Halloween!

Things have been super busy lately.  Sam is running for school board here in Fairfield, and we are days away from the election!  This year we decided we would use what we had for costumes.  I have several boxes full of costumes, so we could definitely find some good costumes for the kids.  Savannah was a fairy, Wyatt a gladiator, Caitlin a Hersey's Kiss (my costume from when I was 10), and Brielle a flapper girl!  We went trick-or-treating with some neighbors and enjoyed 70 degree weather!  I couldn't believe how nice it was out.  The kids had fun exploring our new neighborhood and brought home way too much candy!

Kauai Vacation!

In August, we had a Laidlaw family vacation with my parents, Matt, Aubrey, Scott, and Gale.  Since Aubrey and Gale are both expecting babies the beginning of next year, this was a great time to fit in this amazing vacation.  It was a whirlwind summer for us with the annual Oceanside trip and a MOVE!  We moved to a new house the end of July.  I still need to blog about Oceanside so I'm jumping ahead a bit, but I just had to post this now!  We went to Kauai August 3-10.  It was our first time there and we had so many amazing experiences!  The island is so beautiful and the food was divine!  This video is a compilation of Aubrey and my 8mm iPhone app videos.  She put the video together.  I'll post pictures soon! Enjoy!

Savannah's Graduation!

The last two months have been a whirlwind!  I have lots to catch up on.  On June 16, 2011 Savannah graduated from 6th grade!  I can't believe I have a child going into Jr. High and soon to be teenager!  It's exciting and intimidating at the same time.  We are so proud of Savannah being on the Honor roll all year and being in the Million Words Club!  Congratulations Savannah!

 Savannah with her teacher Mrs. Corley.

She is almost as tall as me!

Moving update...

So the plans have changed.  We aren't moving to Vacaville anymore.  As much as we really wanted to move there, things weren't working out with our current rental getting a new lease.  We were supposed to move June 25th into the house in Vacaville.  We weren't getting any interest with this house for someone to rent it by July 1st.  So we had to make a hard decision. We decided to let the house in Vacaville go so they could find a new renter by July 1st.   On Wednesday a house here in Fairfield came up that we liked and it's in a nice neighborhood.  We told our landlords that we let our Vacaville house go and that we were looking at a new house available after July 15th.  The very next day, Friday, two families came and looked at the house and they BOTH wanted it!  I couldn't believe it!  It had been almost 5 weeks with no interest and as soon as we let the Vacaville rental go, we get our house rented!  We are still waiting to see if we get the new Fairfield house, but our landlords signed the lease with the new renters yesterday.  So we are on pins and needles waiting to hear if we get this new house.  Hopefully we will hear tomorrow and that we get approved... or we might be homeless!

Succulents!

I absolutely love succulents!  Saturday I decided to finally plant some in my strawberry pot that has been sitting empty on my front porch for years.  My local OSH didn't have much of a selection so I went to Lowes in Vacaville.  Let's just say I got a little carried away and bought enough for several pots, hehe. So here is what I did Saturday!

 The succulent that is in focus is one of my very favorites!  It's called "Baby Toes."  There were only two left at Lowes, so I bought both of them!  They are so plump looking and I love the translucent tops.

I hope they do OK in this pot.  I didn't realize how small the plant openings are so there isn't a whole lot of growing room.


Today was my friends' birthday and I made a cute succulent pot for her present.  I was so excited to take it to her, that I forgot to take a picture of it.  Oh well.  She really liked it.

Here is an example of a pot I'd like to do next!  Oh the possibilities!

What we've been up too...

     I know I've been a terrible blogger the last year.  The truth is I haven't felt that I had anything worth blogging about because of the trials we were going through.  For nine months we tried to save our house.  Then in September, the bank foreclosed on our home.  We moved to Fairfield and the kids began a new school.  It has been really hard and we all miss our beautiful home.
      After we moved, Paisley began to limp and when we took her to the vet they diagnosed her with patellar luxation in her hind legs.  In her case, it was genetic and would probably continue to get worse throughout her life.  She was on doggy bed rest for two months.  Her limp improved quite a bit, but we came to the realization that she wouldn't be able to keep up with four active kids.  I contacted the San Francisco bay area rescue Westie foundation to see if we could find a new home for her.  Let me tell you this was such a hard decision to make! We also knew we would have to get another dog.  That is when Finnegan joined our family in November.  Then on December 4, 2010 we said goodbye to our sweet Paisley.  I don't think I will ever forget that day.  We have received a few updates on her and she is happy and fitting right in with her new family.  Even though it was tough, I know we made the right decision for her.
     But... during all the chaos, something wonderful happened!  My brother Matt met a girl!

Meet Finnegan

Here is our newest member of the family!  His name is Finnegan and he is a Bedlington Terrier.  He joined our family Nov. 19th and we just LOVE him!  He has the softest fur and the sweetest personality.  And yes, he has tassels on his ears!

He also came crate trained and is doing very well with his house breaking.  An interesting thing about Bedlingtons is that they get lighter as they get older.  By the time he is one, he will be almost white.  He is a lot of fun and definitely makes me laugh!