a massive october post

october 2008 has been a busy one for our eargle family. due to the aforesaid, i've not taken the time to sit down and type a blog post for a bit. our month was one filled with family and friends, which was delightful, but lots of travel, not as delightful. here goes our month in a brief synopsis.

wilhelm and i started the month by traveling to bowling green with gran (my mom) and cousins lily grace & hannah kate. my cousin tiffanie & her family were in from Colorado visiting my uncle cyle, aunt peggy, and cousin melissa & her family. they only make it to KY three or so times a year so we attempt to cross paths sometime during those visits. here are a couple of shots from the day:this is all of the younger cousins (with the exception of carlie mae). they look slightly silly and haphazard in this shot, but that mirrors the day.
here is my mom and her brother taking in the days events. enjoying that they are grandparents and not the parents.

our next stop was Columbus, OH, with alan's brothers ben & sam for an Ohio State game weekend. we stayed with alan's stepfather mark's parents, and while there had the opportunity to also visit with the family on that side: aunt melinda & uncle tom, aunt jodie, uncle terry & haley. aside from the glory that is the ohio state university and its football team, btw they thankfully won that game, we celebrated the birthdays of grandpa mccalla & haley. here is grandpa blowing out his candles.confluence, pa, is where the wind blew us on our third trip. it is difficult to describe in words all the purposes of that weekend were. our main intention was celebrating the life of mark, alan's stepfather who was murdered on june 19 of this year.
nearly thirty of mark's friends and family gathered at a bed and breakfast that was located on the river where he learned to kayak. the b & b is one owned by some close friends and they made gracious hosts for the weekend. the weather was absolutely gorgeous and the time everyone had together was priceless, sharing stories and remembering an amazing man. the part of PA that we were in showed the beauty of fall, with the glorious tree colors.
here is a pic of a teachable moment that alan had with wilhelm on how to put on mittens. the weather was so that sweaters, mittens, and hats were required.
wilhelm really did listen, even though the image doesn't back that up.

that weekend yielded a variety of good shots, but this picture truly spoke words. after a small statement by pam, alan's mom, she placed a glass, water drop head marker with mark's name, date of birth & death, and a quote, we all then watched mark become a part of nature as his ashes were placed in the Youghiogheny River. before we left on sunday we went to the marker to say our farewells until we visit again, even wilhelm had a moment with his grandpa mark.
once returning home we hosted a b.y.o.p (bring your own pumpkin) party for wilhelm's friends and their parents. the first picture you see in this post is the master piece my boys created. here is alan & wilhelm in the act of carving.off to baltimore, at the end of the party week, for cousin nicole's wedding. nicole is uncle steve (alan's mom's brother) and aunt jenny's oldest daughter. the wedding was lovely and we truly enjoyed sharing this exciting day and some time with that side of the family. due to our location and our strategic planning we were also able to see alan's grandparents on his dad's side. we stayed with them from friday til sunday. a fabulous weekend but unfortunately no pictures to share.

our month of october was wrapped up, of course, with Halloween. with sound effects and all, our little guy was the perfect little blue monster. he has discovered the world of suckers and can't seem to get enough of his "treats." we dressed up on three occasions beginning wednesday. here is a picture from each event:cousin hannah kate & wilhelm went to hannah's story hour party in shelbyville, ky.
friends kiran & claire and their moms walked with wilhelm and i to a local sorority house for their kids trick or treat night. it came on invitation from kiran's babysitter.
alan and i decided to take wilhelm to the mall for trick or treat night since we really didn't have any homes that we knew and felt safe taking him to. as you can see he quickly started indulging on a sucker, but for good reason.

we ended our month on a bad note. halloween night wilhelm started running a fever and vomiting. for three days he battled his way back to better health and i'm happy to report tonight that he has recovered from a horrible stomach bug.
whew, i know it was a ridiculously long post but i appreciate you sticking with us. hope your october brought bright moments too! until next time, bests to all of you.