Happy Halloween

I must admit that Halloween has never been one of my favorite holidays but there are still quite a few fun things about it. When I was a kid the biggest talk with Halloween was always if you would have to wear your coat over your costume or not. 9 times out of 10 you would have a great costume that was covered up! My mom always used to make me my costumes and they were always original and cute!!
Halloween parties at school used to always be very fun as well with costumes at great snacks. BUT my favorite part growing up was my OCD self sorting my candy after trick-or-treating. I would spend hours sorting, organizing and documenting my bag of goodies! Am I crazy did anyone else do this? Probably not many but by far it is what made my Halloween world turn. It also would put me in a great position to trade the candy I hated with others . Oh the memories it sure puts a smile on my face.
The one tradition from a child I still do every year is bake and flavor all the pumpkin seeds. Yum I love these crunchy treats. What traditions have you kept as an adult, or memories do you have about Halloween?
Happy Halloween all, now on to handing out candy and watching my favorite Halloween movie "Hocus Pocus".

All Hallows Eve

It's Halloween weekend and that means time for parties and pumpkin carving!! We had a party we went to on Saturday that was costume optional and last minute we put together costumes. I was a peacock and Brad was a peacock farmer. Given more time or if we ever repeat these costumes I would like to doctor them up a little, but in a pinch they were great! Good thing we dressed up as well as almost everyone at the party was in costume. The party was lots of fun with lots of great spooky food, drinks and costumes.

Don't we look thrilled

Tonight was the big night for pumpkin carving. This year my mom heard a great tip on the radio to use a dry wall knife to carve. It worked GREAT. We tried to be a little more creative today but lets face it I am about as in-artistic that they come and Brad wasn't super into it this year. So drum roll please... We came up with... A spooky pumpkin, an Owl Pumpkin and a "Texas" pumpkin to represent our favorite state.

The dogs LOVE pumpkin carving time and want to be in the middle of it all. As I clean the pumpkins out they like to lick and eat the junk. Mostly they spit out the gunk but they must love the taste.
All pumpkins are now in there place on the porch and look great. Hopefully we will get a fair number of tick-or-treators as the weather is supposed to be very nice. Happy Halloween to all!!!

Notice Lucy sucking down pumpkin in the background

Washington Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books offer a variety of layouts and cover options to choose from.

There was a great deal on Groupon for a Shutterfly photo book.  I thought I would give in a try with all of our pictures from our Washington D.C. trip.  It took a little while to put together but I had a lot of fun doing it.  Do any of you have tips on Photo books or how you create them?  For my first attempt I think it came out great, can't wait to get it in the mail.

It'sTebow Time

Fall/Winter weekends in the Sill household is filled with lots of football. We LOVE some college and Pro football. It all started Saturday with the CU vs. Oregon game. Brad has been waiting for the day since they announced we would be in the PAC 12. Honestly I was excited to see Oregons uniforms. We met some friends before the game and then headed up to the stadium to tailgate. CU just got knocked around and beat up. By the half they were behind by 38 points. I think ralphie was even pissed off as she looked to be running slower! We tailgated at the half and slowley made our way back into the stadium. It was hard to stay until the end but we saw the Ducks crush the Buffalo. All in all it was fun to be there and get a glimpse of what a winning team looks like.

Ralphie Running on the field

Some fun fall photos before the Game

Sunday was TEBOW time for the Bronco nation.  It was his first game to start this year in Miami.  We have all been gearing up for this game all season.  Although I will admit that most of the game was down right ugly TEBOW found a way to come from 15-0 with 3 minutes to play to pull out an 18-15 overtime victory.  It was so fun to see the WIN, Brad and I were jumping around screaming an high fiveing each other, it was AWESOME for Bronco's fans.  Hopefully in the coming weeks Tebow will get better and not pay attention to all the talk on the radio and news about him and his abilities.  All I can say is the Sill's are behind him 110% and I personally love me some Timmy!!!

