Halloween was great this year as usual. I love to see my kids all dressed up and excited to go trick-or-treating…waiting patiently as I take a picture of each of them in front of our pumpkins and then of course a group shot. My 12 year old was a good sport. He seems to be at the in-between stage. He dressed up as Patrick Star but when we got into town I got the feeling he wanted to be more like Freddie Crougar. I knew it was our last year to all go trick-or-treating together and I also know I’m lucky he still wanted to in 7^th grade!

The Fall Fest was great considering the weather was so gosh darn golly cold. I would love to insert other words here but I won’tJ There were lots of vendors, (including me who was able to squeeze upstairs in a cozy warm corner), and lots of neat activities for kids and families to do. I think it is a great event to finish off the fall festivities and I’m glad to have something held downtown again like the ox roast used to be.

I am now the proud owner of a Chevy Express van. Four adults could walk around in the back. That’s how big it is. We had to sell my dream suv that we’ve had for 2 years. I waved goodbye to my Ford Expedition a few weeks ago but was sooo glad to not have that car payment anymore.

Joe and I attended Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University in the spring and we LOVED it. We are so glad we did it and now we are working on paying off all of our debt. I knew when I bought the expedition that it wasn’t the most practical with 5 kids but I wanted it anyway. Joe wanted a 12 or 15 passenger van right from the beginning and I said “absolutely not!” Well when my friend sold me her ginormous van with rubber floors that you can literally hose down, I was ecstatic and so was Joe!

The music of the band…the sound of tractors…and the taste of an ox burger. Yes Firemen’s Field Days has passed and I miss it already. I just love the ox roast. It starts my favorite time of year. Field Days has changed over the years but it’s still fun. When I was a kid Main St would be shut down and carnival rides would be set up. I lived right around the corner from the fair and I would walk home from school through the rides being set up and get so excited!! From my front porch I could always hear the generators running from the rides and people laughing and see the shadows from the scrambler or ferris wheel. My favorite memory from the old ox roast was the sweet street dance right next to the fire hall.
 
Now the ox roast is much smaller but my kids don’t know the difference. Sure there were only 4 cars in the car show and there were no rides. The ox burgers and soup were still delicious and I got to see lots of people who I hadn’t seen since last year or longer! The FFA farm toy show was awesome with neat displays and the tractor pulls went on as usual. The band marching in the parade sounded great even though they were so small. The FFA bbq chicken was delicious this year and kiddie pedal pull had a ton of kids in it! The bingo tent was full and the craft barn too. Don’t forget the beer barn … I had a blast both nights!! I am happy to say that my kids and I had just as much fun as I used to at the ox roast! I’m glad to not have to spend a fortune on rides. It’s all about community after all right?

Does anyone want to buy a house? Haha.. we just had our 29^th showing today. The house has been on the market for over 1 ½ years now and I never ever imagined that this would happen. 2 price drops and 1 kind of offer later, here we are! Having my house on the market has been an emotional roller coaster. EVERY time I have a showing I just can’t help thinking… maybe this is the one! I know I shouldn’t but do. I go to realtor.com to see what’s new this week and I imagine my things in a different house and how I would decorate it and of course where I would put my Christmas tree! The first 20 showings I would go crazy and put the barrels of dirty laundry in the back of the vehicle, take all but 2 chairs from my kitchen table in the basement, bake cookies so the smell would lure in buyers… well now after so many I pick up and vacuum and figure they’ll notice the family picture on the wall and see that we have 5 kids!!

Here’s the thing about my house. We have completely and totally outgrown it. When we bought this house in 1999 I was very pregnant with Leo (#2) and to us it felt like a mansion. We were living in an apartment for a couple of years and this was our adorable and exciting first home. 10 years and 3 more kids later the house is busting at the seams and I had to get creative. We now have a set of bunk beds in the laundry room. It’s “cozy” and the boys don’t mind! Me on the other hand feel like I am suffocating most of the time. I know I need to look on bright side and be thankful for what I have and I really try too.. It’s just hard in the summer. At least we still have our house in these tough times. I also have to tell myself that the reason it isn’t selling is because it’s not priced at $35,000 or something ridiculously low and not because it looks like the house on Malcolm In the Middle!!!