The crazy end of our crazy October

This week our busy October came to an end.  We've spent the last five weeks busy with work travel and lots of Fall and Halloween fun, but we officially finished the Fall work travel on Friday.  Now that we've entered November, life should slow down for a bit and give us some time to relax...although I do have two furry friends who will make sure we still get out for some fun.

On Monday after work, I decided we would take in one last evening of Halloween fun.  I had heard about the 1000 carved pumpkin display in Shepherd several times over the last few years, and I've wanted to make the drive North to check it out for a while.  Monday seemed like the perfect time to do just that.

We had a beautiful sunny drive North and found the home with the display pretty quickly.  I parked across the street, got the girls out of the car, and walked over to check it out.  There were lots of pumpkins and some other Halloween decor on the property, and we took our time looking around at the display.  We then took a very cold walk around town to burn of some of the girl's energy.  

We got back to the car at dusk after a nice walk, so we did one more walk around the pumpkin display to check it out while it was all lit, and then I made a quick stop at a local sandwich shop to grab something for dinner before we made the drive back home.  This was a fun little stop and a nice way to start our week.

 

Tuesday was another chilly day and a busy day of work, but I was excited for the Halloween festivities.  I spent my lunch carving my pumpkin and sharing some of the pumpkin guts with the girls.  While I was late getting the pumpkin carved, I had to keep up the tradition, and the girls enjoyed the special treat.

After I finished my work day, I took the girls out for a quick walk. With the cold weather they hadn't spent much time outside during the day and they were definitely ready for a some exercise.  While it was cold, we had a nice walk and enjoyed some of the Fall color that is still holding on around the neighborhood.

As we neared the end of our walk, it started to snow, but that didn't stop me from making the girls pose for a few Halloween pictures.

The evening started off snowy and slow, and I didn't get any trick-or-treaters until 6:30 when we got a rush of 16 kids.  Mina and Peaches were excited, but very well behaved with each group that came.  Eventually they both just settled in to nap the rest of the night away.  

While it wasn't a busy night, I still think we had another successful Halloween.  We ended the evening with 22 ghouls and goblins total visiting us.  

Wednesday morning was spent finishing up all of my preparations for my work travel and, after a busy morning, I packed up the car to head to Grand Rapids mid-afternoon.

Due to construction on the expressway and traffic issues, I decided to take the scenic route for my drive and stayed on the back roads.  It was another cold day, but it was a beautiful day and I really enjoyed the scenery and change of pace.

Along the way, we stopped in Lowell and spent a very late lunch getting in a nice walk on the North country Trail.  

This hike in Lowell is one of my favorites, and I'm pretty sure this was the first time Mina had been here, so I had to get a picture.  

I loved the oaks on the hill in the distance showing off the final Fall colors of the year.  The scenery along the river was beautiful too.

Near the end of our walk, the sun came out and I thought it made this oak tree look extra pretty.  We ended the day with just over 5 miles on the trail.  It was a great day of hiking.  

We finished our hike and then finished our drive to Grand Rapids where I picked up dinner and then we settled into our hotel for the night.  

I was up early on Thursday morning for my work meeting.  Since I knew it was going to be a long day, I took the girls out for an early morning walk and then headed out to work while the girls spent the day in my room.  

After a long busy day, I was ready to get outside and I knew the girls would be ready too.  I had about an hour and a half between the end of the meeting and our team dinner that night, so we made a quick drive to Seidman park to get in a fast-paced 2 mile walk on the NCT, and then made the quick drive back to the hotel so I could feed the girls dinner before I had to head out to for my dinner.

I had a nice dinner with my team followed by a quiet night in my hotel room snuggled up with the girls.  It was a good way to end the day.

Friday morning started with a team meeting for some 2024 planning, and afterwards I rewarded the girls with a trip to visit Ruby and Sherman on our way home.  It was so nice to see Tom, Barb, Sherman and Ruby.  I sure do love that little girl!  It's hard for me to believe that it was just two years ago she came into my home as a foster.  Boy has she gained confidence since then.  After a nice visit, we headed home to enjoy a peaceful Friday night and rest up for a busy Saturday.

The girls have been such troopers over the last month putting up with my work schedule and travel.  I'm really proud of how well they have done through all of our hotel stays.  I'm also thankful that I have an amazing boss who doesn't have any issues with me bringing them with me.  

With the end of my busy Fall travel schedule, I felt like it was a good time for us to bring in a new foster.  So I made plans to bring home Dyson after Dog Walking Club on Saturday morning.  Dyson is just a puppy at 10 months old and a really sweet boy who wasn't handling shelter life well, so he was looking for a safe place to land until he could be adopted.  He met the girls in the shelter play yard and they had a blast.  I knew he was going to be a great fit for us.

We brought Dyson home and had been home less than 30 minutes when I got a call from the shelter that there was a family at the shelter interested in meeting him, so I put him back in the car and headed back to the shelter for the meeting.  I am so happy that the meeting went well and he was adopted.  This will definitely go down in history as my shortest foster ever.

After leaving the shelter, I had to head to the other side of town to meet with Britt the Brittany Spaniel who was being moved from Illinois to her foster home in Michigan.  I was happy to be able to help this sweet girl and she was happy that I let her nap in the front seat for our trip from Lansing to Flint.  After a quick 50 minute drive, I handed her off to her foster dad and off she went.  What a sweet old girl.

After dropping off Britt, I headed off for my final stop of the day, dinner in Brighton with my family.  Sidnee is home for a few weeks and I thought it would be great to get us all together before she leaves for Arizona for the winter.  I can't believe I didn't get one family picture the entire night, but we had a great dinner with the entire family.  It seems like it's been forever since we were all together.  

After a busy week and a crazy Saturday, I really wanted to stay home and enjoy a peaceful Sunday, but the weather was supposed to be beautiful and I have North Country Trail miles to hike, so I decided we have an adventure instead.

I left home mid-morning and we did some geocaching as we drove South toward Homer.  Once we reached Homer, I set a goal of 5 miles for our hike.  

It was a beautiful day in Homer and we really enjoyed our walk.  We experienced wet lands, farm lands, woods, and a small town.  

The sun was shining and the temperatures were near 60 degrees so it made for a very pleasant hike.

By the end of our hike, we had gone 5 1/2 miles and it had been a great day on the trail.  I was so happy that I had made the decision to get out for a hike.

As we drove down M-99 toward home, I decided to stop for another quick hike in Albion.  

The sun was shining and this part of the trail is a favorite of mine, so I couldn't resist making the stop.

I really enjoyed the beautiful oak trees today every where we hiked.

And I think the girls were very happy that we had made the stop in Albion too.  Look at Peaches smiling!

As we headed back toward the car, the sun was getting lower in the sky. While I hadn't planned on going very far when we stopped,  we ended up finishing another 2 1/4 miles on the trail for a total of 7.8 miles in total for the day.

What a beautiful day it had been and it was a beautiful end to our crazy week.