Apple orchard & fishing

We spent this past weekend enjoying the gorgeous weather we've been having. You really can't beat 80°F & sunny in October.

We kicked things off on Friday night with a bonfire, and had fun hanging out with the neighbors. Then Saturday morning we went down to our favorite apple orchard to pick up some more apples. We got there a 1/2 hour after they opened, and it was already busy! The kids played on the haystack & fed the animals. We had some yummy apple doughnuts, and went for a wagon ride. It was a great way to spend the morning.

Seeing "how tall this fall":

Playing on the hay pile:

Both kids enjoyed feeding the animals:

Wagon ride:

Saturday night we had another bonfire, and then Sunday after church we decided it was too perfect of a day to not spend at least a little bit of it out in the boat. So we went out on one of the local lakes for a few hours....it was really nice to not have to be all bundled up in order to be out on the water! The combination of the warm weather, calm water, and changing leaves was beautiful. The fish weren't very interested in biting, but we didn't mind.

Andrew even started to learn how to take fish off the hook (yea!). I think he liked the 'throwing' the fish back part the best.....be sure to look at the left hand side of the picture were it looks like he threw something - that black thing is the fish!

Fishing with Mom:

Sounds like we are in for some more great weather next weekend - we can't wait!

Grandpa's birthday

We went up to Two Inlets to help Grandpa Russ celebrate his birthday at the beginning of September....it was a little chilly & wet to start with, but was still a fun weekend. Here are some pics from it:

Jenna, Grandpa & Turtle:

Playing some pinball:

Time for cake!

Look at all those candles!!!

Catch of the day:

Andrew 'driving' Grandpa's boat:

Check out that smile!

Andrew's 1st day of school

It happened....Andrew started Kindergarten. He LOVED it, and has been waiting and waiting for school to start, especially since the kindergartners started the week after the older kids. Here are some pictures from his big day.

Bruce and I met the bus at school, and took some pictures of him heading to class too:

Here he is getting home from school:
Andrew loved school, and is excited to go again tomorrow. He had all kinds of things to tell us today, so we're looking forward to hearing about his day tomorrow. Jenna didn't seem to notice that Andrew wasn't at Melissa, and instead loved that she got to sleep out in the 'big kid' area on a sleeping bag instead of in the toddler bed. I do think she missed him tho ;)

Twins (take 2)

We spent the last day of summer (Labor day) at the Twins game....it was a bit cool & rainy, but our seats were just under an overhang so we stayed dry (yea!). The kids loved it. Andrew liked being closer to the field than last time, both kids enjoyed TC Bear, and Jenna loved all the clapping.

Ready to go to the game:

The golden glove:

Jenna holding her spoon so she could clap:

Andrew & I:

Post Game:

Next up - Andrew's 1st day of school....yep, he's officially a kindergartner!

State Fair

We made our annual trek to the state fair this year, and this time it was with the Ihrke's! We were part of the record breaking crowd on the 2nd day, but it didn't seem all that crowded, so we must have been there at the right time. All the kids did great, and lasted way longer than we thought they would - 5 hours!

We had all kinds of fun while there....1st we needed to take a run down the big slide (it was a huge hit with everyone):

Then we visited the DNR building where the boys tested out their archery skills, and then everyone checked out the fish pond.

After that it was on to the Miracle of Birth center to check out all the baby animals. The kids got to pet lambs, ducklings, and a piglet.

After looking at all the babies, we checked out the swine barn to see the biggest pig in the state of MN (his name was Reggie, and he was HUGE), and the cattle barn to see how milking works, and to learn out how it goes from the cow to our fridge. Then it was time for a a snack break, so the kids requested Icee's. Jenna loved hers, but Andrew said he'd rather have a Yogurt parfait.

On the way to the Little Farm Hands area, the kids took a break to cool off in a sprinkler, and then got a little side tracked by the kid sized 4 wheelers & dirt bikes they found.

After checking out the Kemps area, getting Kemp's tattoo's, throwing baseballs to Joe Mauer (a cut out), and getting their pictures taken with him, it was time to check out all those John Deere tractors.

Everyone had fun, and we are looking forward to visiting the fair again next year!

Go Twins!

We took the kids to a Twins game on Sunday (8/19). We had a lot of fun, and they lasted much longer then we thought they would :) Jenna fell in love with TC Bear and spent the entire game trying to find him, and Andrew just enjoyed being at a baseball game. He asked a ton of questions about just about everything he saw. He seemed very interested in all the work that the grounds crew does before and during the game.

Here are some pictures from our 1st Twins adventure:

In the elevator, on the way to the game
Andrew & I

Jenna & Bruce

The moon coming up (it was a night game)

Coloring to pass some time (she made it to the bottom of the 8th!)

Playing games

It was a fun night, and we all enjoyed our 1st outdoor baseball game as a family (Bruce has already been to a few games). The stadium is awesome, and the Twins won :) We're planning on heading back to celebrate Andrew starting school on labor day. This time the game will be during the day, so we won't have to worry so much about how late it's getting.