Pumpkin Patch

For the second year in a row, Isabelle and I headed to the pumpkin patch, though this year Daddy was able to make it too, since we went on a Sunday. :) And though the forecast called for a bucket of rain, the morning was so nice, COLD, but nice, we bundled up and headed out. (Yeah, the rain didn't start till we were half way home - and in buckets too).

We all had a blast!! We started in the Kid's Korral with riding a stick horse, milking a wooden cow, playing with a water pump and so much more. Then, up a hill we went to see the farm animals, and then to the corn box which was followed by a hay bale maze (for the little kids). It was so cold that we needed to warm up our hand, so we got some hot chocolate and a little rest before we headed to the tractor ride. Isabelle was SO excited, but then didn't want to go without one of us. In climbed Eric, more like he squeezed himself into the little bucket that was pulled by the tractor. Then off for a hay ride which went around the pumpkin patch and dropped us off in front of the corn maze. This was my first corn maze ever and it was so fun. I will say one thing though... it took so long to get through it, and it was daylight, I will never do one at night! Of course, we did let our sweet two year lead the way at the beginning... till she got tired and needed to be carried... till Daddy got tired and it turned into a piggy back ride. But we made it out! Then off to the actual pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkin. Since we only got one, we let Isabelle choose (with a little guidance).

It was a FABULOUS morning!!

... Until next year...

Thank you Thomasson Family Farm for another year of great memories!

Published!!!

Remember last June, I had a last minute trip to Montana with my dad to the MRHA, or Milwaukee Road Historical Association Railroad Train Convention... well, their magazine came out and I had a four (4) page spread of photos that I took. Well... most of the photos are mine, there are a few others that are from other people, but over half are mine... so yahoo!! I am published... so to speak. I am so excited!

Got a convention and need a photographer? I will travel. :)

Holidays Already?!?!?

Seriously WOW! When did the holidays show up... Halloween in two weeks and then Turkey Day and Santa! Today was productive though... Lunch with my parents ... a nice visit to 'Toys R Us' where I got Isabelle's Halloween costume (surprise ... must wait for the pics... they will be great... gotta make sure now that I can get the rest of the us in similar ones... that's your only hint), and 95% of her Christmas shopping done. Not bad. And yes, she was with me, but like she is going to remember in 2 months.

Welcome Holiday Season!

Crazy Busy

That is probably an understatment...

House wise:
-The deck is done! Well not exactly all the way finished, but we can walk out of both the kitchen door and the French doors (that we had built in when we first moved here 5 years ago... ) Yeah, no more 3 foot drop!! We have also stained the deck so the winter rain and snow will not hurt it... all the rains we have had, the water just beads up on our new cedar deck. We still have the stairs to do on the next nice weekend, then next spring/summer we will put up the railing and possibly a pergola. Pictures of progess on the deck will come in the next post.
- There are two other major winterizing projects we need to do soon... not sure really which will happen first, but they are digging a wide trench in the front so we can attempt to stop flooding (and eventaully fill in that massive hole in a few years). The trench will continue the flow of the water into the wetlands, instead of pooling in our front yard. The other project is new gutters around the house... the ones up there have holes and the down spouts are leaking.

Us wise:
We are all good. Isabelle is keeping us busy every second with her painting and coloring and plwaying outside. She is everywhere all the time... she doesn't walk, she runs! We are still working on the potty training and she is starting to love more compicated puzzles and she's learning her letters. Eric is working as always, both at work and on all the house improvements. I still have my everyother day schedule at school, still 8th grade science. Coaching Gymnastics still and the season starts in 3 weeks... argh! That means 4am wake-ups and late night meets. I am also continuing my Saturday summer job at a local lumber yard as a sales clerk (which really helped the cost of our new deck). And on top of that I am also working and getting gigs for my photography business.

A Most Successful Day!

Yup, you heard me say it... we worked the potty training and had SO MUCH success today. We started after her nap with not putting on a diaper, and just her pants. Though we went through 3 pairs of pants and three wet spots (a chair, a foot stool and the couch) we had MANY more great trips to the bathroom. We even have a potty dance (more like just jumping around and clapping-but it works). Of course, I did get tired of wet pants, so I let her run around with just her top on. The best part of it all, is once I put on her pajamas and a diaper and we were watching her bedtime show, she said she had to go... and we went to the bathroom and she went. That is with wearing the security of a diaper... so maybe, in the near future of a few weeks we will be potty trained (at least daytime trained). The worst part is ALL the Up and Down false alarms when she said she had to go, but didn't and it was more like a game at those points.

Yeah for no candy reward! I really didn't want to go that route... seems like our little dance and the reward of getting to do the actual flushing and watching the pee-pee go bye-bye is enough. :)