Jeepin' Again

We would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family! This awesome four diggin', hunter green, raccoon slaying machine joined our family on Friday night. It even already went on its first hunting trip on Saturday morning.

It is getting a bath ready to come home with us from the Dealership

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It is a fully loaded, automatic everything, extremely roomy, 4-door Jeep Sahara. Cory has already ordered big mud tires for it, which will be here in a couple of weeks. Cory misses his old Jeep but is so excited that at least he has another, even bigger Jeep to take him on all of his adventures.

The Accident

On Friday morning Cory was on his way to Farmington Bay to go duck hunting when all of a sudden a raccoon jumped out onto the road in front of his Jeep. He slightly jerked the wheel to avoid hitting the little critter, but unfortunately when he did this it caused the small hunting boat he was towing to fish tail, which then caused him to lose control of the Jeep. He headed toward the middle of the road and then veered in the other direction toward the other side of the road, up a small hill, jumped a 20 foot drop, and went through two fences. 

I took this picture a little while after I arrived on the seen. When I first got there it was really dark and you could see the silhouettes of duck decoys all over the road. Cory is just a little sore and shaken up, but overall he is doing really good. He's sad that he lost his Jeep, boat, and some of his hunting stuff all in one day. But I am just so happy he is okay.

RIP

Sadly, the raccoon was not so fortunate. Cory told me that he did survive because he didn't want me to be sad... but according to the police report he didn't make it. 

Just in case some of you were wondering what my hunting addict husband is going to do without his hunting transportation. Well, a friend of his picked him up on Saturday morning at 6:00 am to go duck hunting. He also has plans with my Uncle and Cousin later this week. He still finds ways to get out there...

Another Year Older

Another. Year. Older. That's right! I had another Birthday and it was fabulous! I took the day off work and went shopping with my Mom and then hung out with Cory in the evening. I ate a huge, delicious cupcake from Dippidee, not to mention lots of other yummy high-calorie foods. This year, my Birthday seemed like a week long celebration. I got fun gifts and cards from friends and co-workers all week long. I also received Birthday texts, calls, and messages on facebook for about a week from my amazing friends and family. I love Birthdays.

I was spoiled rotten by Cory and my Mom. This new bedspread was part of my Birthday present from my Mom. I can tell you that this picture does NOT do it justice (I should have asked from a new camera for my Birthday since this one just decided one day to start taking crappy pictures). It is such a beautiful shade of green with a brown bedskirt and a brown accent pillow. (Ignore the puny lamp, it is being replaced.) 

Another fun gift I received was from my sister-in-law Alison. She bought a 6-pack of IBC bottled drinks, dumped them out (or drank them), washed them, and then filled them with my favorite treats and decorated them. I just thought it was such a clever, inexpensive gift. I am going to steal the idea and start making them for my (spoiler ahead) friends Birthdays and other fun occasions. Alison got the idea from this fun website (click here). 

Well, another Birthday... another year into my thirties... and I love every second of it. I have always heard that most people are in their prime in their thirties and I believe it. Being a thirty something is pretty great.

Now are you ready for some bad news? Well it may not be bad news for all, but it made me want to throw up a little... Christmas is only two months away! Ahhhhhhh! I'm okay... it just doesn't seem like a lot of time. I have so much to do!!

As for a Cory update, well I haven't seen him much lately. Right now I am sure he stalking ducks in the marsh and having the time of his life. 

Our SUPER Saturday

This past Saturday was a big day for our whole family. Eddie, our youngest, turned six years old. While we were out shopping we stopped by Ma and Paw's Dog Bakery and picked him up some yummy baked treats. He couldn't get enough of the Chicken Pot Pie dog bones.

Earlier that morning, my Mom, my cousin Tiffany and her baby, Sophie, and I all went on a shopping spree. We went to the Farmer's Market, Tony Caputo's Market, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, and Spoons and Spice just to name a few. We stopped by The Blue Plate Diner for lunch and we all ordered the black bean breakfast burrito. It was so good!

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After a few hours of shopping, we went home to prepare for round two. One thing I love about Conference weekend is the fabulous sales that begin around 6:00 pm on Saturday night. Tiffany and I had planned our strategy all week long and knew exactly where we needed to go and the time we needed to be there. Tiffany, her Mom Denise, me, and my Mom, plus a bunch of friends met at Zupas for dinner and then headed to Rod Works. We got there about five minutes to six and there was a long line in front of the store that went down to the end of the strip mall. Once inside, it was elbow to elbow women trying to get the door busters (one door buster is seen below). Also, Rod Works was offering 50% off any item. I picked up a couple of items and jumped in line. While standing there, I talked myself out of getting one of the items and picked up another item while I was moving along the wall. After about 20 minutes, one of the Rod Works employees walked by with a mirror that she had taken off the wall asking if anyone was interested in purchasing it because she didn't want to hang it back up. Several women were admiring it and I said "I'll take it," not even knowing at the time where I would put it. It is a beautiful large mirror with metal tiles around the outside in bronze, gold, and silver. It's going to look great in our room... once I convince Cory to hang it.

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After Rod Works, we ran by Tai Pan and then headed over to Roberts. Again, both stores were packed with women looking for a good deal. Even though my Mom and I were fighting off a cold, we still managed to stay out all day and had so much fun!

Saturday was especially exciting for Cory - it was the first day of the duck hunt. He stayed up all night on Friday night preparing for exciting day ahead. He came up and kissed me goodbye at 3:30 am and headed to Farmington Bay to meet my uncle Terry, my cousin Tyler, and his friend Sean. Terry and Tyler have never experienced opening day, so Cory was even more excited to see their reaction. When the clock struck 8:00 am they could begin shooting. They described it as looking and sounding like a war zone. They all shot ducks and Terry and Tyler each got thier first goose (see above). Cory stayed out until 8:00 pm and then came home and crashed. He said it was one of the best hunting days ever.

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It really was a SUPER Saturday! It took all day Sunday for us to recover.