Wilstem Weekend

Aunt Molly and Uncle Dave arranged for a big Haley family weekend near French Lick this weekend. They rented the big guest ranch and another separate cabin for all of us to come down and hang out from Friday to Sunday. It was so much fun. To be more specific - it was so much fun EXCEPT when we tried to sleep. The girls just don't sleep well when we're away from home. It wouldn't have been bad except the bed was very small and the mattress was hard! Other than that, though, we had a great time. There were a ton of us that were able to make it, which made it really nice. We got to catch up with everyone and Lily got to play with all of her second cousins. A lot of people spent Friday night at the casino, but we bowed out of that. Anyone who stayed behind just sat around chatting. Some people stayed up way too late and had a little too much fun so they slept really really late on Saturday. Not us - we were up bright and early b/c of our little alarm clocks! Saturday we went to the French Lick winery for a tasting and lunch, then hung out with everyone during the day, had dinner, then sat around the camp fire for a long time. Kathleen gave me a shoulder massage which was FABULOUS, and I'm now going to be her best customer. She said she does a lot of work where she goes to people's houses, so you don't even have to go to the Villagio for a massage! Dad declared Morgan to have made the quote of the weekend. When dad asked Morgan what he'd been up to lately, Morgan's response was "Uncle Joe, I work in the fish department of my parents pet store, what else is there to say" :) I think dad told that story at least 10 times!

Welcome Gabriel!

We have a new nephew/cousin! Taryn and Matt's new baby son, Gabriel, was born on October 23rd, 2007. He looks beautiful from the camera phone pics we've seen :) They get home tomorrow and we hope to see more pictures then. We're so happy he's here and that both he and his momma are healthy. Congratulations Matt and Taryn! We can't wait to meet him in a few weeks. Tell him that crazy aunt Carey is coming with lots of kisses!

Happy Birthday Lilian!

It's hard to believe that Lily turned 2 today! The last two years have absolutely flown by. I was kind of emotional about her second birthday - she's just getting big way too fast! sniff sniff. It's certainly a bonus that Lily is an October baby b/c of my enormous love for fall activities. Every birthday I can use that as an excuse to go to a fall festival or orchard. So this morning we went to Tuttles Orchard for birthday activity #1. It was a lot of fun - they had a whole area for kids to play - mazes, horses, sand boxes, corn stalk tunnels, you name it. We walked the apple orchard and picked apples, then went out in the pumpkin patch and picked our pumpkin. We came home with pumpkins, apples, and apple cider. The weather was fabulous today - mid sixties and sunny. Much more "fall appropriate" than Monday was. After nap time, the birthday party began. We just had a little family only party that really didn't seem all that little - with both sets of grandparents, great grandma, three aunts and baby cousin Michael, we had quite a crowd! Jessica came too b/c she's family as well. The true extremes of Lily's personality really came out today - she's part farm girl/part princess :) Abbie gave her dress up clothes which consisted of high heels, jewels, a tiara, sun glasses, and a wand. Lily put them on and paraded around for the rest of her party like that. It was pretty funny! We were really happy that everyone was able to make it (especially Melissa and Michael b/c we miss them!). Two year old birthday parties are interesting. They get overwhelmed so easily, but are also so excited by everything. Lily seemed like her little head was going to expload when she opened each gift! Needless to say, we were exhausted when it was over. And we get to do it all over again in 18 months :)

Fall Festival #1

Monday was Columbus Day, so I had the day off work. The girls and I went into the office for a couple of hours in the morning and then we headed to Waterman's farm. It was 90 degrees and very sunny outside, so the weather seemed inappropriate for fall festivals. We had a good time, though. Because it was a Monday it was very uncrowded. Lily road the tractors and went a few laps on a pony. We held off on purchasing a pumpkin b/c we planned to pick the pumpkin on Lily's birthday. Addy was a good sport that day, as hot as it was!

Ella Marie

Ella Marie Spurlock arrived on 10/5 and weighed in at 7 lbs 9ounces. Mommy and baby are doing well. We can't wait to see pics...though Maria says Ella looks a lot like her big brother Liam!

Congrats Ana and John

Ana and John got married over the weekend. Their wedding was absolutely beautiful and everyone had a blast. The ceremony and reception were at the Montage in Indianapolis. They got married outside by the lake and the weather was perfect - 80 degrees and sunny. My pictures from the wedding are all dark, but I'm hoping Ari got some better ones. On Friday the rehearsal dinner was at our favorite Italian restaurant - Matteos in Noblesville - yum! Lily was the flower girl (correction - Lily was supposed to be the flower girl). On Friday night at the rehearsal she did fine - she walked all the way to the front and then sat on my lap for a while. While Ana and John were rehearsing their vows, however, Lily decided to run up by them, pull her dress up over her head, and yell "I poopied"! So we were just hoping she wouldn't do that again. Saturday was the wedding, and the first time Lily had seen Barclay (ie: her best friend) in days. So she was kind of clingy to him. So clingy, in fact, that he had to walk up with the groomsman with Lily attached to him. Lily didn't even walk down the isle. I had to retrieve her half way through the ceremony b/c she was crying and getting squirmy. She kept crying "daddy daddy" during the wedding so I took her inside where she cried "I flower gul" with tears streaming down her face. I convinced her that she was the best flower girl ever and sent her promptly home with mom and Addy. Sorry about that Ana!

Happy B-day Barclay

Barclay turned 32 on Tuesday. We celebrated the Sunday before b/c he was in Vegas most of the week at a convention. Barclay and I went out for dinner at Bonefish Grill while his parents watched the girls. Afterwards we came back home for some Superman cake and presents. I think spending the week in Vegas without kids was the best present, though!