Happy Birthday, Mousey!

Well, Mother Mouse is a year older, but you’d never tell it by looking at her!  (Now who’s her favorite kid????)  The family got together to celebrate the Mouse, as we’ve all grown to calling her, who’s birthday was on Sunday.  We had a great dinner and enjoyed our time as a family.  We’re so thankful for Mom and all the sacrifices she’s made and love she’s given this family, and we enjoyed the chance to celebrate her over the weekend.

Pumpkin Carving and a Beautiful Day

Well, it has been an all fall weekend so far.  It’s been gorgeous weather, and we tried to fit in some fall fun to take advantage of the nice days.  We started by carving our family pumpkin. 

Nina and Lyla were not thrilled by the smell of the pumpkin, but they stuck with the scooping out of the insides so they could collect (and count) all the pumpkin seeds.  They counted a total of 606 pumpkin seeds!

 

Saturday was an amazing fall day, so after Lyla’s soccer game we got ready to head out and enjoy the beautiful weather.  We started by heading out to Middleburg to hit our favorite ice cream place, Scruffy’s.  We always make a point of going there in the fall because the have the most amazing pumpkin ice cream in a cinnamon waffle cone.  It’s only there for a limited time, so it’s not to be missed!  Dogs are welcome at Scruffy’s, so Cayenne comes along and gets lots of attention from passersby and some dog treats from the people at Scruffy’s. 

In the contest of who could pose nicest for the camera, I think Cayenne wins!

After enjoying Scruffy’s, we visited Cana Winery for a tasting.  Cayenne might have enjoyed the taste of the wine more than we did, but it was hard to beat the beautiful view and great atmosphere of the winery grounds.

   

 

It makes me a bit sad to think that winter is on its way before too long. I wish beautiful days like this would last a lot longer!!

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Well, Fall is officially here. We’re talking Halloween costumes, fully in the groove of school, picking our pumpkins, and spending some days in short sleeves and some days in jackets.  The girls do the school routine during the week, then we get the chance to unwind and enjoy some down time on the weekends. 

  

Cayenne has also adjusted to the school routine well – for the most part.  She gets the girls up in the morning by running in their rooms when the alarm goes off and digging them out from under the covers.  She walks with us to the bus stop, and we head straight out for her 4+ mile daily run – me on the bike, Cayenne running next to the bike.  As our mornings get closer to winter, we get to see cool sights like this that my camera phone definitely doesn’t do justice.  The sun was rising up over the trees while the geese were paddling through the steam that was floating off the pond. It was really quite beautiful. The morning runs are getting colder though.  One of the things I’m not looking forward to this winter are the exercise runs in freezing cold weather, but run she must, so bundle up I will!!

Most of the afternoons are still beautiful, so after the girls get home, get a snack and do homework, it’s outside to play they go.  The pup keeps a close eye on the girls while they’re out playing.  She’s very much a velcro Vizsla – wherever the family is, that’s where she wants to be!

PB Turns 90

Yesterday was PB’s 90th birthday, and we got the chance to celebrate the milestone birthday with family at his house in Maryland.  We were teasing PB last night that 90 must be the new 70 because he certainly doesn’t look or act like someone who just turned 90.  PB has lived quite a full life in his 90 years.  He’s survived illness – rheumatic fever as a child and cancer in his later life.  He survived his time in the Army during World War II, and he’s travelled the world working as an engineer building simulators and working on night and thermal vision technology.  He’s a nature lover, a great photographer, and a dedicated family man.  He’s kind and generous, and he gives all the credit for his life to God.  We’re very thankful for PB and for his 90 years, and in case you’re wondering, NO, we didn’t attempt to put 90 candles on the cake!  Happy Birthday, PB!

  

Soccer

Lyla is playing soccer again this fall, and guess who’s the coach?  Yes, that would be Coach Dad.  Mark is doing a good job coaching the little Strawberry Shortkicks who play games against equally intimidating teams like the Unicorns, the Ladybugs, and the Rainbows.  They’re a cute group of girls who have never played together before but most weeks they seem to play well, and they always look like they’re having fun.

Lyla has always loved soccer and played with lots of energy and aggressiveness, but not so this season.  We’re not sure why, but hopefully the old soccer Lyla will come back.  She loves having her dad as coach, but we’re wondering if she would be better off with someone she doesn’t know.  She tends to be much goofier with her dad as coach than she’s ever been with an unfamiliar person as coach, and while Mark has enjoyed coaching the Shortkicks, he said he definitely won’t mind taking a place back as a parent on the sidelines.  We’ll see how it goes.

 

 

Last weekend after soccer, we took Cayenne to Barktoberfest.  It was a fall “festival” for dogs (if you want to call it that).  I took pictures with my phone, but unfortunately I lost all the pictures I took, so I don’t have any photos to show.  One cute part was when Nina and Cayenne entered a pet/owner look-alike contest.  They were hurting for contestants, so even though she and Cayenne don’t really look alike, they have traits in common and entered the contest. 

Nina said that they’re alike because they both have a lot of energy, they both love to play, they both have hazel eyes, and they both whine a lot!  That last one got a good laugh.  They didn’t win the contest, but she got to pick out a cute dog toy for Cayenne just for participating in the contest.  Cayenne loved seeing and sniffing all the dogs that were there, and it was fun for us to get out and enjoy a beautiful fall afternoon outside.