Erin writes: Molly and I were sitting outside sucking on freezie pops over the weekend… we’re talking back and forth and then Molly says, “Mom – shhhh! I’m trying to listen to the sounds of summer!”

Molly

Nora

So here’s a quick rundown of what’s been happening in our lives over the past few months. Sorry for the lapse in blogging; I’ll try to do better and jot down those silly everyday moments!

Doug just finished up his crazy Warrior Dash adventure race last weekend… the course was a bit muddy from all the recent rain, but he did great! He’s also been helping out at church by managing the sound and A/V for their youth services. Doug just started a new role at State Farm, and he’s now working in the compliance department.

I (Erin) have been trying to recover from a nasty knee injury that occurred two weeks ago… I tried to take up jogging and my right knee was not too happy about that. I’ll take this as God’s sign to NOT RUN. Got it! Over the summer, I’m doing a book study with some friends and we’re reading “Captivating.” Work is going great – I’m having fun incorporating social media into our communications mix.

Molly is preparing for kindergarten this fall… we’ve decided to send her to Cornerstone Christian Academy. She’s really into dinosaurs right now and is constantly asking very thoughtful questions on just about everything – science, religion, history… we weren’t planning on addressing these topics so early on!

Nora is 2 and living it up. One moment she’s a sweet little angel, the next moment she’s ready to throw a tantrum for not getting her way… sometimes it’s hard to keep a straight face! Right now, she’s fascinated with motorcycles and bicycles and points them out when we’re traveling in the car.

The biggest news in our household lately revolves around our basement being finished. We’re in week 7 and it should be done in just a few days. Carpet was installed today which really makes it look polished and ready to go! I’m excited to get the girls’ craft room up and going.

So that’s the latest and greatest!

Erin writes: Oh, how I love the holidays! I found this little instructional letter surfacing on the Internet and thought I would continue the viral spread. I can just imagine that Thanksgiving at Marney’s was a real ball…

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From: Marney

As you all know a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner does not make itself. I need to ask each of you to help by bringing something to complete the meal. I truly appreciate your offers to assist with the meal preparation.

Now, while I do have quite a sense of humor and joke around all the time, I COULD NOT BE MORE SERIOUS when I am providing you with your Thanksgiving instructions and orders. I am very particular, so please perform your task EXACTLY as I have requested and read your portion very carefully. If I ask you to bring your offering in a container that has a lid, bring your offering in a container WITH A LID, NOT ALUMINUM FOIL! If I ask you to bring a serving spoon for your dish, BRING A SERVING SPOON, NOT A SOUP SPOON! And please do not forget anything.

All food that is to be cooked should already be prepared, bring it hot and ready to serve, warm or room temp. These are your ONLY THREE options. Anything meant to be served cold should, of course, already be cold.

HJB—Dinner wine

The Mike Byron Family
1. Turnips in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. Please do not fill the casserole all the way up to the top, it gets too messy. I know this may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but most of us hate turnips so don’t feel like you a have to feed an army.
2. Two half gallons of ice cream, one must be VANILLA, I don’t care what the other one is. No store brands please. I did see an ad this morning for Hagan Daz Peppermint Bark Ice Cream, yum!! (no pressure here, though).
3. Toppings for the ice cream.
4. A case of bottled water, NOT gallons, any brand is ok.

The Bob Byron Family
1. Green beans or asparagus (not both) in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. If you are making the green beans, please prepare FOUR pounds, if you are making asparagus please prepare FIVE pounds. It is up to you how you wish to prepare them, no soupy sauces, no cheese (you know how Mike is), a light sprinkling of toasted nuts, or pancetta, or some EVOO would be a nice way to jazz them up.
2. A case of beer of your choice (I have Coors Light and Corona) or a bottle of clos du bois chardonnay (you will have to let me know which you will bring prior to 11/22).

The Lisa Byron Chesterford Family
1. Lisa as a married woman you are now required to contribute at the adult level. You can bring an hors d’ouvres. A few helpful hints/suggestions. Keep it very light, and non-filling, NO COCKTAIL SAUCE, no beans of any kind. I think your best bet would be a platter of fresh veggies and dip. Not a huge platter mind you (i.e., not the plastic platter from the supermarket).

The Michelle Bobble Family
1. Stuffing in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please make the stuffing sans meat.
2. 2.5-3 qts. of mashed squash in a casserole with a lid and serving spoon
3. Proscuitto pin wheel – please stick to the recipe, no need to bring a plate.
4. A pie knife

The June Davis Family
1. 15 LBS of mashed potatoes in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please do not use the over-size blue serving dish you used last year. Because you are making such a large batch you can do one of two things: put half the mash in a regulation size casserole with lid and put the other half in a plastic container and we can just replenish with that or use two regulation size casserole dishes with lids. Only one serving spoon is needed.
2. A bottle of clos du bois chardonnay

The Amy Misto Family (why do I even bother she will never read this)
1. A pumpkin pie in a pie dish (please use my silver palate recipe) no knife needed.
2. An apple pie in a pie dish, you can use your own recipe, no knife needed.

Looking forward to the 28th!!

Marney
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If you’re looking for additional hilarity, then check out these fabulous sites:
http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/
http://lovelylisting.com/
http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com
http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/

Enjoy! If there are other sites I’m missing, please let me know!!

Erin writes: It’s been way too long since someone blogged on this website, so here you go. (And yes, Mom – I will add new pictures sometime this weekend…) A lot has changed since I last posted… I have a new brother-in-law (hi, Dan!), Nora is talking and RUNNING, our dog Kiwi has been diagnosed with cancer, we traded in my car, and so on and so forth. Life can get so crazy-hectic around here that I find it’s hard to keep everyone in the loop. (Thank goodness for facebook!)

I’ve been having fun taking video and pics with my iPhone and I’ve even made two iMovies! Unfortunately, I haven’t scrapbooked since right before Nora was born – 17 months now – so I have A LOT of catching up to do. I’m wondering if I should move on to something easier to manage, maybe make hardbound photo-books. Anyone out there have success with those? I’m looking forward to getting some professional family portraits taken soon, so I’m praying that the girls don’t get bruised or scratched beforehand. I guess photoshop can take of that, anyway!

Now we’re getting geared up for Halloween, which means costumes and pumpkins! Molly REALLY wants to carve a pumpkin, but I think it’s just too gooey and messy. Hopefully Doug can manage that project this weekend! I ordered a fun “ghostly lady” costume so I hope that works out. My skin is so pale, so I thought I would just work with that. Molly and Nora will be fairy princesses, complete with wings and lots of glitter.

As many of you read on facebook, our dog Kiwi has cancer and has 3-6 months. 4 of her teeth had to be removed about 2 weeks ago and she has difficulty eating and opening her jaw. But she’s handling it all very well so far and doesn’t seem to be in too much pain. We’ve had Kiwi for over 10 years now, and she has been so wonderful and patient with the girls. We’re just trying to enjoy these last few weeks/months with her and make her as comfortable as possible.

Thanks for reading and I hope to blog a bit more frequently!