Carving pumpkins!

It is that time again to carve pumpkins!  Teresa was very excited to get into her pumpkin and not worried about goopy hands.  Timothy was excited to get his open too, but did not want to touch any goop if he could avoid it.  In Teresa's pumpkin we found a funny sight--a seed that had sprouted a little stem and leaf!

I was in charge of carving Teresa's pumpkin and Troy was in charge of Timothy's.  Teresa wanted a chihuahua.  I am not sure it turned out quite as she planned, but I tried.  Timothy picked a scary face out of a library book.

chihuahua

scary face

My parents were visiting this weekend.  I tried to get them to help out in the carving process.  They were happy to keep their hands clean and give us moral support.  They have carved their fair share of pumpkins I guess!  I got extra messy when I pulled out the seeds for roasting, but it is worth it!

Lost tooth

This past Friday we attended the Asbury Halloween parade for the first time.  At first it seemed like it was going to be a bunch of girl scouts walking the streets, but at the end there were some neat floats with lights.  Timothy and Teresa did not mind what it was, they just liked being at a parade.  They got a handful of candy--mostly tootsie rolls.

When we got home from the parade, the kids got to pick out a couple candies to eat. earlier in the day, Teresa had been complaining about her wiggly tooth making it so hard to eat.  I suggested she bite her candies with the wiggly tooth and maybe it would come out.  The Tootsie roll and starburst did not work, but I thought a caramel would do it.  So she was chewing away when she stopped and asked, "what is this hard thing in my caramel?"  Being a good mom, I pulled out her half chewed caramel and found one little tooth that had pulled right out!

Teresa was so excited and she thought it was so funny that the caramel pulled it out.  We spent the next ten minutes reliving the story with Teresa asking about the hard thing and then giggling with delight.  It is fun to experience the joy of children!

Fall Getaway!

It was a fun fall conferences weekend!  The kids had play dates, we went to the water park, enjoyed the Asbury Halloween parade and on Saturday we took a day trip to Pikes Peak State park.  The day was the perfect fall temperature.  Not too hot or too cold, beautiful sunshine and a forest filled with leaves changing color.  We went for a hike at the park and enjoyed being together in God's creation.

After hiking we drove into Prairie du Chien, WI for lunch.  A neighbor recommended a sandwich shop for lunch.  It was a busy place, but worth the wait.  The food was delicious and the atmosphere was a bit eclectic and fun.  It kept us all entertained while we waited for our food.

Lots of smiles from the whole family!  When lunch was done we found a fort playground in town and played for awhile.  Before heading home we made a stop at Cabela's.  That was a favorite store to browse around up in East Grand Forks.  All around it was a wonderful family day!

Pumpkin patch 2016!

It was a beautiful fall weekend last weekend, so decided to head to the pumpkin patch for a fun family activity.  We already had pumpkins from Aldi's, but the pumpkin patch experience is a good time.  We opted for the same one as last year.  We enjoyed the wagon ride and checking out the pumpkins in the patch.  And once again Troy led us through the corn maze with little trouble.  I like to see the folks who wander around lost!  That would probably be me without Troy!!  The kids had fun in the big pumpkin bounce house too.  It took some convincing to get Timothy to want to go, but I think everyone had fun once we got there!

40th celebration!

Troy celebrated his 40th birthday this past week.  We started the celebration last weekend with dinner out at Hyvee Market Grille.  We wanted the birthday boy to get a night out, and weekends work better for going to a restaurant.  We all enjoyed the yummy food.

 On Thursday morning we partied as a family.  Since it was Troy's 40th, I thought he deserved some extra fun, so I devised a little scavenger hunt for him.  My clues were not too hard as he was pretty quick to find all his presents.  I guess that was good as everyone had places to be in the morning.

The kids were probably more excited than Troy to see what he got!  He had a fun package from his sister with a musical card and 40 hugs and kisses.  Timothy and Teresa were happy to get a hug after breakfast.

Troy got some new shirts--a wild jersey from his mom and a vikings polo from me.  Timothy, Teresa and I all gifted him with coupons for dates.  He and I are going to a brewery to hear live music.  Timothy wants to have lunch with Troy at Fizoli's and Teresa wants to take him to the Humane Society.

Then it was off to school for the kids and off to work for Troy.  He did take along some treats to share with his students.  It was a very busy day, but eventually he made it home for some more partying.

At Troy's request, his cookie cake was decorated in honor of his favorite team.  Go Cubs!  While everyone else was gone, I kept busy baking and decorating and cooking for the evening party.  We had a handful of neighbors and friends join us for dinner to celebrate Troy.

He even got a few gifts at the party to help him ease into his old age.  Timothy and Teresa are still trying to figure out way Troy needs a pill organizer! 

It was a fun night of fellowship and celebration.  Anna even played Happy Birthday on the piano for Troy having just learned it in her lessons!

The celebration continued after his actual birthday.  Troy and I had our usual late dinner complete with some of his favorite foods.  And today we are going on our date.  And the kids' dates are yet to come.  I think it was a good day for Troy.  He is a wonderful man and blesses so many by being him.  I am thankful for our years together and look forward to all that are yet to come.  Happy 40th Troy!