Wagon Wheels, Rain and Pumpkin guts

We went up north this past weekend to attend the Wertz Warriors fundraiser at the Wagon Wheel in Westbranch.   It is a cool place--great atmosphere, great service, and a for a great cause.  Wertz Warriors raises money for the MI Special Olympics.  Even tho there are only 2 events that physically impaired kids can attend at the SO, Boogie wormed his way into their hearts and is the unofficial 'mascot' for the Alger/Westbranch/Standish Wertz Warriors.
Anyway, we attended the Wagon Wheel of Westbranch fundraiser on Saturday.  These people raise money for Special Olypians, cuz it's the right thing to do.  Some of them have incredible ppl in their family; some don't.  Some just want to make a difference.  They do.  They really, really, do.

So, it rained all day both Saturday and Sunday.  Poured, is more like it.  No worries...we figured out a way to keep Drew as dry as possible, getting him in and out of the truck.  He is such a trooper and a great fan.  I hope the rain turns to snow this winter so we can go snow-mobiling!

Pumpkin guts brings me to tell the story of the first Pumpkin  Harley has seen.  We bought it not to carve (Drew is soooooooooooo over that) but I wanted to slow-roast the seeds on the top of the wood-burning stove.  It tooks 5 hours to get them right!  But they were killer.

So, we give Harley the Pumpkin.  He acts like it is CRACK ROCK.  He loved it so much, he grabbed the 18+ LB Pumpkin in his mouth and played keep-a way from dad.  He looked like a Pitbull, relentless and focused!

When he finally broke into the pumpkin, he devoured the stringy insides.   ick.  It was crazy, watching him dig his teeth into the Pumpkin and systematically tear it up, was so funny.  He was obsessed!

Fall is upon us...it is chilly, rainy, and smells like snow.  Jim and the boys are rocking football out!  Connor is QB for Mott JV.  Brendan plays for Eastside Eagles.  Jim coaches for the E.E.

Connor is undefeated so far this season, and is a bad Mo-Fo.  B and G's teams are great too.  We are so blessed to have our family.  All of our kids and Aunts/Uncles accept and love Drew, include him, and genuinely know him.  That is priceless to me and Chris.

Thanksgiving is almost here...It is my favorite holiday.  I love the chaos, noise, food, fellowship, chatter, mess, and intimacy that is Thanksgiving in my family.

If anyone out there has no where else to go, you are welcome here.  The more the merrier!  I want to celebrate every day for the gift that it is.

Love you, blog friends!