An update, FINALLY

Well, it has been quite some time since our last blog, for several reasons. First and foremost, we are just busy, busy, busy. But, our computer crashed and we were out a computer for about a month. Now that we have a new one, I haven't taken the time to figure everything out, like how to get our pictures from the camera onto the computer. Which, I was kind of waiting for. Since so much has happened since our last blog, in September! I guess we will have to do without the pictures for now.

So, lets see, first of all... we got a puppy. As most everyone knows already, but he hasn't been mentioned yet, so lets consider this his 5 minutes of fame. :) He is a Springer Spaniel and we got him in mid September. His name is Buster. He has been quite a handful, but its been fun. He is the cutest dog ever, and is just full of energy and spunk. Austyn likes to play with him around and gets him a little too riled up sometimes, but it's fun. Sometimes we have Dewey and Susan watch him if we have to go out of town or are going to be gone for a long period of time and he and Buddy seem to have a lot of fun playing together too. It's always nice when Dewey takes him for a nice long walk when he has him so that he sleeps good that night. He finally sleeps through the night, but for a while it was like having a new born baby in the house, getting up every few hours to let him outside. It was exhausting!! But, he is getting better trained and sleeping through the night, so things are easier, which also makes it more enjoyable. I will try to get some pictures up soon.
Andrew and I have been both very busy with our jobs, at times it seems like we never get a break. Andrew has been getting some clients of his own, and is settling in well at his new job. He has to travel a lot out of town, from one end of the U.P. to the other. I just hope with the winter weather coming, that his travel time slows down. It's hard not to worry about him when he is on the road all the time, and it will be even harder with the road conditions getting worse. I am thankful that he got a new car though, which has all wheel drive. It's a nice step up from the Jeep, and was much needed, especially for the highly improved gas mileage. He got a 2008 Subaru Impreza. It's a really nice little car and so far we like it a lot. It seemed to handle itself well in our first snow storm of the season too. And, trust me, it was definitely put to the test.

Austyn joined cubscouts and seems to really enjoy it. He is fitting in well with the other kids, and it gives him something to look forward to almost every week. He is learning lots of new things and meeting new people, which is always fun. He made a toolbox which turned our really nice, I was very impressed with his craftsmanship. He also had parent-teacher conferences 2 weeks ago, and they went very well. He is very well liked by both his teacher and classmates. His teacher expressed how smart of a young man he is and how eager he is to learn, and how well mannered he is. He really likes to draw and seems to have a nice talent for it as well. He is turning into quite the little artist, which he does not get from me. They also had a food drive at his school, and we were able to provide Austyn with 2 grocery bags full to donate, which, was the most anyone in his class had done, so he got to be the helper of the day for 2 days in a row, which was very exciting for him. Lastly, on the school subject, last week was the "secret santa workshop" for his school. The kids get to bring in money and they have a little store set up where they can purchase and wrap their own gifts for their family members. Austyn really likes that, it gives him a sense of responsibility and control at Christmas time. I think its fun for the kids, and they keep it fairly inexpensive. He is very excited to hand out his gifts.

Andrew and I did Thanksgiving at our house this year, and it turned out really nice. It was just a little dinner, with our family, Dewey and Susan and my Dad and Connie. Everyone brought a dish, so I wasn't responsible for everything, which was very helpful. And Susan was even nice enough to do my dishes for me after dinner, which I could not have been more thankful for. All in all, it was a really good dinner, and a nice time for visiting. Our parents got to get to know each other a little better, since they haven't really had the chance to do that, and it was nice. Also, I should mention, that my Mom and Rich came up the weekend before, to buy the Jeep from Andrew, and we had Dewey and Susan over for a cookout that day too, so that BOTH sets of my parents could get a chance to visit with Andrew's parents. It was nice, food and weather wise. Actually, that was probably the last nice weekend we had weather wise. But I can't complain, being that we are getting our first snow really on December 9th. And the snow seems to be making up for lost time.
Anyway, I guess I will wrap this up for now. Just though I should post a "little" update on our lives since I have not been keeping up with our blog so well. Sorry it turned out to be a little more than little, hope I didn't bore anyone. Until next time....(with pictures I hope) take care.