Pumpkin Carving

Tonight we spent some time carving pumpkins. I cleaned them out this afternoon and the kids helped draw the designs this evening. Tyler was the master carver who carved all three designs. He asked me to come back and "clean things up" a little bit when he was done. I think he did an awesome job!!!! Here's what we came up with: One is a bat with a ghost; one is a jack-o-lantern with a bat on the side and, the last one has a bat, a spider and the word 'Boo' on the sides. The spider didn't really turn out, but the rest look pretty cool. Here's the pictures.


Nicholas and Marisa map out some designs:

Close up of Tyler carving: Marisa looks on as Tyler carves:
The "Master Carver": Bat and Ghost (Tyler's design):

'Boo' on the last pumpkin:

Jack-o-lantern with a bat (Nicholas' design):

All three pumpkins:

Severs Corn Maze and Fall Pictures

When we got back from South Dakota we took a few pictures at our local Memorial Park. The next day we went to the Severs Corn Maze where the kids had a good time finding all of the signs and playing in the corn pit, as well as, the haybale maze. The magic show was fun and Tyler still wants to know "how he did that." The boys also tried their hand at the pumpkin sling, but they missed the target.



The kids in the corn pit:
Nicholas on the hay bales:

Tyler and Nicholas lead the way...they did pretty good, we only got lost twice:

The kids on some haybales:

Nicholas and Daddy try the pumpkin sling:

Marisa feeding the animals:

Fall Pictures at Memorial Park:

Ron and I:

Marisa:

Nicholas

Playing in the leaves:

The kids:

Hope everyone is enjoying the fall season!

South Dakota Trip

During MEA break, we took a trip to South Dakota. We left on Tuesday night and spent a night with Grandma in Wabasso. On Wednesday, we went to the Pipestone National Monument (where they quarry for pipestone to be used in peace pipes) and then headed the rest of the way to Sioux Falls. We spent a couple of nights in a hotel where the kids enjoyed swimming, and we also visited a science museum. We spent a morning at Falls park and had fun looking at the waterfalls. We went to the top of an observation tower so we were able to see the whole park - it was a pretty cool sight. Here are some of the pictures from different parts of the trip:

Ron and the kids at Pipestone Monument:

The kids lead the way on the trail in Pipestone:

Ron and I in front of the waterfall at Pipestone:

The kids at Pipestone:

Wind Turbines outside of Pipestone - there was a long line of these and it looked pretty cool to see them all together:

Tyler thought it was cool to have a town in MN named after him :)

At the science museum they had this exhibit where a ball in the sand made a whole bunch of designs. The kids (Mom and Dad too) had fun looking at it and seeing what the next design was going to be:
The kids helped Ron build the block bridge and thought it was cool how it stood up on it's own after being put together:

One floor of the museum was dedicated to a bunch of interactive exhibits and we spent most of the day on this floor. The boys had a really good time playing dance, dance revolution, the wheelchair races, seeing how fast they could run, the rock wall. They had two favorite exhibits: the animation computer and the interactive computer that put you on the screen during a sports event. The boys created the following video at the animation station. You put a "scene" down and take a picture. Then you move/add props/animals into the scene and take another picture and keep doing this until you have the scene you want. I think the limit was 100 pictures and the boys did about 83. The museum wasn't very crowded, I think we saw about 15 people all day, so they were able to spend as much time at each exhibit as they wanted which was great.

Tyler and Nicholas on the rock wall:

Here's the exhibit where you stand in front of a green screen and they put you into the sports scene on the computer. You look pretty silly doing it but it was fun to try and block the shots or get the ball to go where you wanted it to go. If I remember right the choices were basketball, hockey goalie, soccer goalie and volleyball. I tried to upload a video from this exhibit, but the computer keeps freezing up so I will try again later, but here's a picture for now:

Marisa and Nicholas at the wheelchair races exhibit:

Ron, Marisa and Nicholas checking out one of the interactive exhibits:

Tyler in the tornado booth, with winds about 55 mph:

The kids at Falls Park:

Family picture in a different part of falls park:

All in all, it was a fun trip. It was nice to get away for a couple of days to a place that wasn't too far away that we haven't stayed before.

Peter's Pumpkins

Nicholas's class took a field trip to Peter's Pumpkins last week and Ron went along as a chaperone. He had a good time learning about how pumpkins grow and then they had face painting, bracelet making (which he gave to his good 'ol mom), and they got to pick out a small pumpkin to bring home. He sounds like he had a really good time and here's some pictures from the day:

Nicholas making his bracelet:

Getting his face painted:
Nicholas and Charlie:

The whole class as they listened to the pumpkin story. (Nicholas is in the lower right):

Wacky Hair Day

This is how Tyler decided to wear his hair this morning for Wacky Hair Day at school today. They have their marathon fundraiser tomorrow and they have this day as a way to boost school spirit. Any guesses on his favorite color?!!!! Nicholas wanted nothing to do with wacky hair...he decided at the last minute that he wanted a scarf, but as the bus was heading down the street it was a little to late for that - maybe next year he will be more daring...but I doubt it :)

Tyler in all his colorful glory:
I hope this is a temporary look....can says it comes out with shampoo...if not, he will have blue hair for the wedding tomorrow...it came off of my hands pretty easy so hopefully the same works for him
My not so adventurous kindergarten...and Marisa - she wanted her picture taken too:
It is so fun to see how different each child is and yet the same.

Neighborhood Picnic

Last week we had a neighborhood picnic with the other families in the cul-de-sac. We pulled tables, chairs and grills into the circle and everyone hung out on what was a beautiful evening. The kids enjoyed hanging with their buddies - especially dancing in the neighbors garage. It was so funny to see them all dancing to 'Wipe Out'... although I still need to show them the "correct" way to dance to this song...maybe at Tracy's wedding this weekend!

I also took some pictures of Marisa this past week since we didn't take her in for official two year old pictures:


She is getting to be such a big girl and she is so much more active! This week she climbed up onto the counter and was getting her own bowl out of the cabinet. Guess I may have to find some more childproof locks...if only she didn't know how to open them!

A boy and his toys

Nicholas has a favorite type of toy right now...Lego mini figures. He loves to play with them, not just one or two, but all of them at the same time. The other day he decided he wanted to get a storm trooper mini figure. Mom and Dad did some checking online and these little things can get expensive....Who knew there were people out there who collect these things! I am not going to pay $10 plus shipping for a figure that is only an inch tall! Marisa and I went to the Lego store at Mall of America to see if they had anything that Nicholas would want. I am happy to report that we found two star wars sets that came with 4 guys each!!! For about $20.00 we now have four storm troopers (one black, three white) and four rebel fighters, along with two spaceships. Nicholas was so excited and I am hoping he enjoys them as much in a few months as he does now :)

A whole array of figures to play with:

Thanks Mom for helping me buy some more of my favorite toys:
Being silly:
Who says Indiana Jones can't fight a Star Wars Storm trooper?
Storm troopers at the ready:
As you can see, he is having a lot of fun with his new toys...now I just have to keep my eye out for some more...