All I can say is Hot and Determined

Sunday was 80 degrees out so after the big win Brad and I threw a football around for an hour and basked in the glory of a BRONCO WIN.

Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin Patch in Boulder

Pumpkins, Corn Mazes, cornucopia's, hay Rides, and Farm Animals oh my, IT IS FALL!!! One of my all time favorite times of the whole year. This weekend we did our famous trip to the pumpkin patch to get our fall outdoor goods and to take our annual pumpkin patch family pictures.  Belle couldn't make the trip as she is getting too old and hates to be out in the heat or in the car for too long.  This year we also hit up a new pumpkin patch that was great.  They had lots of cute farm animals, a corn maze, tractors and much more.  In true Sill family pumpkin picking fashion Frankie tried eating pumpkins, Lucy took a big bathroom break and Brad and I were yelling at each other to keep the dogs calm.  All fun when you take 4 legged furry friends with TONS of real kids around.  They did do very well though and out of the 50+ pictures my mom took we were able to get some good shots.  The weather also couldn't have been any better, it was about 75 degrees.  I have just been enjoying as much out side time can as I can as the colors on the trees with the mountains as a back drop have been just beautiful.

The dogs picked out the pumpkins

We are excited to get all of our outside fall decorations set out for Halloween.  It is our tradition that we make yummy flavored pumpkin seeds from the carving of the pumpkins.  Frankie is obsessed with the pumpkin taste and loves when we carve them as he gets a little bit.  Now the hard thing is to decide how I want to flavor the seeds this year.  Hopefully this year we will have lots of trick-o-treaters as we have a TON of little kids in the neighborhood.  Yeah for fall I just love this time of year!!

Out front of the corn maze

Fall time in the Rockies

Brad and I got away last weekend to my favorite city in Colorado, Manitou Springs.  It is right out side of Colorado Springs and only about 1.5 hours from our house.  We always go in the fall as the colors there are just gorgeous.  There is so many fun activities to do through out the weekend or you can just hang out and leisurely shop in the town. The first night Brad and I were able to enjoy our favorite Texas BBQ joint, Rudy's.  However I must admit that even though the food is darn good it isn't quite the same as being in Texas and enjoying Big Red and Lone Star beer with the BBQ.  O'well it will do for Colorado and it is still some of the best BBQ around.

Brad with all the BBQ and he 'fix ins

Brad and I took it more easy this trip minus a really LONG, scary horse back ride in the Garden of the Gods.  Literally there were some spot's where I just closed my eyes and held on for dear life as the drop was SCARY.  There was even a point where Brad's horse didn't want to go because it was a steep step down, the wrangler literally had to cohearse Brad's horse.  Other then that the views were absolutely amazing.

At the stable

Twin Sisters

View from the Trail

After our ride we decided to head up to the Cog Railroad to see if the train was running to the top of Pikes Peak.  Due to the cooler fall weather the train was only going half way up.  We decided instead to walk around and take some pictures with all the great fall colors.  There were some beautiful orange, yellow and red trees that made it a fall wonderland.

The Cog is coming down from Pikes Peak

In front of the Cog

Pike's Peak Cog

Hiking in the forest

Brad and his truck (Can't forget the truck :) )

Fall Colors

Later we went the The Flying W Ranch which is an absolute must if you are in the area.  It is a dude ranch that has Chuck Wagon Dinner and shows.  Since it was cooler we were inside for the show and dinner.  The show was great and the food was to die for (forgot to take pictures, we scarfed the yummy rolls and steak too fast).  After a great show we headed back to our favorite Bed and Breakfast to enjoy the starry night sky in the hot tub.

Avenue Bed and Breakfast
Sunday we just relaxed and enjoyed some shopping and walking around the town.  Brad also treated me to an amazing massage in the morning which was much needed after the horse back riding.  It was sad to leave and head home but we know we will be back soon.  If you have never been here, and live in Colorado make sure you go as it will come you favorite weekend spot too!!

