Quarter til Christmas

My birthday happens to be on the same day as the Autumnal Equinox (the first official day of Fall). Fall also happens to be my favorite season because I love all the colors, smells, clothes and food that are associated with it. Another reason to love fall, right after the Halloween decorations go down, the Christmas decorations go up. I love Christmas. Fortunate that we live only an hour and a half from the Christmas mecca, a/k/a Frankenmuth. Dave and I decided to go there to celebrate my birthday and to introduce Isla to the best fried chicken around. The following day, we went to Dave's parents to celebrate by eating burgers and cupcakes! It was a great weekend of eating and shopping.

Fried chicken is well worth the wait

Hoping that Isla will stay on the "nice" list for Santa

No, I didn't eat them all (but I wanted to)

My sweet cousin Katie is pregnant and due in January. The family got together to celebrate and throw a baby shower for her. We also tried to get all of the kids in a picture...only partially successful.

Katie is in the middle

Carrie (left) is due in October and Dana (right) is due in November

Isla got her second shot this past Monday. She weighed in at 13.6 pounds and screamed through the whole appointment (can't say I blame her after waiting naked in a cold room to see the doctor for 45 minutes). Isla has pretty much outgrown her bassinet forcing me to move her to her crib to spend the night all by herself. Sad for me, but she seems to be coping quite well.

Just 86 more days until Christmas...but who's counting!

Suit Up

A war wound on my elbow from kickball

#1 fan

Its game time sports fans! The fall is officially here (although the weather has been here since the spring) and that means one thing...Football...and lots of it. Dave hosted his Fantasy Football Draft here at THE Dorm on Wednesday night. Dave did all of the cooking. Those who were in attendance got to enjoy Jack's pizza for appetizer, followed by Jet's Pizza for dinner and finished off with Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies for dessert. It went over far better than any dinner party I've ever hosted.

Friday was kickball. That's right, kickball. An adult sport that even those with no athletic ability whatsoever can play. We've been playing with the Shaggers for 3 years now and I have yet to play one game without making a complete fool of myself. We started off our season opener by winning both of our games. Isla was a champ during the double header and had her Mini Shagger onesie on to support the team. If you look closely at the picture above you can see where I scraped up my arm by sliding into first base. Come to find out from my personal kickball coach (Dave), I made 3 errors: 1) You never slide into first base. 2) If you do slide, you should go feet first. 3) You probably never need to slide for kickball. To add insult to injury (literally), I was called out. So much for my sweet moves.

Saturday was a big day. Michigan State vs. Central Michigan. We went to E. Lansing and met up with a few of our Shagger teammates. The Spartans suffered an embarrassing loss. Turns out the Chips have a lot more tricks in their bag than we anticipated.

Today we went to church, came home, and, you guessed it, watched football for the rest of the day. I'd like to write more, but I have a Bears game to watch and popcorn to eat.

Oh How the Years Go By

Loves sleeping while cruising

Have Bumbo, Will Travel

Last week, Dave and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary. We have been together for 9 years total, and I still feel so lucky to have such a hot and loving dude for a husband. Looking back we have been through so much together. We have lost loved ones, gained friends, produced a child and been to more Buffett concerts than I can count!

We finally got to experience a little bit of summer weather last weekend. A big thanks to my dad for cruising over to Canada in order to get us into water that was at least 70 degrees :)

An intense game of water baseball

3 Years and going strong

Catching Up

Since my last post, my heart has been on the mend. To all of you who called, texted, sent cards, e-mails or cupcakes, thank you. It gets a little easier everyday, but I don't think I'll ever stop missing my sweet Henna.

Instead of staying home and wallowing in self-pity, we decided to hit the road. Over the past three weeks we've been at two cottages up north (DeKorne's and Fezzey's), Megan's apartment in Chicago, and a Buffett Concert in Wisconsin. Thank goodness for good times with good friends.

