Seasonal Stuff.

"The Virgin Mary had a _____ ___."

So did her cousin Elizabeth, come to think of it.

I guess we're just keeping with the season. 'Cause we're having one too! :-)

Cabin: Indoors

You can't stay outside all the time when you're in Wisconsin in late October. Never fear, there's lots to do inside!
Checking out the new - old - toys. I remember playing with some of these!

Eat. We love to eat.

Laugh, tell stories, read books and try on hats.

Play games. Lots of games! Believe it or not, this was the serious picture. We got in a couple of rounds of Acquire. I'm pretty sure I won this one.

Alaina learning our family's traditional cabin game, "Wahoo!". Grandpa Bud made the game board from a spare piece of counter top, and we never go home without playing at least one round. Thanks for making it happen, guys. It was SO much fun!

Cabin: Boating

Perhaps if it would snow around here, I would have something a little more Christmasy to post. As it is, here are some more pictures from our fall trip to the cabin. We made it out onto the lake!

But first, some hot cocoa to make sure we stay warm.

Learning to coordinate their rowing . . .

And we're off! It was cold and windy, but very exciting!

Our two man-power motor. At least this motor didn't get dropped in the lake! But that's another story for another time.

I love sharing these simple joys!

Cabin (but no fever)

Here's another excursion from the archives. I hadn't been up to my Grandparents cabin since Alaina got her first tooth. So we planned a mini vacation after Kyle's busiest time of the summer was over.

We all had a wonderful time just getting away together! The kids were thrilled with the fun change of scene.

Nothing like Dads and Uncles for rousting out a little fun!

Looks like it's time to get that boat out on the water, huh?

T.G.P.P. Part Two

Back in the Pumpkin Patch. There was way more there than I could capture on camera!
Have you ever seen so many varieties of squash before?

A little break from the walking. They did a good job at providing seating here and there.

Outgoing Alaina got one of the caretakers to take a break with her. He asked her how old she was. Her answer? "Seven and a half."

???????????

He didn't fall for it.

Each of the kids selected a prize specimen for us to take home.

All worn out after a fun afternoon!

We're Baaaaack!

Prepare yourself for a picture blitz - we've got a lot of catching up to do! We'll start with our fun fall outing - the Great Pumpkin Patch. It seems a bit wrong to put up pictures like this on December 1st . . . oh well.

I'd never been before, but I think it might have to become an annual trip.

Alaina loved the little child maze (they had bigger ones that we didn't attempt). She could have played there for an hour!

Our apologies to Ken Ham. Here we are in front of the very in-authentic ark. It was cute though!

The animals were a great favorite with Stephen. We could hardly drag him away from these ducks!

Kyle had the idea to come and really made it happen, and I'm so glad he did! It's a rare outing that really is fun for all ages and this place fit the bill.

Everywhere you turned there was some thing fun, interesting or fall/decor inspiring!

Stay tuned for part two!

An Interesting Post Without Pictures

Alas, still cordless here. However, the lack of pictures on the blog for - how long has it been? - allows me to share some interesting stuff. Something that you might have figured out yourself if you had been able to see pictures of the past, say, four to six weeks. You can mull that clue over for a minute if you'd like.

So, what do extra naps, compression socks, folic acid, giving up jogging and the date May 1, 2012 have to do with each other? They all stem from the fact that we are fifteen weeks along with our darling Child Number Three! My computer doesn't make a happy face big enough for how thrilled we all are! Alaina is looking forward to having a baby in the house, and thinks it is a new brother, no, new sister, no - well, she's happy about the baby. Stephen, of course, is to little to know anything, but he is happy and busy with new words, new teeth and his beloved cars. And we (we, being Kyle and I) are letting the happiness sink in.

Baby and I are both doing well - again no sickness. I can't say how grateful I am that I get to enjoy being pregnant - and I do enjoy it! What a blessing. We're about a month away from a sonogram, so you've got time to get in your guesses. We did get a hint - maybe - from the heartbeat at this last visit, but I don't want to prejudice your votes. I will just say that Kyle and I have both been thinking girl, Alaina changes her opinion from time to time, and I have not heard from the rest of the family.

So, post your guesses, and maybe by the time we have the sonogram, I'll be able to post pictures.
:-)

Here's the Deal

Hi all! You may be wondering why I have not posted in so long. You would really be wondering if you could see all the fun pictures that are sitting on my camera. Unfortunately, I left my camera cord elsewhere, so I can't get pictures from my camera to my laptop. Somehow, It's just not as inspiring to post without pictures, especially as this tends to be a picture-heavy blog. Thus, the lack of updates.

Just thought I'd let you know what's going on. I'll try to come up with an interesting post sometime soon - pictures, or no pictures! In the meantime, happy fall everyone!

14 months

It's so fun to watch Stephen become more and more interactive! I have not been as good about getting pictures of him (surprise, surprise), so when he was outside "helping Daddy" at lunch time the other day, I thought I'd better get a few shots.

He loves to play outside! Flowers, rocks, balls, leaves, there is just no end of interesting play things.

He also loves the animals! He can say "kitty" (or something like that) and has this little noise that he makes for the chickens.

He's as sweet as can be, but all growling, running, figure-it-out boy!

Trial and Tribulations

No, not my trials and tribulations, that was the name of the second event at the Pioneer Village. Our town was the site of the only trial in which Lincoln represented a slave owner, and it seems to have been a turning point for him.
Anticipation! The trial took place in 1847, so I got to make a 1840s dress for myself. I love the '40s, such a classic and flattering period.

Back in the schoolhouse again. The whole village was alive with reenactors, and the kids added a lot of life to the scene. And they were great fun to be with as well!

A different view of my dress, which, because of unforeseen life circumstances, I ended up making in 5 days instead of the planned for two weeks. Not something I hope ever to do again! I could have pulled that off with ease when I was single, but let's just say I'm still not ready to look at my sewing machine yet. I hope to have recovered in another week or two. Or three.

We had a lot of free time in the afternoon just to talk to the other reenactors and enjoy ourselves - and we did! Kyle came out and we had a little date afternoon. It was SO much fun.

We really enjoyed the reenactment of the trial - very interesting and well done. Do you see that bonnet in the midst of the crowd? I loved some of the other outfits! (Should have taken more pictures.)

At the end of the day, Kyle brought the kids out, and here we are with Mark, Lauren and the horse. Truth to tell, fun as it was I was very glad to see my little people again. We went around and looked at everything together. Just a fun, fun day, and well worth the crash that came afterwards - I really needed that nap. I'm so blessed to have an understanding and indulgent husband!

Anyway, it was fun!

Brush Arbor

It might be a bit confusing, but there were two events at the same location in the past two months. Both involved dressing up, and both were very fun! The first was and old fashioned Brush Arbor meeting.

In the mid 1800s people would construct a building, or arbor, out of brush to house a visiting pastor for a series of meetings. In late July all our local churches worked together to host a weekend of evening meetings, and on one afternoon they had different reenactors at the Independence Village just north of town, showing how early American culture was impacted by the Bible.

Haley and I were delighted to pitch in and plan some things for the kids. They got to interview the barber/undertaker . . .

. . . and watch the blacksmith at work! He was quite a character, and very fun to talk with. We also made a stop at the jail and the general store.

Haley and I led the kids in a round of croquet, and we also had old fashioned games for them to try. Corn hole toss, string games, graces, marbles, checkers, a clothes pin game and stilts were among the activities available.

We also studied a bit from the New England Primer and wound up with a mini spelling bee. The kids were delightful to work with and, although the afternoon started out quite hot, we girls loved dressing up! It was a really fun weekend!