October and November

We're back in the world of blogging, so here are a few pictures from the past couple of months. We've been busy this fall, although it's no excuse for not updating our blog. I'll go ahead and blame it on Troy...he doesn't like to upload pictures. Of course I could go ahead and do it, but then what would my excuse be?

One notable thing I should mention: Just after our last post about Ginger (our dog who escapes), Gladys (our uptight, tormented, stress-ball of a dog) started seeing an imaginary object. She barks at it, bites at it, and chases it until the point of exhaustion. We don't see it, and neither does her veterinarian, who has seen her in action. So we let her do it. We've named her friend "Sparkles," which we decided sounds nicer than "Demon" or "Hallucination" or something. We could have diagnostic testing done, or go to a doggy specialist (our vet told us she was a candidate for that!), but we've decided to let Sparkles occupy Gladys as long as the vet thinks she's otherwise well. As far as he could tell, it's not a tumor or cataracts or anything obvious. So, she's till spending several hours a day snapping and spinning circles in the yard, barking continually, and running a brown spot in our grass. I suppose the up side is that we don't have to play fetch with her!

Here are some pictures from the past couple of months:Hay ride at a nearby pumpkin patch.



Jude was a mechanic for Halloween. This is actually A.J.'s old costume from the 80's!

In mid-November, Troy attended a conference in Dallas, and we stayed with my cousin and his wife. We love living near enough to them that we can keep in touch!

These are some leaves Jude found on their street.

The three of us..also on their street. We accidentally positioned ourselves in front of someone's truck. At least it's a Chevy.


Jude rolling his new suitcase. He rolled it through all the airports on the way to Spokane for Thanksgiving.
My cousin Beth and her son, Noah. We don't get to see them very often, so it was fun to spend a day with them.
Beth's son Zack, and Jude playing on the dog beds. Why did we ever buy a crib?


Josiah and Jude playing in our toy boxes. I'm not sure who thought of it first.

The following are pictures from Thanksgiving week. We had 32 family members in Spokane on my mom's side, so not everyone is pictured, but here are a few of the fun ones!




Leah, A.J. and me..this is our best attempt at looking "pouty." I think A.J. wins.

Leah and Jude.
My mom and her two sisters! They are RARELY in the same room! (Not because they don't like each other, just because they live on opposite sides of the country!)

Leah and me..right before the Lion King!!! It was amazing!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!