Pumpkin Pickin' and Carvin'

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We went to Grandma's Little Acres here in St. Peter for our pumpkin pickin'. They had tons of pumpkins to choose from this year. Lots of cool shaped ones too. And huge white ones! They were so pretty! It didn't take too long for the girls to pick out their own unique one. It was quite cool and windy! Natalie was on a mission to find a "baby" punkin, Emily a knobby one, Caitlin a huge one, and Rachel, a nice round one. They did pretty good! Caitlin found a huge one but since she couldn't carry it or pay the $8-10 for it she decided to let it lay and pick out a different one. Good choice!








Then on Sunday we carved them up. It's getting easier and easier each year. The kids aren't so grossed out by the pumpkin guts and they do a great job using the special knives. Natalie was super excited to carve her "baby". I kept asking her "Is your pumpkin's name baby Jack-O-Lantern?" and she'd reply "No...momma, baby punkin." As if I didn't know what I was talking about! Emily decided since she had a cool lumpy one, she'd marker it rather than carve it. I think it turned out pretty cool, except for it's boogers coming out of its nose! Rachel drew a picture of what she wanted her pumpkin to look like but wanted Brian to actually carve it. She liked gutting it though! Caitlin was on her own and did a fantastic job-without anyone's help!

MEA at the Dells

A couple weeks ago we went to the Dells for some fun in the water with our friends the Gilbertsons and Gracks. Our 3rd Annual. :) We had beautiful weather the whole time (usually it's raining when we go). Some of the kids got a little braver this year (Luke/Rachel) and LOVED going down the big water slides. Us adults enjoyed sitting and watching them! The wave pool is everyone's favorite and it never disappoints. It does get wild though! Emily was thrown off her tube and collided with a boy who was flung from his tube as well. They were fine and Emily was laughing hysterically. And I guess Levi and Brian bonked heads...at least that's what Levi is telling us. He's got a bruise on his forehead but I think it's from their trampoline! We really enjoy the time away from all the hustle and bustle and love being able to relax with such good friends. We stayed up way too late though and were paying for it when we got back to the real world. Is it a sign of getting older?? I don't know. :)

Happy Birthday Auntie Annie

John Ireland Marathon

While others were preparing for the crazy 26.2 mile Twin Cities Marathon, we opted for a different marathon, the marathon for non-public education. A nice 3 mile walk from the school, around St. Peter and back. We had a beautiful fall day this year. Crisp cool breeze and warm sunshine. The kids were excited, eager and energetic. The school kids raised around $9500 for their school. Good job!

Apple Orchard

A couple weekends ago, we went to a cute, quiet little apple orchard by Montgomery. They have live music in the afternoon, a giant corn maze, delicious caramel apples, pick your own apples and demonstrations to watch. All without the craziness of a million other people like other orchards. The corn maze was so much fun. Pretty sure I would've gotten lost if it wasn't for Brian's keen sense of direction! This years theme was the 150 Anniversary of the Civil war and Abrahan Lincoln. When we were walking to the corn maze this man, dressed as Abe himself, came out of the field and it was so wierd and totally took us aback! He looked exactly like Abe Lincoln!!!! Throughout the maze there were 20 trivia questions to answer and if you got 10 right you'd get a special patch at the end. We got 15 out of 20 questions right so not too bad! It was a very fun afternoon with the kids. We all really enjoyed it.

Birthday Celebrations

We celebrated Rachel's b-day as a family the night of her actual b-day and had her favorite meal, tacos and a birthday cake. She got to open up a few presents and b-day cards she had received prior to her birthday.


On Sunday we celebrated again but this time with Grandpa Tom and Grandma Elaine, Godparents Randy & Sheila and our neighbors (surrogate grandparents) Mike and Irene. It was a beautiful day, sun was shining and the trees were vibrant with their beautiful fall colors. The kids were happy, the meal was yummy, the house was clean and the company was great! Rachel had a fun time trying to blow out her candles. (the relighting kind) Everyone got a kick out of watching her. :) She was a good sport and even giggled at herself. She received lots of nice gifts and is very thankful for all of them even though she doesn't do a good job expressing that. We'll work on that for next time! :)

Happy Birthday Rachel!

Happy 6th Birthday to Rachel, our spunky, cute, energetic little girl! We hope you have a great day and that Jesus blesses you this year and always.

Here's a little ditty from Natalie to Rachel: Enjoy!