Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf

Happy Halloween!

We carved pumpkins last Saturday.
Too bad they molded in two days!

We have had a fun filled day today! I recently joined the Hampstead Women's Club and this morning they organized a Halloween event for the kids. We paraded down High Street for some trick or treating.

Avery was a bit overwhelmed by all the activity, she wouldn't walk and she cried almost the entire route. There was a cute Halloween background and photographer to take pictures of the kids but I'm pretty sure we just got tears in ours. The event was based out of our local cinema. After the parade there were lunch boxes for the kids, food trays for the adults and we watched Monsters Inc. Avery lasted through about half of the movie and then we headed home.



This evening we went trick or treating through our neighborhood. The majority of houses do not accept trick or treaters but those with a lit jack o'lantern do. The first house we went to I was told he was not old enough and was not given a treat. What a way to start out! We only went to a hand full of houses but Avery quickly caught on to picking out her treat and putting it in her bag. One house handed out a sweet and a two pound coin and he told the kids to tell their mom to take them to a shop.



Avery had her first piece of candy too.

Fun for Friday

Pepper Meets London

On Sunday Avery took Pepper on a sightseeing tour of London.

National Gallery at Trafalgar Square

I can't look at the camera, it too bright out!

Walking down the Mall to Buckingham Palace

Waiting for the changing of the guard.

Front row, drums and Pepper don't mix.

St. James Park

This was our first visit since they re-filled the pond, we saw many more animals.

Check out the Pelicans, they even let a guy pet his head.

Josh attempted to rub his head but he moved toward us and squawked and made us really nervous!

Taking a break near the Eye

Welcome to London Pepper!

Georgia Tech Homecoming 09

There was no Wreck Parade or tailgating for us this year but that doesn't mean that Avery didn't dress for the occasion. And what a game! Go Jackets!

Updating the last update...

Pepper has not been eating and has been getting sick the last few days. We went into the vet for an appointment yesterday. The vet said the medicine she was on probably upset her stomach, so poor Pepper got an anti-nausea shot and a weeks worth of pills. The swelling in her leg muscle has gone down greatly and she has been given the go ahead to ease back into exercise. Definitely no running yet but walks are on the list of things to do this weekend. Last night Pepper ate a full meal, cleaned the bowl, cleaned the floor around the bowl and inspected the rest of the kitchen floor for anything else she might score and didn't get sick! Yeah! Dog life will start returning to normal.

Avery had fun and interacted a whole lot more this week at Gymboree. She still loved climbing those stairs to the barrel but she also took part in a few other activities. She even liked the singing/dancing part of class and the bubbles. She also played next to a little boy in the Creche at the Leisure Center. The ladies said once the little boys mom picked him up and he was gone she was upset and wouldn't play anymore. Looks like she is starting to get used to an enjoy the new activities.

Happy Friday :)

...I promise the next post will have pics of Miss A and probably Pepper too!

Mid October Updates

Pepper
Last Thursday we got the results from the radiologist that Pepper's xrays were sent off to. The spots in the xrays are calcium deposits from an old injury and she most likely aggravated the old injury while running. She has been sentenced to ten days of couch rest and anti-inflammatory meds. Poor thing. She hasn't limped in a few days and against vets orders we took her for a walk yesterday and she did great. We wondered if she would feel it today but she is walking just fine. Our newest worry is that she isn't eating much. She hasn't eaten a full meal since she has arrived. I think we are supposed to go back into the vet sometime later this week or next for another checkup.

Pepper took her first ride on the tube yesterday. She did great on two sets of escalators and got on and off the tube really well.

Pepper on the Tube

Gymboree
Avery started Gymboree this fall. She hated her first class! She cried several times and kept going to the bathroom door thinking it was the way out. She did better her second class and only got a little upset one time. One of the activities that the teacher showed the kids was to climb a small set of stairs to the top of a barrel and drop a ball into the barrel. It took a little while for Avery to grasp the concept but once she got it she wouldn't stop. She was determined to put every ball in the entire room into that barrel. Most kids had moved on to two other activities but not Avery she was still taking care of all the balls.

Leisure Center
Last week I joined the leisure center so that I can start working out in a gym again. The leisure center has a gym, pool, Creche (daycare), kids waterworld, climbing wall and a huge kids play area. I've been looking forward to going since I can take Avery to the creche while I workout. I have been three times and all three times when I leave Avery cries and when I pick her up she is sitting in her buggy with a pacifier watching other kids play. I'm hoping that she gets used to it and starts playing and it doesn't become something that she hates. Only time will tell...

Gate
We have found that our garden gate is a bit tricky. It swells and sticks shut and it shrinks and opens freely without unlocking it. I called the owner of the cottage last week about it because it wasn't even latching. She confirmed that it changes with the weather and that she would like to have a decorator (painter) come put a coat of paint on it. The owner and the painter came by last week to check it out and then they discussed painting the windows. She asked if that would be ok and I agreed. Why did I agree, why am I so nice sometimes? Today was the painters first day. He informed me that it will take 10days to paint and he will need access to the inside of the house the entire time as well. He also asked for coffee, guess I will be heading to Tesco later so that I will have some for the next 10 days. Who knew I was expected to have coffee? Now Avery and I are sitting in paint fumes and I am again wondering, why did I agree to this? I don't really care what the windows look like. All I wanted was a garden gate door that latched and locked.

Great Grandma Bussema

Avery's Great Grandma Bussema, my Grandma passed away Sunday. It was fairly sudden as she was in pretty good health for a 93 year old. She was the last remaining sibling of her 4 brothers and 3 sisters. She was a wife to my Grandpa who passed away just over six months ago, a mother to two sons and a daughter, she had four grandchildren and five great grandchildren (anymore on the way?, anybody?).

I will remember Thanksgiving and Christmas meals at their house when we were little. Grandma could tell you that my favorites of hers were homemade mashed potatoes and applesauce. She was an excellent baker as well. Thankfully my Dad and Cousin Kim took some lessons. Dad has needed a few years practice with cream puffs, he's had some interesting results :)

I was hoping to include some recent pics of Great Grandma with Avery but they must have been taken on someone elses camera.

This is Great Grandma with Clara, Avery's cousin, from a few months ago.



You will be missed Great Grandma.

Pepper's Update

I dropped Pepper off at the vet at 9am, she was expected to be done around 4pm but was delayed until 6pm. Apparently a cat came in with a broken leg so Pepper was pushed back. The vet did tell me that she was the sweetest dog and they never put her in a cage, they let her hang out in the downstairs office work area. That made me feel a little better about leaving her for the entire day. Anway, good news! Or, at least mostly good news. Pepper's ligament is just fine, so no surgery, but her muscle is swollen and she has a few 'spots' on her x-ray that the vet can not identify. The x-ray is being sent off to a radiologist to review. We should hear back early next week. Pepper is doomed for couch rest and anti inflammatory meds for the next 5 days. She is going to be bored out of her mind! Hopefully she will be cleared to start some exercise next week but the vet stressed that it will need to be VERY slow to prevent further injury. Between Pepper's pre-flight vet records, her flight and this vet visit, I think she might be the most expensive rescue dog ever! It's a good thing we love her :)