trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright...

When witches go riding,

and black cats are seen,

the moon laughs and whispers,

‘tis near Halloween.

~Author Unknown

It's October!  Time is FLYING this year and I cannot believe that Mid-Term just passed at school.  My favorite time of year is rapidly approaching and fall is in full swing.  At the end of last month I had the delight of watching my sweet swissy play volleyball for the JV team at Villa Duchesne.  She absolutely rocked it out!

Number 12!

My camera did not get a great action shot, but trust me, she had some amazing hits.

I am so proud of her.

Benched :(  Villa ended up losing their match, but Cassie played great and it was nostalgic to be back at my alma mater.

Then it was time (much to my delight) to throw a dinner party for one of Aaron's co-workers and friends.  I went a little crazy with the appetizers.  However, the boys seemed to really enjoy them.

I put my apron (thanks honey) to good use and cooked up a storm.  I tried some new recipes (they were delicious) and Brutus was my right hand man.

Adobo Chicken.  Delicious recipe (thanks Food Network).

The sauce had to be the best part.  I am a big fan of a great marinade and simmering sauce.

My hubby requested a pumpkin pie.  The dinner was a success and the card game afterwards was  hilarious.  I cannot wait to do it again.

Life continued as usual in the Weir household.  Brutus has calmed down a little and now waits for us to get ready in the morning before he heads downstairs.  Here he is waiting for Daddy.

An unfortunate event occured while our neighbors were out of town...their apartment FLOODED.  A pipe burst while they were gone and poured water through the ceiling for 5 days.  I was en-listed to take some pictures and this is one of the many casualties of the event.  They were so great about it though, and were thankful that no one was hurt and did not seem to mind that it was only their "stuff" that was ruined.  Taught me a lesson about the value of "stuff" and the importance of having good insurance.

Not to mention how lucky I am to have to wonderful boys in my life:)

That insurance lesson came in handy the very next weekend.  Aaron was out of town at a bachelor party with no cell phone signal (they were playing hunting and fishing in the woods) and some ill-placed construction debris flew up and hit our windshield.  Yeah, it was pretty scary.  However, I put on my big girl shoes and took care of making the arrangement for the repair with the insurance company.

Fortunately (and unfortunately for the windshield) I was on my way to the bachelorette party for the bride, Ashleigh, and we were heading to a winery for the afternoon.  The maid-of-honor made some adorable t-shirts for us to wear for the day:)

We had so much fun.  The girls rented a small barn for us to eat, drink, and celebrate Ashleigh's second to last weekend of being "un" married together.  It was a picture perfect afternoon, the weather was warm and some of the gals busted out their cowboy boots.

I felt like the old-married lady :)

Ashleigh had so much fun and the girls provided some really cute accessories for her to wear for the day.  I am so excited to celebrate her Big Day next weekend!

Country Fair at A.S.H. was the next day and Tad & Dad were trouble makers to the core.  They won some beer hats and showed them off for the camera.  Gotta love those red-neck flames:)

Don't worry, Brutus had his share of fun this weekend too.  He and Mommy took a trip to the dog park for some doggy fun and he took full advantage.  He even met another Boxer pup.

In true Brutus form, he found a mud pit and went to town.  Despite my lack of enthusiasm, he was pretty hilarious in the mud and even headed up a pack of "bad-dogs" who played in the mud and wrestled to their hearts' content.  I never thought my little boy would be such a trouble-maker.

We got home and he got a bath.  I don't think he was too happy about it.

He was all tuckered out after his bath (and a little cold) so he bundled up on the couch in his blanket.  Look at that sweet baby face.

So now it's pumpkin carving time and I could not be more excited:)

I will say I miss my college roomie.  She is the biggest fan of Halloween in the world.  Not to mention she just celebrated a birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!).  The gals above knew how to do it up Halloween style almost as well as Jules:)

I hope everyone is pulling on their cowboy boots, roasting some pumpkin seeds, and reveling in this wonderfully spooky time of year.  Enjoy the beautiful fall weather.  Oh, and LET'S GO ST. LOUIS CARDINALS!

buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks!

