Fall Fun Around Town

With the arrival of fall comes hunting season.  Scott's first bow hunting weekend is drawing to a close (no, he didn't get anything.)  But, that means that Ava and I have to come up with ways to keep ourselves entertained. 

I think we did pretty well over the last 48 hours.

Grandpa Whitey picked Ava up from pre-school on Friday, and she spent the night at their house.  As usual, she had a great time, which means that I could get out and have a great time!  I had dinner and drinks with a friend, and then managed to watch 30 minutes of a movie before completely crashing.  I think I made it until 11:40p.m. before falling asleep, which was pretty amazing for me.  Thank goodness my friends know me, and know not to take it personally!

It's a good thing we got all that rest, because yesterday was a BIG day!  Ava and I headed over to my friend Amy's house, so Ava could play with her daughters, Kelsi (5) and Kourtney (19 months.)  And boy, did they play...for hours!  We went to a pumpkin patch so they could each pick out pumpkins to paint (very cool idea!)  Next we came back to the house, where I made apple cider while the pumpkins were being decorated.  We also made Halloween cookies that the girls covered in sprinkles. 

 

Even Kourtney picked out a pumpkin!

 

They love playing dress up!

 

Kourtney spent the most time on her pumpkin out of the three kids - she did great!

 

The finished products...

 

Cookie time!

Even though it was a chilly afternoon, we all went to cheer on Kelsi in her soccer game - and they won!  Luckily, Ava kept herself entertained kicking the ball around an empty field.  And then she was done, so we went and sat in my nice, warm car, while the game wrapped up.  It was pretty fun to see 5-6 year olds chasing after the soccer ball - it looked like they were having a great time!

We then took the girls out for dinner to Snuffy's Malt Shop, where the food and drink is AWESOME, but to be honest, the whole meal is a bit of a blur.  All I know is that we used a lot of napkins, our server was patient, and there was a whole bunch of chocolate milk that went everywhere.  Needless to say, we took our malts to-go.

After we came back to the house, the three girls took a bath and played a bit more.  I think they were in bed by 10.  Which means I was asleep on the couch before 10:30p.m.  Another late night!!

 

I don't know what Kelsi is doing here, but it was funny!

And then it started up again at 5:00a.m. today when Ava got up to go potty.  Pancakes, more playing, and some sassiness (from Ava) wrapped up our time in Eden Prairie before we came home.  All I can say is that both Ava and I are worn out.  After she finished lunch, she looked at me and said "I need a nap now."  So, she went to her room and laid down...and it's been blissfully silent ever since then. 

Scott's out working in the yard, and I'm looking forward to making another batch of apple cider, and getting stuff ready to make chili for tomorrow night.  As much as I don't enjoy winter, I sure do enjoy the fun, fall activities leading up to it!