HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

While I don't believe in dressing my pups up, I do believe in celebrating!! Here are the pups posing with our Jack-O-Lantern! I don't know how professional photographers do it! They must have more cooperative models! It took me tons of shots just to get these few good ones! It's like getting both of your kids to smile at the same time!! Charlie was only interested in trying to chew on everything and Zoe just wanted to hurry up and get the picture taking over with! Or maybe she didn't like sharing the spotlight with her little brother because once he removed himself from the photo shoot she got much more cooperative!! Diva!! Don't eat too much candy!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!!

Today is Andrew's Birthday! Of course he had to work but tonight he and Amber are going out to dinner and celebrating!

This picture was taken at a basketball game last year. Anyone ever heard of the movie "My Giant" starring Billy Crystal? Well, in this picture is Andrew and Gheorghe Muresan, a native of the Transylvania region of Romania, who was one of the top centers in the NBA. He played "The Giant" in that movie. Gheorghe played for the Bullets as regular center and became the starter. Gheorghe's height is not due to genetics, but to a pituitary gland condition. His late mother was 5'7" and his father is 5'9". Gheorghe, once regarded as an oddity by many, went on to win the 1995-1996 NBA Most Improved Player award.
When Andrew spotted him at a Washington game last year he asked if he would pose for a picture with him. This puts it all in perspective; Gheorghe is 7'7" tall and makes Andrew look so short!! Not many people can do that since Andrew usually towers over us all!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!! HOPE IT WAS HAPPY!

Say Hello to Charlie!!

We have finally given the puppy a name, it's Charlie. We tried several others on for size but Charlie seemed to fit the best. He and Zoe are getting along really well and she's very tolerant of all his antics. While she's chewing her bone he will crawl toward her on his belly, make a cute face and steal the bone right away from her. She will even let him share her bed, for a few minutes anyway, then she's off to lay somewhere else alone. Charlie is very sweet but a lot of work. We seem to be heading outside for bathroom breaks every hour or less. When it's a nice day like today it's not so bad but we had heavy rain Friday and Saturday and that was no fun at all. I guess I had forgotten all that stuff. I have been getting up at least once during the night, usually around 2:00 or 3:00 but at least he will go right back to sleep when we come back in. I'm just hoping he's a quick learner and has this potty stuff down before the first snowflakes fly!!

Fun At The Park...

Yesterday was a really nice day for the park. There won't be too many of those left. In fact, today it is raining, hard!! The only bad thing was that they had just cut the grass so we had lots of grass in the mouth and green feet, well some of us anyway!

Drum Roll Please...

Meet the newest member of the Mitchell's In Michigan family: Puppy!! We are still in the process of finding the perfect name for him which will probably take another couple days before it's a done deal.

I had been looking at puppies for a little while but when I found out that Zoe's parents had another litter I couldn't resist. As before, with Zoe, things just seemed to work out perfectly though we had a bit of a close call. I had called the breeder and said we wanted to come see all 4 puppies Saturday. There was a black girl, two red merle boys and one blue merle boy. The breeder said some people were coming on Saturday and wanted the little girl and possibly one more puppy. They were coming at 2:00 so I told the breeder we would be there at 3:00. We were running a bit late so I called her from the road when we were about halfway there. She said she had some bad news, that the people hadn't taken just the girl, and not just 2 puppies but 3!!! Only one little red merle was left but it just happened to be the one that Howard said he liked the best. I really didn't care though the blue merle would have been my last choice since we already have Zoe and she's a blue merle. When we got there we went into the house where they had the puppy. Of course, he was adorable!! We got to meet both Zoe's parents also. I had already seen her mother 3 years ago when I picked Zoe up but not her Daddy. Plus they had 3 other dogs from previous litters. Then the breeder tells me that she is having both the mother and father fixed on Friday! I was so glad we got this puppy since we know the temperment of the parents and medical history. He is really good so far. He cries when he wants to go outside and slept through most of the night without a problem. He woke me up at 5:30, went outside to potty and then back to bed for a couple more hours. Today he had his first bath which he badly needed. He had spent quite a bit of time outside at his old home so he was a little dusty. Today after his bath he was soft and fluffy! So, that's it for now. I'll let you know when we finally decide on a name which hopefully will be soon so we can stop calling him "puppy"!!

Not Much Happening...

It's hard to believe it's been a whole month since "the wedding"!! Here are a few more pictures that I got from the photographer's site. He took almost 500 pictures and they are already on his website to preview and will be available to order soon. I don't know how we will decide!! These are a few good ones though.



In other news, there's not much news. Howard's working as hard as ever. He rarely goes out of town but did have to travel down to Springboro, Ohio on Sunday to visit the plant but was back by Monday.
Amber and Andrew are back to work. In their spare time they try out their new appliances and look for a bigger place to live but things aren't cheap there in the D.C. area so they aren't in a hurry.
Tyler says he's spending his time studying. Now that his loans came through we aren't hearing from him quite as often. I've been trying to pin him down for some dates so we can make his travel plans for Christmas. The longer we wait, the more expensive it becomes!
Scott is gearing up for mid-terms in a couple weeks. He will be glad when the snow comes so he doesn't have to mow the lawn every week!
As for me, I'm on the hunt for a new job. I apply for several jobs a week but so far, nothing. I have to say there doesn't seem to be much out there that I'm qualified for but if it's not too big a stretch I apply anyway. You never know. I try to take Zoe for a walk most days since the weather has been nice. Today we had to walk between rain showers but at least we got outside to walk. Soon that won't be so easy.
So, like I said, not much happening. Here's one more picture from "the wedding" that we thought was especially creative. I think the jeweler who made Amber's ring should use this for a promo. I'll have to suggest it to him! Very creative.

New Job Update...

Well, as my two faithful readers already know, the job thing apparently isn't working out. But for those of you who don't know, here's the deal. After taking Zoe

to the Vet last Monday, the one where I was supposed to be working in the very near future, I received an e-mail the next day from the Dr. saying that he still couldn't afford to hire anyone, the move had been delayed and good luck in my future career endeavors and he'll keep my file open. Guess that says it all though I found myself still trying to read between the lines. To say I was disappointed is an understatement, especially after waiting two months to start this great job. So.... I'm looking for a new job. Now I just have to explain to everyone that keeps asking when I'm starting the new job. Oh, and I'll be looking for a new Vet for Zoe. :-)

Sights from Indiana

I spent the weekend in Indiana visiting my friend, Claire and her family (Elizabeth, Jake and Boomer). We went to a craft show and fine art show and tried to keep cool. It was really HOT there!! It was very humid too! It felt more like summer than fall. The fine art show was held in a park that had this beautiful lake. Not much fall color there yet though. It was good to see them and catch up on all the news. Boomer has grown up since I last saw him in June. He's still a puppy but just in a bigger body!

Lakeside in Valparaiso


Lilly Pads on the Lake


The Ufer Girls


Dandelion


Boomer & Jake
"What's for dinner?"