Happy Halloween!

Jack O' Lantern Pot Pie

R.I.P PB & J

The Candy Caterpillar

Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Princess Leia

The Two Princesses

 The Trick or Treating Gang

And they're off...

Our Jack O' Lanterns

Sara, Cam, Bryant, and Coop

Another great Halloween filled with lots of treats and fun with friends!!!

Cameron's Artwork

Sioux City, IA

 Running off some energy at a near by park

 Natalie and Cam

 Jill and Mom

 Sweet Charlotte

 The crew headed to the pumpkin patch

 All our adorable kiddos!

 Attack of the Spider

 Everyone enjoying the train ride

What a trip!  Mom, Cam, Coop, and I headed out Wednesday afternoon to Sioux City, IA to see my cousin and her kiddos.  We spent over five hours in the car on the way there and over seven on the way back...we scooted over to River Falls, WI to see my Grandma, Aunt, and cousins on the way home.  Yes, that's three days, three states, and 12+ hours in the car, so you're probably thinking, UGH!  However, I must say that we had a GREAT time!  The boys were super travelers (except for Cam getting a bit car sick and throwing up beef sticks on the way into the cities...picture my Mom's butt in my face while she's bending into the back of the van to wipe up puke!) and our visit with my cousin was so nice.  We got in Wednesday around 6 and stayed at a beautiful hotel, The Stony Creek Inn.  After dinner at Famous Daves the boys spent some time in the pool and then it was off to bed to rest up for our big day on Thursday.  We headed over to Jill's house and were instantly welcomed by Britton (4 1/2) and Natalie (2 1/2), who bonded with our boys within seconds over the subject of Star Wars.  We also got a chance to love on sweet Charlotte (5 months)...such a wonderful baby, who as Cooper puts it, "poops money" because we discovered a quarter in her sleeper.  :)  After visiting and seeing their great house we headed to the park, pumpkin patch, grabbed lunch, cruised back to Jill's to eat, and then back to our hotel to swim.  We took a break for naps, and then met up at Red Robin for some dinner...after that it was time for bed, so that we could have one last play time the next day before we headed north.  We're so happy we were able to spend some quality time with Jill and her family...if only it could happen more often.  My kiddos can't wait to see their cousins again and neither can I. 

Pumpkin Patch

Cow Train

Duck Races

Brothers

Blake, Austin, Coop, and Cam

Fire Performer

Sweetie Pie

Cam and Blake

We enjoyed a few hours at the A & G Produce Pumpkin Patch on Sunday...of course, we made it home in time for Bryant to watch the Vikings game!  The kids had a blast with their buddies and enjoyed trying all the activities the patch had to offer including the corn maze and watching the fire performer, who Coop ended up having a huge crush on...we're going to be in trouble when it comes time for him to date!  There's nothing better than a beautiful fall day with family and friends!

Hunting with Grandpa

Let's find the big one!

Taking a little break...

Coop spent the weekend with Grandpa Guy and Grandma Diane the first weekend in October. Grandpa took him "hunting" in the woods and Grandma took him to a concert for kids. Coop had a blast and loved every minute of his special time with G and G!

Becca and Joe

The past weekend was spent celebrating at the wedding of our friends, Becca and Joe.  It was a wonderful celebration!  The boys spent the night with their cousins in Brainerd, so we all had a fun time and were wiped out on Sunday.  Thank goodness ALL of us got a chance to nap!

Mother and Son Scholars

Cameron's school project

It's official!

Proud to be Cam's Parents

Our Cameron is getting to be so grown up...it's amazing how he has changed since kindergarten.  Cameron has become a wonderful boy and we get little reminders of this quite often.  Since the start of the school year Cameron has done homework nightly without fuss and is becoming a great reader!  It's so exciting to hear the new words roll off his tongue and see how exctied he becomes when he's figured out something new! Cameron has also been doing his best to be a good big brother and knows that helping out Coop earns some BIG points from Mom and Dad!  We have no doubt that Cameron will have a lifetime of adventures and each day we love seeing him work hard towards a fantastic future.

Heart Attack...

Homework time at our house...and this is only 1st grade!
Cameron-"Uhh...Ow...!"

Me-"What's wrong?"

Cameron-"Sometimes my arm really hurts when I'm coloring...it's like a little heart attack in my arm. Right, Mom?!"

Me-"No..."

Cameron-"Yep, I just had a heart attack from coloring..."

First Grader

Cameron enjoyed his first day of 1st grade.  We asked Cam what he did during the day and he told us that they played games, read books, and played outside...sounds like they're getting the students off to a good start!  I think it took Cameron about five minutes before he was asleep tonight-even though he told us that he wasn't tired at all. Hope everyone had a happy and exciting start back to school!

Taking a Trip Down the Yellow Brick Road...

We had a wonderful day at the Children's Museum with Kelly, Larkin, and Bennett.  The kids (and Mamas)  really enjoyed checking out the Wizard of Oz area, as you can see above.  We had a busy day and the boys were WORN out when it was all over. 

Celebrating My Mom

As many of you know my mom retired in June after a wonderful career in teaching.  We were lucky enough to celebrate this achievement with my Mom and Dad, my brother, sister-in-law, and niece on the North Shore.  We had four fantastic days cozied up next to Lake Superior. 

Bryant, Cameron, Cooper, Me, Dad, Mom, Shannon, Lucy, and Andy

Hanging out in Grand Marais

Our Boats

Cam and his boat

Coop and his boat

Here's the top 10 best/most entertaining events from our vacation:

10. Taking a dip in the Temperance River

9.   Bryant and Andy using their hunting skills to take down a bat in our bedroom

8.   Beautiful weather to sit and make boats out of sticks and leaves

7.   Dinner out at Blue Fin

6.   Kayaking with my brother

5.   Bike riding with the WHOLE family

4.   Watching my boys snuggle with their grandparents

3.   Shopping in Grand Marais with my Mom

2.   Seeing my boys light up at the sight of Lake Superior

1.   Knowing that my Mom had a wonderful time and thankful for special time with family