Halloween

Craig and I went over to Scott and Allison's house for a little Halloween celebration. Scott made awesome jambalaya and we brought over corn bread and some appetizers. Allison's Mom and sisters were there too. Danielle (her oldest sister) has two boys, Marek and Lukas and they love Cora so much. It's so cute to see the three of them together. Thanks Scott and Allison for such a fun party! We love you guys.

Here are the pictures (click on them to make them bigger):

EIU Homecoming

We spent the weekend in Charleston for EIU Homecoming and it was a lot of fun. We went to the parade at the Hutti's house with Tim, Mindy, Emma, and Alli. We missed about half the parade because we slept in a little (sorry Mindy!). Thanks to Mindy and the Hutti's for hosting the parade party. Then we went to tailgating at the game with my uncle Hank, my brother Bryan, cousin Tim, Mindy, Emma, Alli, my cousin Nick, and my Dad's friends' Dan and Ted. The weather did not cooperate very well and it rained several times and of course we forgot our umbrellas. Craig, the kids and I went into the game and it turned out to be a good game. The weather got a little better and we watched the Panthers beat the other team (can't remember their mascot). After the game we were lucky enough to get invited to a private tailgating party with Tony Romo. He was in town because he was being inducted into the EIU Hall of Fame and they were retiring his number 17 jersey. Allison called her Mom and asked her to get us in so Debbie invited us to go with her. That was SO nice of her and we were SO excited to be able to meet Tony. Ethan is a BIG Tony Romo fan so he was super excited. Allison's Dad introduced us to Tony and we were even able to get a picture with him. He was really nice. THANKS Allison, Debbie and John!!!! After the game Craig and I went out and met everyone at Mom's. The whole Charleston crew was at Mom's and it ranged from age 21 to 61+. It was a BLAST seeing everyone. The bartenders even had t-shirts that said I heart townies!

Other news: My Dad just had a major surgery and it went really well. My parents normally would have been at the game with us as they are season ticket holders, but my Dad was still recoperating in the hospital. He went home the day after the homecoming game. I'm so happy everything went so well!! Dad - you are a strong, stubborn man and thank God for that! I LOVE YOU AND MOM SO MUCH!

Here are the pictures from the game:

Molly Kirk's Wedding

Allison and I came in town for Molly's wedding, but decided to come early. We came on Tues and the wedding was Friday. Craig and Scott drove down on Friday. The wedding was at my old church so it was really nice to go back. The ceremony was very nice. It rained for 3 days straight so they had to change the wedding reception plans. They originally rented tents and set them up at the Country Club, but after all of the rain the dance floor was under a foot of water so they switched it to the inside of the CC. We had a lot of fun...hung out with good old friends from Charleston...of course Molly and her husband Bob, Dee Dee Witmer, Danielle Dibianco and we saw Megan Jacobs, Jay Kilgore, Danny Gerling, Garrett Kirk. It was Allison's first night away from Cora and she did great! Congrats Molly and Bob!

Dinner with Tim, Mindy, Emma, and Alli

I went to dinner at Los Potrillos with my parents and Tim, Mindy and the girls. It was great seeing all of them. Emma and Alli are getting so big and have such cute personalities.

I spent Tues-Sun with my parents and we had such a great time. We got out old scrapbooks and photo albums and it was fun to hear about when they first started dating, etc. I love you Mom & Dad. Thanks for such a great week!

Sweet Baby Cora

Allison and I headed down to Charleston to see our families Tues-Sun. Cora was such a good baby on the way down. I sat in the backseat with her and she slept the whole way. My Mom and I stopped by to see Allison and Cora and my Mom got to see her for the first time. It was really sweet. Cora is such a happy baby. Isn't she precious?!

My Birthday

Craig and I went to Shaw's Crab House for my birthday. We went there on our first date so it was fun to go back. I got king crab legs...YUM! And for dessert I got creme brulee and it was delicious.

Michigan vs. Michigan State Tailgating Party

Craig and I went to Michigan for his client's tailgating party for the Michigan - Michigan State game. We stayed the weekend with Phil (his client) & Katherine (Kat). We've become good friends with them and they are really great people. Phil has a son, Logan and he is 10 and then Phil and Kat's son Paxton just turned two years old.

Here is a picture of Craig and I in front of the stadium. We didn't actually go to into the game, but watched the game on flat screen TVs inside the tailgating tent. Unfortunately, Michigan lost, but it was a good game.

Paxton is such a cutie!

Logan, Phil, and Paxton

The whole family...Logan, Phil, Paxton, and Kat. What a beautiful family!