Birthdays, Orchards, and Anniversaries

I'm a few days behind on my blogging for this week. Our weekend was packed full and I have been subbing everyday this week, so I have had no time to blog. This past weekend was a busy one for us. On Friday night, Lapeer West played their big rival, Lapeer East!!! It was a jammed packed game. There were more people than I have ever seen at a high school game!!! There were no seats left in the stands, so many people stood along the fence that circles the field. The line to buy tickets was like a 1/4 mile long. Thankfully, I had gotten my ticket a few hours before the game. We ended up winning 35-14!!! It was so much fun creaming the other team!!!
After the game, a bunch of people came back to the house and we ate pizzas. Actually, while we were at Little Caesars (that's a pizza place up here in MI-I missed it while I lived in NC), I witnessed a car hit a man on his motorcycle. The car actually hit the man and then sped off. Another car followed after it and I believe got his license plate number. There were a bunch of other people who witnessed the accident too, so I didn't stick around. The cops got there right when we were pulling out of the parking lot.

Also-we had a big surprise Friday night!!! Well, actually, Brad and I were the only ones that knew about it, so it was really a surprise for everyone else. Todd, who is at Michigan State, told everyone that he couldn't come home this weekend to celebrate the birthdays with the family. Mom was a little bummed. Well, Brad and Todd planned all week long for Brad to come and pick Todd up at school Friday afternoon and then they would surprise everyone at the football game. It was a great surprise for everyone!! Mom was excited and the family was happy to see him. Plus, all his buddies had come home for the big game, so he got to catch up with his friends at the game.

Saturday, September 27th, was Brad's birthday!!! It was also his mom's birthday as well. Yes, the share the same birthday!!! What's really funny is that she turned 27 the same day she had Brad on Sept 27!!! 27 must be a lucky number for them!!! We spent the morning resting and relaxing. I had to run into Flint (which is about 20 minutes or so away) to get a few birthday presents and cards. We had reservations at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for an early dinner with everyone. Ruth's Chris is about 45-50 minutes away from where we live. It is a super nice restaurant. Let's just say it averages out to be about $50 a person, but they have the absolutely BEST steak ever. It comes out on a 500 degree plate with melted butter all over it. Believe me, it is HOT! I burnt my hand on the plate and my mouth from the steak. Brad's dad wanted to treat everyone to dinner to celebrate! We ate dinner and dessert- Brad, Mom, and Scott (his birthday is on Oct 2) all got free desserts. Jessica actually ended up getting a free dessert too because a glass broke and water got on her.

Jessica, Todd, and Halle

Dad and Mom DeLange
Al and Scott
Brad and Parker

HalleAfter our scrumptious dinner, we headed over to Somerset Mall. It is a very nice 3 story mall. It really has a lot of fancy stores that I could never afford to shop in, but it is still a fun mall to walk around.

This is the mall!!!

On Sunday, we had church in the morning at Grandma's. I have started taking all the kids and doing a Bible study with them separately. We sang songs and did a craft too. I think they really liked it instead of sitting in with all the adults not understanding what is being talked about.
After church, we all got changed and went to Past Tense. It is a country store/orchard. It is a lot of fun!! We all made our own scarecrows!! It is so much fun!! If you have never done it before, you should find a place to make one or try to make one at your home. We also got cider, carmel apples, and donuts and went on a hayride and picked pumpkins. It was a cooler day so it made for a great trip to the apple orchard. My parents, Brad's parents, Andy and Amber, Aunt Mindy and her kids, Jessica and Preston, and my family all went. It was a lot of fun!!!!

