Fall Fun

About a week before the JI Marathon of Service the girls thought they'd start practicing by raking our leaves.  They had a huge pile which of course was fun to run and jump into!

JI Marathon of Service

Noelle, Natalie (future JIers), Luke & Emily 4th grade, Rachel & Drew 1st grade, Caitlin 6th

notice Natalie with no shoe on.  It was 45 degrees out.  What's Up?

Instead of walking 3 miles for the JI Marathon fundraiser, the school along with the Knights of Columbus sponsored a JI Marathon of Service.  All the families of JI were assigned someone who needed help with yard work/washing windows/picking up trash etc as a way for them to raise money for the school.  We had  a nice cool fall day and it was nice to do service work for others.  The kids did very well considering their attention span and the fact that they had to work.  Even Natalie and her friend Noelle got in the action.

Rachel is Seven!

For some reason, it's hard for me to believe this girl is seven years old already!  It doesn't seem like it's been that long ago she and I would head to the coffee shop to see our friends, Jen, Kael & Elli.  She was my coffee shop bud.  Now, she's my reading, dramatic, smiley, giggly, beautiful, creative big 1st grade girl!  Time sure does slip away... Rachel had a spectacular birthday-three celebrations in all!  It's not every day a person gets to celebrate that many times.  The weekend before her actual birthday, Gpa & Gma Salfer, Gpa Tom and Gma, Randy & Sheila, and Mike & Irene came for brunch, cake and conversation.  Brian and I made her a guitar cake, which was totally fun!  It's not that bad making a cake when you have an assistant!  I have to admit I was way excited for her themed party!

On her actual birthday, we had lots more fun planned for her and her friends!  I made little guitar brownies and these were actually harder than the cake.  Brownies are not that easy to cut into shapes.  I think they turned out really cute though and from Rachel's reaction, I knew she loved them!  Rachel has always been drawn to playing with boys and when she asked if she could have a friend party, I assumed she'd want the boys.  However, I asked her who she wanted and she said "the girls in my class and Katie".  Awesome!!  But then the next sentence was, "Can I have Luke sleepover though?"  Ummmmm..... NO!  But I compromised and said she could bring Luke along to her birthday dinner at Dino's later that day. :)  Everyone was happy!  The girls had a good time at the party.  We jumped from one thing to the next.  Brian and I had set up a stage in the basement for them to "rock out" with and we had the Wii Dance going.  Air guitar and mic's were all part of the plan for them to become a band, but they ended up just being part of the "set".  We also had a pinata hanging from the tree in the front yard which was a huge hit and alot of candy went home with the girls!  

Rachel's last celebration was eating at one of her favorite places, Dino's Pizzeria in North Mankato.  Awesome, awesome, pizza!  And she brought her bestie, Luke.  I'm fairly certain this was a match made in heaven!  They had good time being silly, coloring/drawing and playing games.  All in all, I think Rachel had a birthday she'll never forget!  We LOVE you Rachel Anne!

The Big Bomb

I can't believe I forgot to post one of thee most important posts ever....The Big Bomb that went off at our house this summer.  Did I peak your interest?  Well, most of you who read our blog already know the news. Duh, duh, Daaaaaaa.....Baby #5 is on the way!  I won't get into details, but I thought it may have been immaculate conception!  We told the girls when we went on our summer vacation to the cabin and they didn't believe us and it took about 10 minutes to convince them that we were in fact NOT lying! :)  We told our family when we got back and everyone's reaction was shock, but obviously in a good positive way which I was really not expecting.  I was in fact expecting a lot of ridicule, but I'm glad my family proved me wrong.  We are excited and crazy.  I'm not sure what this circus will look like come the end of February/beginning of March when he/she arrives, but I know we'll make it through!  All you need is Love, right? :)

Apple Orchard/Corn Maze

It's that time of year again!  Apples!  We had so much fun last year at this cute little apple orchard we just had to go back again.  It's called Montgomery Orchard.  They are small and there's never a crowd to battle. They have lots of apple items to purchase, a apple cider press presentation and a themed corn maze.  Every year they have a new theme, this year being all about the Beattles.  On the maze there are 10 questions to answer and when you're thru you bring back your answers to possibly win a corn maze patch.  Exciting, I know!  Well, we didn't get the patch this year.  I guess Brian and I are just too young to know anything about the Beattles. :)  It's actually a lot tougher than you think and we didn't cheat using Brian's phone.  The kids had a great time, we had a great time and can't wait to go back next year.

1st Day of School...For ALL the girls!!!!!

  

Today was the first day of school for all 4 girls!  What shall I do??!!  Natalie started Preschool, Rachel 1st grade, Emily 4th grade and Caitlin, her last year at JI as a 6th grader.  Girls got up at 7am, and we were out the door at 7:40am.  Everyone's hair was done, teeth were brushed and they were fed.  Amazing!  After dropping everyone off, Brian and I enjoyed a nice quiet breakfast together before he headed back to work.

Ahhhh...that was so nice!

The 6th Grader

The 4th Grader

The 1st Grader

The excited Preschooler

Summer Wrap-Up

Time to wrap up our summer with a few more activities.  On the 26th we went to Hutchinson to visit our friends the Schweim's, a family we had met at KNMS 2 years ago.  It was fun to hang out and catch up with them.  Thanks guys for a fun afternoon!  

Then on the 28th, Caitlin and I went to the Twins game.  The kids who are alter servers at mass get treated to a night out thanks to the Knights of Columbus.  Even though the Twins stink, it was a beautiful night for outdoor baseball.  It was my first time at the new stadium and I had a great time, not only with Caitlin but with the other adults who went.

On Thursday, the 30th, Brian took Caitlin and Emily for their annual trip to Valleyfair.  They had a great time and rode lots of rides.  They had perfect weather and not alot of people to contend with or long wait lines for the rides.  Next year Rachel gets to go!!  She's excited!!  While they were at VF, Rachel, Natalie and I went  to Mankato, got some new fingernail polish, ate at Culver's, got some groceries and spent the evening painting our toes and watching Cake Boss.  

We also went to John Ireland's back to school get together where we enjoyed treats and a movie outside.  The kids had fun playing and reconnecting with a few classmates that they hadn't seen this summer.

We were able to get all our school shopping done, tennis shoes bought (which is a nightmare usually) spent some time with Grandma Elaine who came up to shop with us.  

The girls started band lessons and it's become quite the musical place around here.  Piano, clarinet and trumpet!

Then we decided on Sunday to take the girls to the MN Zoo.  This weekend we spent cleaning up the house, working on the house, doing some laundry and the girls spent alot of time hanging out by themselves.  So we needed a good family activity before school starts.  We hadn't been to the zoo in 3 years, not since Natalie was 4mo old.  The weather was great, the kids behaved and we some the dolphins and dinosaurs for the last time.  In the evening, we went to our friends the Gilbertsons for a potluck that all the religious ed teachers were invited to.  Heather is the Youth Minister for grades 7-12.  We had a nice time visiting with the adults (until 11:30pm) and the kids had a great time making up small skits to perform for us.