Libby's Influence

Libby and I met when we were 14 months old in the strollers together, and we've been life-long friends. She's been especially helpful to our family as my dad went through his cancer diagnosis. She and her friend Pete came down to visit and brought to life an expression my sister says about Keegan "Live like a Mulloy!" So we opted to change our blog title to this fun theme (um, Soon to be Four and Five of us was a little dated for our current status). While here with Libby and Pete we climbed Stanley Canon in a hail storm- pictures to follow when she passes them along!



Libby and Connor


Pete and Keegan

Pig and Pumpkins

This weekend we hit the pumpkin patch. Here is Maggie carving her pumpkin into a 'happy' pumpkinWe met up with Maggie's friend Brynn and climbed the haystacks, took a train ride, and went to the petting zoo. Of course, we also picked out a pumpkin
The interesting thing about this pumpkin patch, is that it's really not a pumpkin patch! The pumpkins were getting off loaded from a big truck where they'd been bought at the grocery store! Good profits for these people! Next post: the jack-o-lanterns!
above is the 900 lb 'off leash' pig that (rumor has it) has very sharp teeth.

So I gave Julie a Ring....

We have a pretty funny story about our engagement, which was 7 years ago this Columbus Day weekend (it's an easy way for me to remember it!) Brian had moved out to North Carolina and I was thinking maybe he'd pop the question. Then I left on a 6 month deployment to Iraq... no ring. What I didn't know is that the day he dropped me off for my outbound flight to the nasty desert he returned home to the FED EX guy finally delivering the ring he'd bought! So, upon my return from the war, Brian popped the question! Nothing fancy, but that's kind of how we work. My sister and his brother were both in town for the 3 day weekend. Brian went to tell his brother and said "So I gave Julie a ring this morning..." to which Mike responded "What kind of a ring?"

7 years later I'm so glad it was an engagement ring and not a mood ring!

Here we are around that time, when Bri had his buzz cut pre-deployment:


And a favorite picture of mine from my first apartment after graduation. We used to watch these 2 kids every once in a while, Cody and Megan. Now Cody is one of my best babysitters and Megan is playing division one soccer at the Academy! Sara is in the background- one of my truest and most dependable, and IN SHAPE friends

Should have known what I was getting into back then. Snowball to the face right as I was ready to smile for the camera.

Anyone know how to flip pictures? Oh, the old days where we both had great hair with no effort!

Love you Bri! Love the past 7 years!

In the Forest

We headed up to a national park last Sunday. Packed a picnic and threw rocks into the lakes, and hiked around. Our lakeside picnic:



Upon arrival, Keegan did a giant poo poo in his pants which just made them not even wearable in camping conditions. He therefore took to this stylish look of diaper and camo hoodie for the day:



Dad and kids!



Little babies can hike anywhere in car seats!!

Heaven got a new smile...

My Dad left us on Sept 15th, 2010.


This is one of the last pictures off Dad with Mom, Mike, Lisa and Addie in our family room at home.
My friend gave me this great description of death and what comes next:

In the bottom of an old pond lived some grubs who could not understand why none of their groups ever came back after crawling up the stems of the lilies to the top of the water. They promised each other that the next one who was called to make the upward climb would return and tell what happened to him. Soon one of them felt an urgent impluse to seek the surface; he rested himself on the top of a lily pad and went through a glorious transformation which made him a dragonfly with beautiful wings. In vain he tried to keep his promise. Flying back and forth over the pond, he peered down at his friends below. Then he realized that even if they could see him they would not recognize such a radiant creature as one of their number.

The fact that we cannot see our loved ones or communicate with them after the transformation, which we call death, is no proof they cease to exist.

Since she has sent me this I've seen more dragonflies than ever before!

We all went to Minnesota to celebrate my dad's life. The great part was that it did give us a chance to get all our kids together- something that had never happened before. Below are Bri and sister in law Claudia with a bunch of cousins:


Good friends helping us celebrate Ed with pizza and beer
Cutest cousins picture at the cemetary. Dad must have smiled from above for this one:
Our family:
Uncle Tom with Connor. Making him look even more orange with the orange shirt.