Everyone starting their scarecrows

Preston and Jessica

Bailey helping me stuff the legs of my scarecrow

My mom, dad and Halle working on theirs

Andy and Amber

Parker looking confused as to what is going on

Dad D and Todd working on their scarecrow's head

Chad and Parker

Eating a carmel apple

Halle with her pumpkin

Brad and Parker in the pumpkin patch
Halle having a lot of fun on the slideThe traditional picture in front of the pumpkinsHere's our scarecrow

It was a fun-filled weekend. The fun didn't end there though!!! Monday, Sept 29, was Brad and my 7th wedding anniversary!!! I can't believe we have been married 7 years! It has gone by fast! Brad bought me 7 long stem roses and we went out to dinner and Outback Steakhouse- I was in the mood for a Bloomin Onion. We walked around the mall for a little while afterwards, but had to get home early to get kids into bed and get ready for the next day of school and work. We are planning to go out this weekend as well to celebrate. I wish I could post some of my wedding pics on here, but 7 years ago, digital cameras weren't even around (or if they were, they were way too expensive for anyone I knew to own one). I love you Brad and hope we can share the next 70 years together. It's been a fun ride so far. I can't wait to see what all is in store for us in years to come!!! Happy Anniversary Babe!!

Randomness

Tonight I had nothing really very interesting to blog about-it was a normal day, nothing new, nothing different. One thing worth mentioning is that it has been absolutely beautiful here lately. I don't remember when MI has had 80 degree weather with sunny skies during football season. It is just unheard of. And the weekend is looking good too!!!
I got on and was reading some blogs and my good friend from NC, Betsy, was talking about how much fun personality tests are. She had taken one and posted it on her blog, so I thought I would take the test too. You can take the test too if you want!

My personality type:
Serious and quiet, interested in security and peaceful living. Extremely thorough, responsible and dependable. Well-developed powers of concentration. Usually interested in supporting and promoting traditions and establishments. Well-organized and hard working, they work steadily towards identified goals. They can usually accomplish any task once they have set their mind to it.
Careers that could fit you includes:
Business executives, administrators and managers, accountants, police, detectives, judges, lawyers, medical doctors, dentists, computer programmers, systems analysts, computer specialists, auditors, electricians, math teachers, mechanical engineers, steelworkers, technicians, (militia members).
Math Teacher- that was my major in college!!! I have to say the test pretty much hit it right on the nail.

Another blog I stumbled across had posted "6 quirky things about me" so I thought I would post 6 really weird things about me.
1. I can't stand it when Brad wants to eat a snack in bed. For 7 years now, he will crawl into bed with a plate of cookies or a handful on M&M's and start to eat them and I will look at him and he knows that's the signal to get out of bed!!! It's not that I'm worried about crumbs (which I do hate too), but I can't stand the sound of him chomping on the snack. He also sips his glass of milk, which bothers me a ton too! So, he always has to eat his snack out of bed!!

2. Before we leave for a vacation, whether it be for one night or a week, I must clean the entire house and do all the laundry. I love coming home to a sparkling clean house!! It just makes me feel so good to know that there is nothing that has to be done when we walk in after a long trip home.

3. I would rather make homemade cookies to eat the dough, not the cooked cookie. I honestly don't like cookies that much, but boy, I could eat a whole batch worth of the dough. The same thing with yellow cake batter.

4. I only write with blue ink. I love how my handwriting looks in blue. I'm not a big fan of black ink at all. I also don't like all the jelly pens that smear if your hand touches it before it dries. I just like your old Bic pens.

5. Every time I stand up, both my ankles crack. I have no idea why, they just do. And it is usually really loud!!!

6. I put butter on Pop-Tarts. Yes, it is super good!!! It makes the Poptart so moist. You might think it is gross, but you should try it once. It is so good!!! I also hate soggy cereal. If my cereal gets soggy, I have to add more fresh cereal to the bowl and eat it with the soggy. I have to have a little crunch while I am eating cereal.

So, that is a little randomness about me.

Fall tv is here

This week happens to be a great week for television as many of my favorite tv shows are premiering sometime this week!!! Yea!!! I have waited patiently through the long, long summer for my shows to come back on. Hey, I'm not saying I don't enjoy the summer (because I do), but I do horribly miss my shows while we are all on vacation. I will admit when I was a stay-at-home mom and had a dvr (which records shows for you), I watched ALOT of tv every night. I could record whatever I wanted and watch it once Halle and Parker went to bed. Well, now I am working a lot more and I don't have a dvr, so I can only watch tv when I get a chance. So, I have slimmed down my tv show list and am only going to make time to watch my absolute favorite shows.

