Julie, Scott & Logan visit

Julie, Scott and Logan came from Florida for an impromptu visit two weekends ago. Fortunately almost all the local cousins were able to get together. The guys played one round of Texas Hold 'Em (seemed like more!), and then they were put in charge of the kids and the girls played cards.
These days, it's much more difficult to get a picture of all the kids together. This time it was Ryan that kept trying to escape. We compromised by taking a BigCousin/LittleCousin picture (Big in wisdom and stature, not size!) It's very neat to see them all next to one another. There's almost five months difference between Ayden (the oldest) and Logan (the youngest), but they're all about the same size and have very similiar developmental characteristcs. Life is definately much busier now than it was this time last year.

Abby, Logan, Ayden and Ryan
















Jason & Ryan, Julie & Logan, Mike & Ayden, Doug & Abby

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was only one day, but we've been celebrating all month. The first weekend in October, Mr. Penguin went to Michigan to say hello to Uncle Chris & Aunt Tonya.


The 3rd weekend, we went to Springfield and celebrated Halloween with Gram, Poppy, Nana, Ivan, Aunt Leslie, and Sarah.














On Halloween day, I took a vacation day and Ryan and I made the rounds. First, we stopped to see Great Grandma Sheila.



















Then, we went to see Great Grandma Murr.



















And our last stop was at Grandma & Grandpa's.




















After all that visiting, we came home so Ryan could take a nap. He was so tired that he missed the first hour of trick-or-treaters! We went to one neighbor's house for a treat...Jerry & Lynn have a great Halloween graveyard display! Later, we hosted a fire at our house for the neighbors. We had s'mores, katydids, cider. I hope to make it an annual tradition. Overall, it was a great day - the weather was beautiful and Ryan put up with wearing his costume, and he did a great penguin waddle.

On Saturday, Miss Lion (Abby) and Mr. Dragon (Ayden) came for a post Halloween gathering. My pictures weren't good, but their costumes were great!

Pumpkin Carving

We got two HUGE pumpkins this year - 31 lbs and 27 lbs!

Ryan wasn't too sure about the gushy stuff in the pumpkin. Look closely at that big smile...you may see a pumpking seed or two. Yes, he was more interested in tasting the pumpkin than carving it.

Jason's pumpkin

Kim's pumpkin

Boo at the Zoo!

Today Ryan (aka Mr. Penguin) and I went to Boo at the Zoo! at Brookfield Zoo....several other characters came with us too....Mr. Giraffe, Mr. Elephant, a Fairy, Tony Stewart, two Bounty Hunters and Yoda.

In addition to all the animals, they also had other events - a giant pumpkin carver, hayride, Fisher Price play yard. But the best part was seeing all the kids in their costumes!

ISU Homecoming

We traveled south for ISU Homecoming this weekend. Saturday was a busy day....parade, tailgating, then football game. Unfortunately the 'Birds weren't victorious, but we had a good time anyway. Prior to the parade, we saw my former manager from bookstore, Jenn. Her family was there too to represent the Student Center in the parade. It was good to see them!
We had quite a crowd join us for the festivities - Kay, Ed, Eddie, & Jack came down to visit fellow Redbird Rooter, Amy, and my friend Dee brought her family (Bob & Austin) and a few others.

Ryan and I stayed to hear the band play at halftime (the best part of the game, right?) then went to tour the quad. The new College of Business building is beautiful and quite high-tech. Interestingly, it reminds me a little of a corporate office building - flat screen TV with stock updates, small conference rooms, interview rooms. I'm sure the students that attend classes there are smarter when they graduate than those of us who attended class in Williams Hall.

After the game, we headed to Springfield for the rest of the weekend to celebrate my Mom's favorite holiday - Halloween! We had dinner with my family and Ryan paraded his costume. We also went to Luer's - a locally owned shoe store, where Ryan had his feet measured and got a new pair of shoes. This is the same store where my brother took home a pair of green, Incredible Hulk shoes when he was 3.

Trip to Kuipers Farm for Pumpkins

We went to Kuipers Farm in Maple Park today to pick-out pumpkins. (same place that Angie, Doug & Abby went - we also had the apple cider slushie) We went to Kuipers last year on a Friday and had the place to ourselves. It was much different on a Sunday! They have all sorts of activities for the kids (apple picking, hay rides, haunted forrest). Ryan was satisfied to push around the Red Flyers that they have for the pumpkins, but next year he'll be ready for all the fun.
Here's some pictures from Kuipers as well as the pumpkins back at home. Also a pic of our new patio, which we've had since August, but I'm just now posting a picture.

Trip to Michigan

Last weekend we went to Michigan to visit my brother, Chris, and his girlfriend, Tonya. They bought a camping trailor near the end of the summer and invited us to go camping. So Ryan got his first camping experience. It didn't take long for Ryan to develop a love of the outdoors - he screamed 'ow-si' (aka - outside) anytime we made him come indoors.
We camped in Frankenmuth, MI, about 30 miles north of Grand Blanc, where Chris and Tonya live. Frankenmuth has strong German roots and is home to Bronner's Christmas store - 365 days of Christmas. Wow! The place is huge and overwhelming.
Frankenmuth has two large restaurants with Bavarian theme and they serve family style chicken dinners. We ate dinner there one night and the other night Jason made dinner on the grill - BBQ ribs. The campground had an indoor pool and other fun activities for the kids. It was within walking distance of downtown Frankenmuth, so on Saturday afternoon we took a walk and went for a ride on the Bavarian Belle, a steamboat.
It was a cold weekend! Luckily we had luxury camp accomodations (trailor is equipped with a furnace). Otherwise, too cold for a munchkin. We had such a good time that we may go camping again!