this week

has been busy and hectic. we are still house hunting and our house is on the market. i've learned that both of these can be very stressful.

meanwhile santana is finding new ways to get into trouble.



but his big smile makes up for it.



ava has been teaching him how to use the computer and as long as the backyardigans are on it, he is happy!


bear is still not feeling his best, but he hasn't let it stand in the way of the love he gives to me everyday. he's not too sure about all of the strangers that i've been letting in to look at our house, but he's been as polite as possible, always watching.


i can't believe that halloween is just a few days away! time just flies by!

pumpkin picking

columbus day was cloudy and cold but it didn't stop ava, santana and i from taking a trip to the brightwaters farm for some pumpkins.


ava tried to carry as many pumkins as she could.


santana wasn't sure if he liked the pumpkin farm or the pumpkins for that matter.


of course the playground is always fun.



nothing beats a wagon filled with pumpkins!



this year we made sure to save time for the hayride. santana wasn't too sure about it, but ava loved it!


now getting the pumpkins and two tired kids to the car was another thing. luckily grandma had a big helper...ava pulled the wagon with our pumpkins in it and i carried one tired little boy.

hectic few weeks

i can't believe that it's been almost a month since i updated my blog. the summer came to a quick end and brought us into a very hectic september.

santana loved spending labor day at the spray park.


ava took a break from the spray park to enjoy the sand.


we decided to look for a house and of course we found one right away that we loved. after about two weeks and frequent viewings of the house we decided to make an offer. unfortunately, someone made a higher offer than we could afford, so we are back to house hunting. i decided that after a few weekends of appointments and open houses, house hunting is not as fun as it looks on HGTV.

bear has been having a tough time these last few months. his arthritis has been getting worse and now to make things even harder for him he apparently hurt his front wrist. he is now sporting a new look in the hopes of healing his leg.

at 115 pounds it is a bit hard for his mom to bring him outside. hopefully the bandage as well as the new medication he is on will heal his leg. he is getting older and we are greatful for the little time he probably still has with us. it's important to us that he isn't in pain and that he has quality of life.

ava started dancing school and she loves it, though she is not a fan of the tights. as i sat a june clair school of dance, watching ava, i felt like i never left there. twentyfive years ago i was sitting there with missy at the same age that ava is now. some of the faces have changed and some are the same, but the best one is ava's smiling face looking back at me in her little ballet slippers., though for some reason i couldn't get her to smile for this photo.