My Babies

I thought it was time to write a post about my fur babies. I am doing a blog link up to Kelly's Korner all about pets. Brad and I have 3 fur babies as we like to call them. Belle our Pug who is 11 years old, Frankie our Dachshund that is 7 years old and Lucy our Dachshund that is 5 years old. We adopted all 3 of the dogs at different walks in their and our lives. I have already done a blog about Belle the Princess that you can see by clicking here. I will focus on my other loves here.

Christmas seems to be the only time we get a pic with all of us

Another Christmas shot of them waiting for a treat

Frankie getting all of his treats our of his stocking

Lucy and and Frankie are true hounds and do not disappoint the Dachshund breed. Frankie came to us at the young age of 6 months, the first time we meet him he peed all over Brad! For me it was love at first sight and for Brad not so much but o'well. Frankie lived with Brad the first year before we got married and they became best buddies. Frankie has turned now into a mommas boy and loves for me to give him extra attention. I want to always remember by first fur baby so here is the Frankie list....
Things I love:
*He is the best snuggler and always keeps me warm
*He is so sweet and sensitive
*He loves to play ball at all times and loves to go on walks
*He takes good care of Belle and helps her get around the house
*He has a special bond with Brad
*He is super smart almost to a fault
*He knows lots of human words and understands them
*He LOVES to camp and even will put himself to bed in the tent
*He has the cleanest,shiniest Pearly white teeth around
*He has a blanket that we call his "mommy" that he suckles him self to sleep with

The only picture of Frankie being still

Things that I don't love:
*He barks ALL of the time, some times we have to give him calming medicine, which then in turn makes him stink
*He is obsessive compulsive about EVERYTHING!
*He destroys all of his toys in less then 10 minutes including ripping tennis balls and golf balls up(casing and all)
*He hates thunderstorms and freaks out
*The second he eats anything he has to poop 5 minutes later, he has an extremely sensivite stomach
*He hates car rides and makes them down right miserable for everyone
*He HATES water and is down right terrified by it
*It is imposable to get a picture of Frankie where he is not barking or moving out of the shot

Running in the Oatmeal Festival

Trying to get a family shot before they ate all the pumpkins

Now onto Lucy or as we call her frequently, "Lucifer" or "She Devil". Lucy is defiantly my dog, she is the dog that we all wish for that will be super loyal and do everything with you. She loves to be my shadow and be down right spoiled rotten. We bought her in an apartment sale only a few months after being married, she was 1 year old. The first second I layed eyes on her, she was mine much to Brad's shock. Brad and her are like siblings, some days they love each other and some days they hate each other, they know how to push each other buttons. Lucy is defiantly the most spoiled and can get by with a lot. She has the cutest eyes and fat paws that just make me melt.
Things I love about Lucy:
*She is my best baby ever and loves to get pets and snuggles
*She is a perfect looking longhair dachshund and loves to be told she is pretty
*She loves me most
*She loves to ride in the car and she loves water
*She goes and does anything you want her to, and for the most part adapts well
*She doesn't bark much when Frankie isn't around

Her with a new toy

Here at the pool for Dog Days

Things that drive us(mostly Brad crazy)
*She is strong willed and determined to only do what she wants, she is so stubborn
*She loves to steal food from the other dogs, lets just say she is slightly over weight
*She bits Frankie's neck to boss him around
*She loves to bug Brad and she knows just what to do
*She is always under my feet EVERYWHERE I go, including when I am cooking
*She doesn't listen
*She MUST sleep between Brad and I in Bed or no one will get good sleep
*She is a social brat and will turn her head at people if she is not in the mood to be doted on
*She relapses in potty training frequently and wares custom diapers when we are gone to be assured she doesn't have an accident.

As all of you can see our dogs are definitely our kids, all three of them are spoiled, rotten brats that we love. They are our family and we wouldn't change that. If any of you have things to add about there personalities that I forgot please comment (especially mom). Thanks furry friends for being our loyal friends, we love you.