Happy Halloween!

Two Grandma Marys

Madelyn is so blessed--she has two Grandma Marys who love her so very much. This week Patty, Maddy's daycare provider--who she loves too, has been on vacation. So, as always the two Grandmas have saved the day! Grammy Mary always stays with her on Wednesdays! And Nana Mary comes whenever we need her! And I guess you could say that Nick and I are blessed as well! So, thanks Grammy and Nana for always being here and loving Madelyn so much!

Finished Basement

The basement is finished! After many hours of framing, drywalling, taping, sanding, texturing, painting, carpeting, and putting the ceiling in--it is finished! Nick did all of that himself--I helped a little with taping and painting. We had the plumbing hired and Nick's brother Jeremiah did the electrical work. It feels great to have it done--and Madelyn loves her new play area. It's like having a whole new house! The one issue is the bugs--Maddy points and says, "bug." So here are some after pictures--I should have taken before pictures--but just imagine any unfinished basement and that's what it looked like. Madelyn's playroom--check her out cooking up a storm in her kitchen! The bedroom--or "tractor" room--decorated by Nick.The family room.The bathroom.

Hi Daddy!

Maddy just wanted to say,

"Hi Daddy! I Love You!"(Nick is at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis this week--

and we miss him very much!)

Raking Leaves

We were outside playing the other day and decided to rake some leaves. But Madelyn had a different idea...shoveling the leaves! She went running for her little plastic shovel when she saw us raking. I guess maybe she thinks it will be another winter of a lot of snow and she needs to practice. We put some leaves at the bottom of her slide...but she wasn't too crazy about sliding into them. She said "ucky."

Madison Visit

We spent Friday night in Madison at a hotel. It was a nice little getaway. We enjoyed the pool, did some shopping, and went to Olbrich Gardens on Saturday morning.

Sign Stolen!

I cannot believe it...someone has stooped so low that they have stolen our Obama sign! Most of the Obama signs in our neighborhood are gone...but the McCain signs still stand. This leads me to believe a McCain supporter is taking them because they cannot stand to see the Obama signs. As if this will change the outcome of the election! So, if anyone has seen my sign...please have it returned to me. I am very sad! But have no fear, more are on the way and I am attaching electric zappers to them! I think I've been watching too much K.O.

Cake and Ferry

We enjoyed having some friends and family over on Saturday night to celebrate my birthday and show off the basement (I still need to get some pictures to post on here of the basement). Maddy had a blast with her daycare pal Ben--and even stayed up way past her bedtime--thankfully she slept late on Sunday! The cake was yummy!

It was such a beautiful weekend, we had to get out and enjoy the fall colors. On Sunday, we went across the Merrimac Ferry. I hadn't been there in years and Nick had never been there. Maddy had fun checking out the Wisconsin River while we waited to board. The drive to and back was gorgeous! Such vibrant colors! I wish I had gotten pictures of the trees.

Happy 1st Anniversary, Liz and Dave!

Obama Baby

Here is our future Democrat...or Independent (depending on if she follows Mama's or Daddy's party). But either way, she's all for Obama! We knew it way back during the winter primaries when Maddy told us to vote for "baba mama." She's a smart cookie. The sign is now in our front yard...despite Nick's resistance ("I don't advertise my political views")...but I had to do something about the opposition's signs down the street! It's all I wanted for my (30th) birthday! I thought it wasn't much to ask for. Now, if I was asking for something big, I'd want Obama written out with hay bales like my Uncle Tom!

Pumpkins!

We went with Grammy Mary to meet Uncle Joe and Aunt Michele at Heck's today so Maddy could pick out a pumpkin. She wanted the really big ones--but settled on a smaller one that she could carry. There were also animals for Madelyn to ooh over. She wasn't sure about the goats--but liked the pig.