Catching Up!

Okay, I know it's been a LOOOOONG time since I blogged last -- sorry! Things have been a little nutty since August! I'll try to break things down by month...

On August 1st, we moved into the new house. The entire process was more than overwhelming! Trying to pack up & fix up one house; trying to think of how things would be arranged into another... all I wanted to do was run out of my front door & not come back for a while!

The movers certainly earned their money on August 1st. Not only did they take everything out of our old house, but also out of 2 storage facilities -- necessitating 2 moving trucks and 4 or 5 men... I can't remember! It was an all-day event, and all parties involved were EXHAUSTED!

The new house is wonderful, and we are thoroughly enjoying it! The basement has been named "The Man Cave" by the boys! They are loving it. Funny story about the basement actually... I had bought a new couch to go in our loft area, and our old couch & love seat were going to go in the basement. Much to the movers' dismay, NONE of our couches would fit down the doorway to the basement!!!! Ugh!! Due to the way our house was designed & where the doorway is located, our only option for seating in our basement is a sectional sofa. We did purchase a new leather sectional for the house, but we opted NOT to hand it over to the kids... it stayed in the TV room upstairs! So for now, our lonely recliner is in the basement along with the thought of a few beanbag chairs for the boys! Craziness.

The boys started school in August, and are really doing well. Ryan started 4th grade, and Brandon started 1st grade. They are getting so big, it's unreal. I am just a head taller than Ryan... how is that possible?!! They are both really enjoying their teachers & their overall school experience. But as always, lunch & recess are amongst their faves... ;o)

I am somewhat retired from the PTO. I had stepped down to let someone else take the reigns, but am doing a lot of consulting this year - which is fine. I took the first fundraiser of the year, and enjoyed myself. It was our annual Walk-a-Thon. It's a day of total goofiness for the kids, and well, I love it too! The kids go to 7 stations, and get lots of exercise, but don't realize it because they are having so much fun! I hold down the "Silly Station", where I proceed to do the "Chicken Dance" with all 540 students + staff + misc. parents & siblings. Don't be fooled, the Chicken Dance works muscles that you never knew you had... ;o) I was so sore the next day! Since the Walk-a-Thon is over, I can now take a bigger step back from PTO. As sick as this sounds, I do miss it -- I know, I'm weird!

Mike continues to really stay busy. He is now the Den Leader for Brandon's Tiger Den! They look so cute in their uniforms! ;o) He continues to fly and still enjoys it for the most part. The base is gearing up for an activation, but we've gotten word that Mike will remain back here (whew!), but will be pretty much holding down the fort while everyone else is gone. It's flattering for him that he was chosen -- however, we won't be seeing a lot of him. I'm not complaining though... it's much easier to hop in the car & drive an hour to see him instead of not being able to hop a plane to wherever in the world he is & not see him for months... we're just counting our blessings.

September means FOOTBALL! We attended our first Purdue football game this fall. The boys have really gotten into football lately -- we love to cheer on Purdue as well as the Colts! We were able to tailgate with the Hamilton's as well as a slew of Reynolds'!! The boys loved it, and Mike & I enjoyed getting to relive some college memories. Neither of us had been to a P.U. football game since college! Wow!

October brought Halloween and as usual, the Hoke house was decked out! Ryan dressed up as a vampire; Brandon dressed up as a clone trooper (from Star Wars); Mike dressed up as John Travolta (from Saturday Night Fever); and I dressed up like a disco queen! Mike & I saved our outfits for the night AFTER Halloween...in fears that we'd scare small children! ha ha ha ;o)

We also listed our old house in October. With it being on the market only 4 hours, we had a request for a showing! We've had quite a few lookers, but so far, the house hasn't been "the one" for anyone yet. We're still being optimistic. Here is a virtual tour: http://www.TourFactory.com/456717 If you know of ANYONE looking for a home in this area...please send them our way!

November is here, and wow, it's really taken me a long time to compose this! I started this in oh, let's say early October? Ugh. Currently, we are all under the weather. Mid-October, we all got a cough...courtesy of Brandon. Well, the cough is still hanging on - only it's not getting better, but worse! Mike seems to have mostly kicked it. The boys & I have all been to the Dr. I am on my 3rd antibiotic - and let's hope this one works...it's as high as it goes! Both boys came from the pediatrician this afternoon diagnosed with STREP THROAT!! Is there a word to describe us right now? A few come to mind... sneezy, coughy, grumpy & GERMY!!

I am supposed to have 13 people here for Thanksgiving next week... let's all hope that these germs go AWAY before then! I'm behind on getting things ready, but I'll just have to deal with the fact that all of my walls aren't painted, my walls aren't decorated, and my boxes aren't all unpacked... but we'll have family.

So, that's our lives in a nutshell lately. I promise I'll be better at keeping up with this from now on! Oh, and a frog update: we only have ONE left! He seems to be happy... now the kids are asking for turtles. WHY?!!!

Love to all,

Jenni