It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Last weekend my family came down to Portland to kick off the Christmas festivities. First we went to Haven's Candy to watch how they make candy canes.

The we got to design our own!

My cutest nephew

Next we headed to the "Polar Express" where we enjoyed cookies and hot chocolate.

Patriots Game

Jon's parents came to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. While they were here, Jon, his dad and his friend Casey went to a Patriots game for some quality guy time. They had a blast! While they were gone Jon's mom, his sister, his aunt and I went to the Kittery Outlets for some much needed girl time!

We enjoyed their company and so did Royce!

Summer Project

Our (Jon's) summer project is finally done. We have many people to thank in helping with the progress. My parents came the end of October to help finish things up. Here is the final product:

Uh Oh...

Everyone is okay... except the Mazda :(

Halloween Tradition

Time to make the Doughnuts!

Ever since I can remember my family has had a halloween tradition of making home made doughnuts and carving pumpkins. Brittany and I decided to get into the spirit. What a delicious way to celebrate!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Our baby's getting BIG!

Royce is getting so big! He has almost outgrown his "puppy" collar. Last week at the vets he weighed 25 pounds! He has been doing great in his bully breeds class and he is basically potty trained!!! He can now sit, lay down, come, and heel...only when he wants to.

Four-wheeling, Family and Fun

Last weekend Jon, Royce and I headed to Otis to visit my family. Saturday we went four-wheeling with my parents and finished right before the rain started. It was beautiful to see all of the fall colors during our adventure.

Sunday we hung out with family. My aunt and cousins were there also. It was so nice to see everyone!

Our Nephew!

Jon and I went my parent's camp a couple weeks ago and we got to see our new nephew -

C. Beckham Rand:

He is so sweet.

Things I took advantage of before...

this little guy:

-Leaving folded laundry out

-Cleaning of any sort without something in the way

-Having ME time

-Eating in peace

-And most of all SLEEP!

He is a great snuggler when he is sleeping though, and how can you be mad at a face like that?

So proud...

of myself for making it through (meaning not passing out) my first extraction today! I don't know why anyone would want to be an oral surgeon...it's way too messy.

ROYCE

For those of you who know Jon, you knew that we wouldn't be without a dog for long. It's been two months and he just could not take it anymore. I was set against it, but I made the mistake of going to look at some puppies and I could not say no. They were so cute.

~ Meet Royce. He is an American Bulldog. He is seven weeks old and he is coming to live with us next Sunday.

Here he is with his brothers and sisters. He is the one on the right looking out the fence sitting on top of another dog. He has a spot right above his tail. So adorable.

Camp

A couple of weeks ago, Jon and I headed to camp for a long weekend. We had a perfect Saturday to spend with the family. When I woke up in the morning I came down to this...Jon and Gwen enjoying some morning Sports Center. So cute!

All four of the nieces. Can't wait for our nephew soon!

Kayaking

Last year we went kayaking with Jon's boss, Greg and his wife Donna. We had so much fun, we decided to do it again this year. It was a beautiful night after work and the river was so peaceful. This is us at the dam...

Update

An update on the shed...it's getting there!

BUSY BUSY

For the past couple of weeks we have been pretty busy! First Jon's sister came to visit. We played mini-golf had ice cream, and then went out to eat and hung out with friends.

Next, Jon's parents came for the week. We celebrated his dad's birthday, they did some work on the shed, and we played lots of games, since it was sooo rainy.

Progress!

R.I.P RZA Bell March 2003-June 2009

Let me tell you a little bit about RZA:

1. He loved to play Frisbee, and just saying the word got him so excited.

2. He loved laying in the sun with his mommy.

3. He loved doing ANYTHING with his daddy.

4. He loved to swim.

5. He was a good listener (When you were giving him direction, and when you just needed to talk to someone)

6. He was always excited to see us.

7. He loved taking snowballs to the face.

8. And last but certainly not least....He was our BEST FRIEND!

We lost our poor little RZA to a nose tumor on Friday. He was loved and will be missed dearly. It just doesn't feel the same without him. We miss you :(

Our Anniversary

Jon and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary this past week. I cannot believe it has been 3 years already. Every year we celebrate by going out to eat at Dimillo's restaurant where we got married. This year we actually got to sit upstairs where we had our ceremony. For our anniversary, the Garlock's let us use their beach house, which brought back a lot of memories from when we lived there our first year of being married. It was a great way to celebrate!

