thought we were kidding when we said our new dog sounded like a lawnmower, I present this video. No need to listen to it all. I have yet to master a movie editing program. Just enjoy the sounds of our lovely animal.

Football

Saturday morning the Roscoe-Rockton Lions' Flyweight team The Hawks played their last game of the regular season against Kaneland Silver. And they won 28-12! Woo hoo!

Zeke played almost the entire first half, due to one of the other big kids on the team having had surgery a few days before. You would think Zeke would be excited for all the play time he was getting... after all, there are 33 kids on the team and coach trying to give them all equal play time, it doesn't add up to a whole lot. But actually, by the middle of the 2nd quarter, Zeke was just beat.



The team played really well, although they racked up quite a few more penalties than the other team. One of the things I, and all the other parents on our team for that matter, love about our coaches is that they believe in fairness all around. So when it looked like we were pretty far ahead score-wise, all the big kids on defense came out to the sidelines. They then put in the "Baracuda" defense and the "Shark" defense, which is the nice way of saying "the little guys".

I will say this: what those little 60 pound defensive kids lack in size, they sure do make up for in agility! And boy can they go after a quarterback or receiver!

All in all, a fun game to watch. Those 8 year olds really seem to enjoy themselves and we have to thank our coaches for that. They inspired a love of the game.

So because we won this game and have only lost one this season, the Hawks are in the playoffs! So we have more practice this week and our first of two playoff games on Sunday.

In other news, we gave Reggie his first bath at his new home today.

Reggie's Bath

Quite an experience! He was very good for it though and now smells minty fresh! And he is so soft - we have been running our fingers through his fur all evening!

Our Dog - Round 2

Reggie

For those of you who didn't know, we had to say goodbye to our last dog, Bourbon. We really liked him and he seemed to do well with us, except he didn't jive with Zeke very well. And one day, after being with us for about two weeks, Bourbon nipped Zeke in the face. Obviously we could not keep him any longer, so off he went.

Adam & I thought that would probably be the end of the whole dog idea until just a few days later, when Zeke informed us that he would still like another dog. After lots of discussion, the family agreed, only this time we would be more careful and watch interactions with a tremendous amount of scrutiny.

We used the same Rescue, and Reggie was brought to us this morning. He is a very beautiful, untraditional looking Saint. He was an owner surrender but has been brought up with cats, kids and other dogs. He seems to enjoy our house and being loved (what dog doesn't) continuously. He is MUCH more energetic than Bourbon, which thrills the kids but exhausts me just looking at him. He will need some work on his leash manners but appears pretty willing to learn and please.

Zeke also seems to be doing well with him. He is a little skittish but still wants to pet him and walk him, so he is willing to try. I think the size is a bit intimidating but he will get used to him. And as Deb (his foster mom) says, "Remember! You are the boss!" Zeke feels empowered by that.

Our agreement with the Rescue is that we keep him for a few days on a trial basis to make sure he fits in and everything runs well. If all is good and we want to keep him, we can then go through the adoption process.

Homecoming

Clare's first formal dance at her new high school! She and her date, Travis Cazel, are going with another couple to La Casa Grande in Beloit for dinner and then the dance. One of the moms who has a bigger vehicle than I offered to shuffle them around, as they are all freshmen or sophomores and cannot drive yet.

Clare was very excited and a little nervous. Travis is a very good guy though and Adam & I are sure they will have a terrific time. Plus, we know his family. They were one of the first friends we made when we moved here. Lori is very outgoing and both she & Mike have been extremely welcoming to our whole family. Lori's youngest son Cody plays for the same football group as Zeke, although they are not on the same team.

Very hard to believe that the little girl who used to wear denim overall shorts and never let me do anything pretty to her hair is the same girl I just put a sparkly necklace on and sent off to a semi-formal dance with a boy.