Thanksgiving 2011

This year Blake, Bennett, and I traveled to Walker, MN to meet my family for Thanksgiving. Randy stayed back to try and get that big buck! We rented a house near Leech Lake. The house was ideal, with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms-- 1 for each family. The bonus was the indoor swimming pool, hot tub, and sauna :)

On Friday evening we took in the local Holiday Lights parade that Walker put on. All of the kiddos LOVED seeing all of the parade lights, and the candy was a hit as well!

The cousins enjoyed playing together and being silly. Bennett wasn't too sure of straying far from my side because of the unfamiliar surroundings. As soon as we returned he was back to his normal "daddy's boy" self, however.

How thankful I am that everyone made it to MN safely and home again. Thanks for the memorable weekend!

Halloween 2011

Papa Ron and Claudia stopped over about a week ago to see the boys in their costumes. They got a little practice saying "trick or treat" as Papa and Grandma also brought some goodies along :)

For the actual day of Halloween this year we ventured to Mondovi to take in some trick-or-treating with the boys. Blake aka(Spiderman) and Bennett aka (Zebra) enjoyed seeing all of the jack o'lanterns lit up and knocking on the doors to say "trick or treat!"

A few weeks ago Blake drew a self-portrait of him in his Halloween costume. You can see the drawn Spiderman and the real Spiderman below.

Halloween Trail

To get ready for Halloween, Blake, Bennett, and I met our friends Stephanie, Hadley, and Piper to break in those Halloween costumes at a local pumpkin patch. We trick or treated on the Fantasy Trail, fed the animals, and took a "train" ride. What a beautiful fall day to spend with friends!

Fall Fun 2011

Now that our remodeling project is complete we have time to spend on outdoor projects like raking leaves (round 1 complete- stay tuned for round 2) and visiting the pumpkin patch. Blake and Bennett had fun playing in the leaves in our yard last weekend. This weekend we went to a local pumpkin patch to see all of the different kinds of pumpkins. Fall is definitely in the air! We hope that you are enjoying your fall days too!

Stones

As the finishing touches get put on our remodeling project, we are getting even more excited to be able to use this new space. This past week they finished putting the stone on the fireplace, and the landscapers built our stone retaining wall. This week they should finish the landscaping by adding some shrubs, flowers and seeding the lawn.

Don't you like how the deer mounts are already in the addition before any furniture:)?! We do have our priorities, you know,--- well at least the hunter in the house does!

More Remodel

Here are some updated pictures of the remodeling project! Almost complete!

Almost There

I am starting to see the light at the end of this tunnel we call remodeling. We have flooring in the kitchen, almost all of the cabinets and appliances installed! We also have the rock and gutters finished on the outside of the house. The last big step in this process will be the hardwood floors. We have had the wood sitting in our house for 2 weeks now, but they cannot install it due to the humidity. We are hoping by the end of next week we will have an even more finished product!

Blake's New Bike

All summer we have been looking for a bike for Blake. We have looked at garage sales and on Craigslist almost every week, and have found nothing. Grandma Claudia and Papa Ron were also out on the hunt, and they hit the jackpot with this "like-new" Schwinn bike in Blake's favorite color! Papa Ron tuned it up and put training wheels on it for us! Thank you so much Papa and Grandma! What a great surprise!

Painting and Staining-- Done!

Now that we have stain on the outside of our addition, and paint on the walls on the inside, we are finally seeing the end in sight!

Bennett's First Tractor Ride

Bennett has been watching his brother, Blake, get tractor rides all summer. Well, it was finally HIS turn, and he was in awe of the noise the engine made and sitting behind the steering wheel.

Dust

This week "dust" has been the motto in our house. Normally I don't care for all that much dust, but since the cause of this dust means we have sheetrock on our walls-- it's okay. The outside of the house has also been sided and we look forward to it being stained this week. Our goal is to have everything complete by the middle of September-- just in time for bow hunting to start:)

Remodeling

We are definitely seeing more progress inside our house now. They have taken the kitchen apart and knocked out the wall between the new addition and the existing house. It is exciting to see the changes and to imagine what it will look like when it is completed. There have been lots of workers and noise at our house the past week. Our temporary kitchen is set up in the basement in the computer room. I kind of feel like a college student again :)!

Fun at the Fair

It's that time of year again! Yep, the Buffalo County Fair was going on this past weekend, and like in other years we ventured out with the boys to see the sights, take in the sounds, and taste the delicious food!

First stop was the animal barns where we saw rabbits, chickens, cows, horses, and sheep. After the boys had seen the animals we went and ate some delicious charcoal chicken and sweet corn. Blake was very anxious to get on the rides, and quickly devoured his food.

Blake went on two rides this year--the alligator roller coaster and the mini ferris wheel. He loved them both and talked about them for awhile after ward.

Our final stop, and might I say the most important one, was the malt stand! What a great way to end a great evening at the fair!