Pumpkins and Christmas Trees

It is pretty disappointing that I havent found time to post as much as I used to. There is so much going on, things are busy but at the same time there is fun stuff to write about. This probably isnt going to get any easier when #2 gets here in February. Oh well, we will do the best we can.

I was able to go to Isabelle's school and have lunch her and her classmates. What a fun group of little kids. It was fun to watch them hang out and interact with one another, they really arent little kids anymore. I had a lot of fun and the food wasnt that bad either.



We found at that baby #2 is going to be a boy. his arrival is scheduled for February 18th...he has a name now but you have to keep to reading to get that info.

We visited our favorite local pumpkin patch, farm and corn maze to pick our own pumpkins again this year. Isabelle has a blast feeding the cows, goats and other critters. Unfortunately a few kids got sick at this place last year. Apparently they didnt wash their hands very well after touching the cows. Hopefully the cows will still be there next year.

Halloween was exciting as usual. We attended the big neighborhood party and had a blast. Trick or treating with Isabelle has gotten a little more fun every year. This year was no exception a big group of parents and kids made our way through the neighborhood and the kids had a blast. One house went all out and some really scary decorations to go along with creepy music and a smoke machine. Isabelle made it half way up and thend decided that it really wasnt worth it...

Isabelle and I helped our friends the Ohme's make Lefse



This year we cut our own christmas tree at Hansen's Tree Farm in Ramsey. What a fun place to go. They had a bonfire, hot chocolate, sleigh rides and of course, christmas trees. I think we ended up with a really nice looking tree. It was probably more expensive than buying a pre cut tree but I think making an outing of it was fun. 

We made our first (and last) trip to the Holidazzle Parade. Isabelle and her friend Olivia had a blast.

Our house is all decorated for Christamas and baby boys stalking arrived last week. As you can see his first name will be Ethan. Isabelle is very excited to be a big sister and I think she is going to be great at it.

Isabelle had a fun time at my office Kids Christmas party she got to make a craft, decorate a cookie, get temporary tattoos and most importantly sit with Santa. She has a long list of wants this year but most are pretty reasonable. She is really interested in science and experiments so she wants "science stuff" for christmas and off course anything artsy or crafty. I think Santa heard her loud and clear. She should have a very merry christmas. 

Isabelle played basketball for the first time this winter. I think she enjoyed it and we will probably try it again.  

Yesterday we went downtown and saw the Christmas Carole at the Guthrie Theatre. It was a fantastic show. Isabelle was a little scared by a few of the ghosts but mostly she loved it.



catching up again

Summer is quickly coming to an end but I think we made the most of this summer. We hit the state fair and Isabelle had a blast on the rides and playing some carnival games. We spent a lot of time going through the "little farm hands" exhibit.  

Whenever we go to noodles Isabelle likes to try and eat with chopsticks. We recently went to PF Changs and they had learning chopsticks. Isabelle thought it was pretty neat that she could actually use them, and they let her take them home. 

Below is a picture of Isabelle gettgin on the school bus for the very first time. Her first bus ride to school was uneventful but her bus got into a minor accident on the way home from school and she ended up being about an hour late. We were pretty frustrated with the school for not getting us more information during the incident but the kids seem unaffected. We are a month or so into the school year and Isabelle really loves school.

Isabelle started gymnastics again this fall. So far this has been her favorite activity, I think we are going to try basketball and some swimming lessons later this winter.

Isabelle has shown a little interest in golf.  We got her a couple golf clubs and she has ridden on the cart with me a few times. She proved to be my good luck charm almost bringing a hole in one, missed it by that much.

My work hosted a family fun run and activity day in September. They had kids races and isabelle was pretty excited about the race and of course the bouncy house and bouncy slide.

Isabelle's favorite desert is a chocolate tower made of one reese's peanut butter cup, one rolo and one hershey' kiss. Why pick one candy when you can have all three....?

We had a good crop of plums, pears and apples this year. We canned pears, made plum jelly and will freeze some of the apples. We also made some strawberry jam with storebought berries.

We attended the downs syndrome walk at como park to support our friend Brynlee. Isabelle walked almost the whole 2 miles and had a fun time with the face painting and off course bouncy houses. She stuck a balloon under her shirt and was pregnant like her mom...



Too busy to blog (4 of 4)

We took a short family getaway weekend to Two Harbors and Gooseberry Falls State Park. Isabelle had never been to the north shore, I thikn she was pretty impressed with the scenery and the waterfalls.

After we hiked around the park we started a fire and roasted some hotdogs and made some smores.

Isabelle loves rocks. I dont know why but she likes to collect them, paint them or just throw them in the water. Needless to say the rocky beaches of Lake Superior were a lot of fun for her. The rocks were so fine on this beach that she made a rock angel...

After our Gooseberry Falls fun we spent some time walking around the harbor at Two Harbors.

Our hotel had a mini golf course and Isabelle thought it was a bunch of fun. She has been coming with me to the driving range and putting green a little bit this summer and might be gaining a little interest in golf. We got her a putter and a driving iron that she can use to practice around our house...

Without question Isabelle's favorite activity during our mini vacation was jumping from one bed to the other in our hotel room. After being told not to several times she finally went over the other side and  bonked her eye on a chair. She acted pretty tough and just kept going....



Too busy to blog (3 of 4)

Isabelle got a haircut! Her long and beautiful, yet terribly messy and hard to manage hair was shortened significantly. I think it looks adorable short.

We took our first trip to target field as a family. It was Isabelle's first baseball game. The Twins didnt priovide an exciting per performance but Isabelle was impressed with the all the snacks and face painting.



Our little garden is providing some big results already this year, we have a freezer full of zuchinni and green beans and have been eating as much as we can. Sophie has enjoyed having a carrot factory in the backyard as well. Pretty soon we will be picking apples and pears from the trees.

We took a weekend trip to Grandpa Steve's family cabin on Norway Lake in Pine River, MN. Once again isabelle had a blast fishing from the dock, eating smores and taking boat rides.

The City sponsored a movie in the park and the neighborhood kids got together and played carnival games, ate popcorn and watched The Lorax. It was a beautifual cool evening, almost cold.