Summertime

There are a couple of things that Jon and I want to get done this summer. One is building a shed. Last weekend we got things started. Okay well Jon got things started. Him and his friend Craig, measured, leveled, dug dirt, and hammered while I mulched my gardens.

My FAKE vacation

I just got back from a LONG week in Grand Cayman.  Before I left my nannying job the family asked me to go on vacation with them.  I agreed at the time because I hadn't found another job yet.  These are two of the 7 pictures I took the entire 7 days I was there.  Partly because I didn't have time and partly because I was hardly in the picture taking mood.  And for the record.....it wasn't a vacation, it was WORK.

This is Ty playing in the sand and Cole is in the water looking for fish.  This is what we did the entire time we were there.   

Our REAL vacation

Since I had off last week because the office was closed, Jon and I decided to take advantage and go on a mini vacation to Philadelphia.  One of Jon's friends lives there so we packed up RZA and away we went.

We hung out with Rocky

We went to a Phillies vs Nationals game

And Rza had a buddy, Papi, to tire him out.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to both of our mom's!

A Good Week

So a quick update:  This past week, I took my radiology test and passed!!!  Also at the beginning of this week I got a new job!!  It was looking pretty bad for awhile seeing that there are no jobs out there right now, but one opened up last week and I got it!!  I start on my birthday.  I am very excited but also very nervous.  It was also a great week because I had the weekend off from class.  It was nice to have a WHOLE weekend....it seemed so long.  Only one more class to go!

Barbies

Last weekend although Rza had surgery we also managed to make it to Brewer since I had a weekend off from class.  I got to spend some quality girl time with my sisters and my nieces and played Barbies.

I got to go down our laundry chute which I haven't done in about 10 years.  It's the newest craze at the Rand household.  All the little girls loved it and I have to admit it did bring back a lot of memories.

I also got some hands on experience and first hand knowledge about assisting from an expert dentist I know.  Thanks dad!  

But most importantly I got to see my mom.  I love you mom

CAUTION: Nasty picture below!!!

So last week Jon and I noticed this huge growth on RZA's lip.  We waited a week to see if it would go away or get bigger.  We called the vet and took him in on Thursday and on Friday he was in for surgery.  The Doc said it may be nothing and could go away, or it could be a dangerous cancerous tumor that could go straight to his brain and get very bad very quickly.  Of course we decided to remove it to spare our poor puppy.  He was NOT happy when I left him yet again at the vets for surgery, he knows that routine all too well.  It was an easy surgery compared to the past knee surgeries.  And he is doing great!  For anyone interested in seeing the disgusting tumor.....here it is..  

X-rays!!!

I have been so busy lately to do anything exciting and worth while posting.  I have been busy studying, working, and going to class. Although some of you may not think this is exciting and worthwhile, I was proud of my first x-rays I took for my radiology class this past weekend.   Now all I have to do is pass my test to get my license and I will be all set.  After working Monday through Thursday, then going to class Friday through Sunday, I am back to work tomorrow.  FUN FUN!! 

Not the best picture, but this is my first set of full mouth x-rays.

Happy Birthday Jon!!

Jon's birthday was on Friday.  I cannot believe he is 27 years old!!  We had a few friends over to celebrate.  One of Jon's friends came dressed as him.  Even shaved a goatee like him.  It was pretty funny.  We played games and had a lot of laughs. 

The next day Jon finally got his wish.  I told him for his birthday we could get a big screen TV.  He has wanted one for the past year or so.  So on Saturday we shopped around and came home with this one.  Now he is very happy.  Happy Birthday babe!