My favorites include: It already started last night. I didn't get to watch all 2 hours of it, but I did pick out a couple people I liked. I have to say, I don't like this show until the "duds" get booted off and the good stars perform. They made a smart choice this season to kick 2 people off in the first week!! The first person that needed to go was the comedian (can't think of his name) and he got kicked off tonight. We're off to a good start!
Halle likes this show too, so this is something we can watch together.

My absolute favorite show is The Office. I can't wait for Thursday night!!! I can't wait to see what happens with Jim and Pam. I sure do hope they get engaged this season. Out of all the shows, this is the one I am most excited about.

Thursdays:I also love Ugly Betty. It's just a light hearted show. I won't be totally sad if I miss this show, but I do like to keep up with what's going on.

Grey's Anatomy used to be my favorite show, but I am kind of getting sick of it. I will probably watch it when I can, but I am not going to make a point of seeing it every week-unless this season gets good. Ever since Meredith died and then came back to life, I haven't been that into the show. Plus, this is on Thursdays and 9 which is also the same time as The Office. So, the only way I'll watch this is online.

Samantha Who? is a cute 30 minute sitcom that I like. It doesn't start for a few more weeks, but it's one that I will watch if I'm around a tv with nothing else to do.

I've heard that the shows has jumped 5 or so years into the future. I can't wait to see all that has happened in those 5 years.

I usually watch Brothers and Sisters because it is on right after Desperate Housewives. It's not a must see, but I do like the show and will probably watch again this season.

Chuck doesn't come on until next week or so, but I like this show as well. Actually, Brad started watching it and I now enjoy it as well. It is quite funny!!

Well, if you can believe it, I did slim my list down even though it doesn't look like it. I can't say I will be dedicated to watching all these shows all season long, but I do enjoy these shows and am looking forward to the new season.

Friday Night Lights

For the last few Friday nights we have been sitting in the bleachers cheering on the Lapeer West football team. It has been so much fun going to the games!!! We don't know very many of the players, but Jessica's boyfriend, Preston, plays for the team! He is the center linebacker and is really good. I guess he has been playing varsity since 9th grade. It is so much fun getting bundled up, taking a bunch of goodies and blankets, and going to cheer on the team. I never really experienced the whole 'friday night football' thing because I went to a small, private high school and they didn't even have a football team. Halle got a Lapeer West football jersey with Preston's last name and number on the back of it. She wore it to school this past Friday because that's what the older girls do. Parker got a long sleeve tee with Preston's last name and number on it. He looks adorable in it. We have some West hats and t-shirts to wear too, so our whole family is decked out for the games!!!!

Parker and I before the game against Oxford.

It was down pouring the entire way to the game and we figured we were going to get soaked. As soon as we got to the stadium, the rain quit and not a drop fell during the game. It ended up being a beautiful night!!!

Parker stylin in his football hat

Ok- this is honestly a real picture from Brad's camera!!

This was last night's game against Brandon. It is a brand new stadium!!! It was unbelievably nice!! and to make things even better, it was a gorgeous night out!!! A perfect night for football! Plus, Lapeer won 41-13 and Preston had an interception!!!!

Here we are cheering on the Panthers

Parker was wiped out when we got home. He didn't even wake up while we were changing him into his pjs.

So, needless to say, we are really enjoying the football season this year. I can't say I know all the rules of football or that I am totally a football fanatic, but I really enjoy going to the games. We look forward to the rest of the season. Go Panthers!!!

New Hair Cut

Today was a very busy day for me. I got up at 6:15am, subbed at Lapeer West High School in the morning and then rushed over to Seaton Elementary and subbed there in the afternoon. The elementray didn't get out until 4pm, so I got home a lot later than normal. I ate a quick bite because I hadn't eaten all day and then headed off to my hair appointment.

Side note: My mother-in-law told me she wanted to pay for me to get my hair done and she actually set the appointment for me last week. She is such a sweet mom! I am truely blessed to have an awesome mother-in-law!


