We Are Thankful

to not only have a wonderful family, but to have inheirited family through Jaime's marriage as well. We spent the holidays with mom, Johanna and the Rowley family.

Thanksgiving Food

Adam & Justin fried a turkey and some chickens, Mom made homemade rolls (and lots of them!) & an apple pie, Jaime made dressing and mashed potatoes, Aunt B made a squash dish, Tom (Jaime's father-in-law) brought a green bean casserole, Janice (Jaime's mother-in-law) brought a fruit salad, Jordan (Justin's brother) & his wife Michelle brought this giant Ho-Ho for dessert, tulips for the table and their 10 month old baby, Abby. Jaime managed to fit us all at the dining room table where conversation and a good meal presided. Afterwards, we chatted and then played Catch Phrase. Zeke dazzled everyone with his contextual use of the word "coniferous".

We went ice skating in Manhattan Park, somewhere in downtown Rochester. Zeke took right off. Clare needed a little help...
The Wii also played an intregal part of family bonding. We are all big fans of the Rayman's Raving Rabbids games and this season, the third game is out. It involves a lot of dancing and crazy movements. What better time to video!
Mom is trying to decide whether or not to trade in her convertible for a vehicle that offers a little more height and space. She is considering the Honda CRV so we stopped by a Dealer and she test drove one. The drive home was pretty uneventful. It snowed quite a bit toward the end: light & fluffy, pretty snow. We picked up Reggie from the kennel and took the backroads back into Rockton.



So now we are home, safe and sound. We grocery shopped and prepared ourselves for the upcoming weeks of work and school. Reggie got a bath, Zeke played with his friends out in the snow and Adam built a fire in the fireplace. We look back over our mini-vacation and are reminded how truly blessed we are with family & friends. We hope your holiday weekend was terrific too.

Happy Birthday to Jodi

And what a happy birthday it was! The whole darn weekend as a matter of fact! Adam cooked stuffed cabbage (one of my favorite meals) for me Friday, Adam & the kids made me breakfast in bed on Saturday morning and Clare & Zeke cooked chicken fettuccine Alfredo for me Sunday evening! They made me an apron (which I asked for - tired of getting dog hair on my clothes and then transposing said hair into food) and bought me a new coffeemaker!

Oh! And did I mention that my birthday cake was Clare's famous pumpkin cheesecake with caramel swirl? What did I do to deserve such a great family?



We went [artificial] Christmas tree shopping Saturday. I have been trying to convince Adam that it would be cheaper to buy a real tree this year and then after Christmas, buy an artificial one for half price. He is convinced we will burn the house down though, what with the tree being near the fireplace and all, so the search continues.

Yesterday morning was the first snowfall that stuck to the ground. We got about an inch. We were all so tickled, we went out and played in the yard at 6 am before school/work! Reggie LOVED it! He alternated between rolling in it and eating it. Sorry, no pictures though. Too early in the morning to be thinking of that.

Speaking of early, we are leaving for Jaime & Justin's house tomorrow morning. Adam would like to be on the road by 5. Yes, that is AM. However, we have to plan around Chicago traffic and holiday traffic, so the earlier the better. Jaime is planning on some fun activity whilst we vacation there too. We are all VERY excited!

We here at the May household wish all of you reading this a very happy Thanksgiving. We are so thankful for each one of you.

You Know You Have Waited Too Long To Rake Leaves

When it looks like this:

You may not be able to tell, but that is SNOW falling from the sky. How wrong IS it to mow and rake your leaves while snowing? The kids did a terrific job though and I think we are about ready for winter. Most of the leaves are off the trees and those that have yet to fall will simply have to decompose in our lawn. We will find out in spring how good or bad a decision that is.

In other news, Adam is getting laid off from his job today so he will have some vacation before Thanksgiving in Rochester. Of course, there are many little fix-it things to be done around the house this week. Wouldn't want him to get TOO relaxed!

The temp agency I signed up with got me a job in less than a week. Last Monday I started work with the Rockford Housing Authority. Currently I am helping them catch up on sorting and filing tremendos amounts of paperwork, but apparently there is PLENTY to do beyond that. I was told to expect to work there until at least February. I like my supervisor a lot and the job isn't difficult - just a bit tedious. I am not complaining though. In this economy, I am just happy to have a job.

Clare & Zeke are doing great. Zeke is gradually being given more responsibility with Reggie.He walks him to the end of the road and takes him out to go potty. He uses the commands we are learning in obedience training too, so Reggie is learning to take orders from the whole family, not just me.

The house in Louisiana is rented, which is a huge load off our minds. Our property manager tells us the family renting it out are very nice and will take good care of the place.

Adam and I will be going out next weekend to look at Christmas trees, since we didn't bring the LA one. Hopefully we will be able to reach a decision before the holidays are over!!

Football Banquet

Sunday night all the teams in the Roscoe-Rockton Lions League gathered for the End-Of-The-Year Banquet. Individual trophies were handed out, team trophies for those who placed in the chamionships were shown off, baskets of goodies were raffled off, pictures were taken, food & drinks were consumed and everyone had a great time.


















The evening went a little long (5 hours or so) but it was a tremendous sign of support for a football league that truly supports its young boys and girls (we have lots of cheerleaders too).


Zeke got to help hold the Championship Trophy for the team picture. He was very excited! They also got T-shirts with the winning game information printed on it.

All in all, a very memorable day, a very memorable season.

Halloween & Dog Parks

Zeke was Superman, complete with muscles and everything! It was the perfect day for trick or treating. The high was 67 degrees.
We went trick or treating with our neighbors, the Mays. Kaitlin was Dorothy. We made it around 2 blocks in the Subdivision before the sun went down, it got cold and Zeke was ready to turn in. My trick to non-lengthy trick or treating is that I make my kids carry their own candy. After awhile, that bag gets heavy and suddenly the lure of extra weight is not so great. And so we return home.

Adam stayed at the house with Reggie to dish out candy and Play Doh. I have not gotten so dog-obsessed that I dressed Reggie up in a costume yet. Maybe next year.

Clare went out with some friends in their subdivision. She dressed as a convict. I hope to get pictures from them next week.

Saturday we went to one of the Rockford Park District's two off-leash dog parks. It was very nice. LOTS of other dogs there. The leaves are still changing colors, which made the whole event scenic as well as fun. Reggie had a good time but did very little running. He is good for about 5 minutes of full out exercise and then looks at us like, "Okay, when is nap time?"

All pictures are here:

Halloween, Fall Colors & the Dog Park

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.