That's baseball, and it's my game.  Y' know, you take your worries to the game, and you leave 'em there.  You yell like crazy for your guys.  It's good for your lungs, gives you a lift, and nobody calls the cops.  Pretty girls, lots of 'em.  ~Humphrey Bogart

Poor little Brutus has recently gone through a bout of puppy flu and was quite happy to find some special food in his bowl.  He got ground beef and white rice for 5 days and could not have loved it more.  I think he was a little disappointed when he went back to his regular puppy chow.

He certainly was spoiled while he was sick.  Daddy cuddled him lots on the couch.  My handsome boys.

And then it was time to go back to school.  My first week was a blur, especially since two of my classes had to be switched around at the last minute.  Thankfully, I think ahead so it was all cleared up.  I get to take some really exciting classes this semester, including Elementary Teaching Methods and Beginning Conducting.  The Elementary Methods class confirms my desire to teach the younger bunch.  I hope I get the opportunity to do so:)

My wonderful husband's 29th birthday was on August 23rd, during my first week of school.  Although we didn't have an elaborate celebration, I made his traditional cake mix into cupcakes.

I even decorated them with his favorite football team's logo.  I think he enjoyed them:)

I feel very lucky to celebrate every birthday with my husband, this happened to be the fourth birthday we have celebrated together, and we made the most of the school night.

I made his favorite pasta, Pasta Carbonara.  The best part of this particular birthday was that it was Aaron's first as a Daddy, well Puppy Daddy.

Brutus joined in on the celebration and even barked in Daddy's face EXTRA just so Aaron was sure to know he cared.

Isn't he the sweetest thing you've ever seen.

The neighbors came over to share in the dessert and brought Brutus' friend Rambo along for some playtime.  This was the best picture I could get of the two pups playing.  Clearly Brutus thinks he has the upper hand.

Aaron received on very special present from my parents for his birthday, diamond box seats at the Cardinal game.  I had already given him his grill as a VERY early birthday gift in April so this was definitely a great surprise.  He was in baseball HEAVEN!

One of many Cardinal game photos, and many to come.

We were so close I couldn't help but take some great pictures.

We got to see all our favorite players up close and personal.

I told Aaron that it made them seem like real people to finally see them so close up.  Previously they just seemed unreal.  I know that sounds strange, but it was so true.

I mean Pujols was right there!  It was incredible.

It was Willie McGee night so all the old cards players were rocking out their jerseys.  The cardinals wore their old-fashioned uniforms too!

Ozzie Smith was there too!  No backflips, but he threw a great second pitch.

The pitchers were all out supporting their team.

We got there early and we were definitely happy we did because we did not miss one moment of the baseball experience.

My handsome husband was even happier when the Cards hit a home run and started winning!

The only bad moment was when this guy, who was sitting in front of us, ripped a ball from my hands that just happened to be thrown by Lance Berkman.  It was rather rude, and our seat mates told him to give it back, but he was extremely "UN-chilvarous" and refused.  Well, that was that.  However, it was not a tragedy, for the best part about catching a ball at a game is the story you get to tell as a result.  And I still had a story, so it was all right in the end.

The game was wonderful.  Our players played well and they actually ended up winning.

Brutus was very sad we had been gone for so long, so when we got home he needed lots of attention, especially from his Daddy.

This was Saturday morning.  The boys slept in.  Exactly like this.  Can you tell he likes his Daddy?

We attended our first evening of RCIA classes, which was a "get to know you ice cream social" and I enjoyed being there with my husband as he learned more about the Catholic faith.  I am excited to go on this journey with him, wherever it leads, and for him to get more involved in such a big part of my life.

After a busy two weeks, we prepared for a LONG LONG LONG roadtrip to Maryland for my brother-in-law's, Aaron's oldest brother's wedding.  15 hours in the car there, 15 hours back, with  7 people, one little girl, and a nighttime drive.  It was not setup to seem like an appealing situation.  HOWEVER, don't judge a book by its cover... because the inside of that book may turn out to be a surprising, and lovely story.