The salon we go to is really nice! It is called Innovations and it is very clean, upsale looking, and the ladies are super sweet and talkative. I haven't had a bad experience there yet! I had Kim, who is actually the owner of the salon, do my hair. I went in not having any idea what I wanted done except I needed some of the length cut off. I absolutely love long hair, but mine never looks very good long. As hard as I try, I can't get a curl to stay in it and it always gets weird waves/kinks in it when I wear it straight. She recommended we cut it to my shoulders, put some layers in it, and color it darker with some of my highlighted hair pulled through. I told her I trusted her and so she got busy. She cut off so much hair!!! The assistants had to keep coming and sweeping up the huge piles of hair. I have very fine hair, but I have A LOT of it!


2 hours later, the new Kellie walked out of the salon!! Here's what I look like now!!

Before I got it cut

After

The back

Dentist

Today I took Halle to the dentist. Our trips to the dentist are never pleasant ones, as we always end up with a bunch of bad news at the end of time there. The last time she went, she had like 6 cavities, one of which we had to have a baby root canal done on. Thank goodness we have an Aunt in the business, otherwise I would forever be in debt to the dentist.

Today, I picked Hal up early from school. She was upset because it was right in the middle of art class and she didn't get to finish drawing her clown. I forgot her toothbrush, so we rushed home for her to brush really quickly. Why do we always think that one last brush is going to make a difference? The damage is already done by that point, but we always find it necessary to brush and floss the day we are going to the dentist. Like I mentioned earlier, Brad's Aunt Linda is a dentist! Yes, we have a dentist and a doctor in the family! We are superbly blessed!

Halle has been complaining about a tooth hurting while she is eating, and I figured it was another cavity. I honestly couldn't figure out she had another cavity though because it seemed we had filled just about every tooth in her little mouth. The hygienist was super nice. She chatted with Hal and said she did awesome on x-rays. Come to find out, she had lost 2 of her fillings. It is because she grinds her teeth horribly during the night. They said it was very common for "grinders". She only had a little decay on one other tooth, so that was good news.

Now for the BAD NEWS-I knew it had to be coming, because one cavity just didn't seem like enough for our dentist trip. Halle's mouth is beyond weird. She is getting ready to lose teeth that she is not supposed to lose for another 3 years!!! So, we have to be careful not to wiggle those teeth at all because they are working as spacers for her permanent teeth. If they do fall out, Halle will have to have a spacer put in otherwise her other teeth will push together, leaving no room for her permanent teeth that would be coming at some point in time.

Ok, so I think that should be enough news for our trip, but no, there's more. One of Hal's 6 year molars in coming in, however, it is trapped up in the gum. It is growing a little crooked and is eating away at the tooth next to it. The dentist could pull that tooth, however, it is working as a spacer, so it really needs to stay. She is going to talk to an orthodontist about it because she has no idea what she should do.

What a mess!!! It's always something with Halle's mouth. If nothing else, we sure do get an education on teeth and your mouth while we are at the dentist.

I love Aunt Linda too! She is a great dentist and is super sweet to us! Thanks for everything you do!

I can't wait to see what Parker's mouth has in store for us!!!!

On the walls in the office they have painted a few quotes about teeth and smiles. I thought these two were really cute:

"You don't have to brush your teeth - just the ones you want to keep." ~Author Unknown

“A smile happens in a flash, but its memory can last a lifetime.”

Happy Birthday Andy!

Happy Birthday Andy! Yesterday was my brother's 23rd birthday! I can't believe he is almost entering into the mid-20's. I remember when he was just a little kid that always got himself in trouble. Andy is in medical school at MSU studying to become a doctor. I can't believe my little brother is going to be a doctor in a couple more years! Wow! He has a sweet girlfriend, Amber, who attends his rival college-U of M. It is quite funny!
We went to my parent's house for the afternoon and my dad made his all-time famous ribs. There were also a bunch of good sides to go with them too! We had 15 people there to celebrate! My sister and I got him The Office Season 4 dvd. He is really into The Office and the latest season just came out on dvd. We ended up watching a few episodes in between football games. My mom made a texas sheet cake and we had ice cream too! It was a relaxing and fun day.

Eating dinner

Amber, Parker and Andy. I have no clue as to why Parker was plugging his nose!

Opening gifts

The Office dvd

The birthday cake-he couldn't blow out all 23 candles at once! It took him quite a few tries actually!

Parker obviously loved his piece!