Busy, Tired, Thankful

So last time I wrote we were expecting a visit from our favorite girls, Amber & Quinn. They arrived Tuesday and were only spending that night before they headed over to the west side for a couple days to hang out with Nana and Poppop. What started out as an everyday morning ended up being quite scary and then something we were all so thankful for.

While Amber was getting ready to load up her things for the drive Wednesday morning she dashed into the bathroom to grab something which is right next to the staircase and the next thing she knew she heard Quinn tumbling down the stairs. By the time she looked down the stairs all she saw was Quinn trying to sit up. What followed was quite scary and I don't really want to write about the details because I don't want us to have to relive it but I will say right now that everything turned out just fine, thank God! A visit by 8 burly men (combo of fire, ambulance, rescue & Sheriff's office) resulted in a ride in an ambulance just to have her checked out since Amber wasn't sure if she had hit her head or what she had hit. I met them in the ER and after what seemed like forever (it was about 3 hours total) and a CAT scan it was determined that her head was fine and she had probably just knocked the wind out of herself. Scary, scary stuff for all concerned. Quinn took it all in stride and just wanted her MILK!!! And before I'm chastised by any interested bystanders, YES, we went out and bought a baby gate and learned a very valuable lesson and thankfully everything turned out ok.

Last Friday night was bowling and Amber and Quinn joined us at the bowling alley for an hour or so. Quinn met lots of new people and had fun cheering for her Grandpa and Mimi. We bowled Bill & Judy's son and daughter-in-law (their partners were absent) and while we hated to kick their butts, we had to! We were in a three way tie for first place. We ended up taking all four points and actually bowled 3 800+ games which we have never done before! It was a good night and thankfully Bill and Judy's son and daughter-in-law didn't hold it against us.

The next morning we got up and got ready to go to the greatest show on earth, the circus!! H managed to snag us some tickets to the suite and we were the only ones in there! We got there early so we could walk around down with the performers. We even got to see an Elephant up close!


Quinn was really excited to see that.

We weren't sure how long we would be able to stay as we didn't know how long her interest would hold out but she managed to make it the whole time! I think the cotton candy helped her make it through.

Her favorite acts were the elephants and the tigers. Mine too!










Sunday we took the pups to the park and Quinn really enjoyed that.






She ran for a solid 20 minutes while they played frisbee.


H and I took Monday off and we all, even Scott, went to a Cider Mill and what was billed as a petting farm. I think that's a very losely used term when all you have is 4 very aggressive sheep and some chickens! We bought some yummy doughnuts, some apples and cider and then headed to lunch.

Scott and Quinn, about to get up close and personal with one of those friendly sheep!


She was a bit perplexed about why exactly we wanted her to sit on this pumpkin. Never did get a smile out of her!



This chicken tried to take a bite out of Quinn's doughnut! Mama thought that was pretty funny!



Finally! She thought it was pretty funny when she was sitting on these pumpkins!

Amber and I managed to get some serious shopping done while she was here. I had a 30% off coupon from Kohls! I've only had 3 of those in all the years I've shopped there! I'm almost done shopping for Christmas for Quinn and even managed to pick up a couple other things.

All too soon it was time for Amber and Quinn to leave us. H took Tuesday afternoon off and drove them to the airport. I had to come home from school at lunch to say my good-byes. It's always so quiet after they leave. The house seems empty.

We had a wonderful visit, full of fun and a couple new experiences for Quinn, most good, one not so much.

The rest of the week was a blur of work and the usual stuff. I went to the grocery store on Wednesday and decided on impulse, after hearing an announcement on the loudspeaker, to go ahead to the pharmacy and get my flu shot. Usually it's no big deal, no pain, but this one hurt from the second she stuck the needle in. It hurt the whole time I walked around finishing up my shopping. And it still hurts 4 days later. The night I got it I woke up at 3 in the morning with my arm killing me! She must have hit the muscle or a nerve or something. I'm still having to take pain killers every 4-5 hours and I've used a heating pad on it a couple times, which seems to help a little. I just better not get the flu! I'll really be pissed if that happens!

Yesterday I went out to the garden to plant some garlic. You plant it in the Fall like you would tulips or daffodils. I was the only one out there and it doesn't look like many people cleaned their gardens out and no one spread manure like we did. Hopefully the garlic will have a nice sleep and will grow well next spring and summer. I tried to grow some garlic in my front flower bed last year but it didn't do well. Hopefully this will do better. I'm only getting one plot next year so I'm going to have to be very selective in what I plant.

Speaking of planting, yesterday I also made some broccoli cheese soup with broccoli from the garden. It was just ok. I have never seemed to be able to master soup making, no matter what kind I try. It never tastes as good as Campbells. I think they have some kind of secret ingredient I don't know about.

Today I'm making bread with olive oil and Rosemary. I brought some Rosemary from the garden yesterday. It was in the main garden and no one harvested it and it will die over the winter so I figured I might as well "save" it! I pulled mine up and have it in a pot in the kitchen windowsill. That way I'll have fresh Rosemary during the winter, if I can keep it alive!

The pups went to the high school field both days and were so happy to get out. Zoe "screamed" most of the way on the drive over. Today Scott took them so he got to listen to the rukus!


The leaves are all off the trees now and the bird feeders are being emptied almost as fast as I fill them.



Speaking of bird feeders, the first hillbilly security system didn't make the grade. Those smart suckers had it down on the ground the next morning. H thought it was just a fluke so he hung it back up and sure enough, the next morning it was down again. Back to Aco Hardware in search of something better. This one has been up for a week now and so far they haven't figured it out.


Remember Stumpy? I noticed him out in the backyard today. Seems he's grown a little white tail where his old tail used to be. He's still as fat as ever!


We have a new resident on the pond, at least our side of the pond. The muskrats had this place last year on the other side of the pond.

But now they've built another one on our side. I've seen 3 muskrats working on it so maybe it's a new apartment for offspring.

I'm so looking forward to a short week! I only have to work Monday and Tuesday. H took the whole week off as he has quite a bit of vacation time to use up before the end of the year. It will just be the 3 of us for Thanksgiving on Thursday, a nice quiet day. And a few other days to maybe sleep in a little.

Have a good week and a Happy Thanksgiving!