Also in the news, Isla had her first shot and her first bite on Monday. We're hoping that she'll hit 13 pounds any time now :)

Such a champ, she didn't even cry!
Mmmmm, Rice Cereal
The DeClOomaWicz Family

(do we all have sweet hair or what?)

Despite some unfavorable weather, we were able to manage a weenie roast, a "tot run," some homeade doghnuts and wings, an afternoon of jet skiing, a Buffett Concert in the rain and some late nite pizza in Chicago. I guess that means we are comforted by food and boat drinks. Fins Up!

All Dogs Go To Heaven

And our sweet girl went there yesterday. We adopted Henna when she was only four years old. She was an abused dog that had been beaten and overbred by her previous owner. She celebrated her 12th birthday this year. She was a great companion and the sweetest dog I have ever known. Sending her to be with Jesus was one of the hardest things we've ever done, but we are comforted by the fact that she is at peace and won't have to struggle any longer. If you have a dog that is in Heaven too, please tell them to take care of our girl. She's wearing her diamond collar with her name on it so she will be easy to find. Rest peacefully sweet girl. Thank you for all the joy you brought us.

What a great big sister

Its Good to be Grand

I am admittedly obsessed with bath time pictures. She just looks so cute in bubbles...wish I could say the same.

Poppy and Bebe watched Isla a few weeks ago and she rolled over for the first time from her tummy to her back. Of course I had my back turned to her when it actually happened, but she had a few repeat performances for me and Dave.

Dave's parents just got their paver patio finished, and, as promised, I made dinner and Sangria to celebrate. Isla got to hang out with all 3 sets of her grandparents while we celebrated by eating Mexican fare on the new patio. She was the only grandchild there which made it particularly unusual and all the more special. The Sangria was good, but the company was grand.

A Celebrity Somewhere

Our little family

Not pictured here are the invisible dolphins

Cute Goad Family

Just one of many fish caught that day

Cute little sprout Brooke

Megan's smile + Diet Coke = Happiness

Heidi's amazing French Toast...makes me hungry to think about it.

The Cain Family

Jay and Kim

My sister Dana once said that "everyone is a celebrity somewhere." For her, it was mostly the beauty salon. For the Borowicz Family, its the West side of Michigan. I'm not saying that we are celebrities, but we are certainly in high demand as far as visiting with friends and family. We feel so blessed that people like us enough to want to see us.

We arrived on Friday evening at the Cain's house. We met up with Jay (one of Dave's good friends from the 'Ville) and his new fiance, Kim. We ate pizza and hung out with the Cain family and the happy new couple to catch up on old times. I used to babysit for Maddie and Patrick and now Maddie is such a big girl she could probably babysit for Isla.

After leaving the Cains, we picked up Megan from the train station. We were so late that the station attendant asked her if she needed a ride (sorry Megan). We returned to the DeKorne's and had some extremely tasty guacamole thanks to Mark's excellent culinary skills and fine chopping. Heidi made some french toast for breakfast the next morning which the ladies enjoyed while the boys golfed. Dana, Matt and Brooke came over to enjoy some fishing and partake in some Honey Baked Ham.

We met the Riebel boys for lunch on Sunday. Austin had the three boys while Amy was out of town, such a good daddy. I have to say it was pretty remarkable that we went to a restaurant with 6 children and we didn't really scare anyone away. After lunch, we headed to the Goads so they could meet Isla. Their two babies, Jack and Ellie, are super cute, but I guess they're not really babies anymore. Time flies!

After enjoying a relaxing kayak trip on the river, we ate some Jack's pizza, watched Confessions of a Shopaholic, posted a Craigslist ad for a magical Seadoo with invisible dolphins, watched some YouTube and hit the sack. Dave took Megan to her train at 5:30 a.m. on Monday morning (kudos to both of them for dragging themselves out of bed.) The Borowicz crew headed back to the East side later that morning to get back to reality. Our celebrity status was good while it lasted. Many thanks to all our adoring fans.