Skip to main content

Family Time!

I can't believe we're already halfway through October...it's been a busy fall with trips, hunting, family visiting, work, play, etc.  Plus, we're getting ready for Halloween and trying to take advantage of the last few warm weeks of the year before the snow flies.

Last weekend, my parents visited from Colorado - they hadn't seen Ava since last Thanksgiving, and they couldn't believe how big she has gotten, as well as how chatty she is.  Scott and I think there was some definite bonding that happened, as my mom called this past week to say hi to Ava.  Not me.  But Ava.  :)

Here are just a few highlights from their visit:

Reading with Grandma Karen


At the Afton Apple Orchard


Climbing up the tire mountain...


And back down...


Lots of swings to play on!


Although, I think she might be a wee too big for this one.


Not so sure about feeding these animals...






On the hayride


Helping Grandpa Doug find the perfect apple!



Yum!


All smiles except for the short one...


Still not smiling...


There we go!




Great family picture!


Yeah, I don't like black licorice either, Ava...


Making Spooky Spider cookies!



Hm. This was an interesting experiment in hair styling.


Look at the fear on her face...



Grandma Karen might not have the most artistic talent - but at least she tries!  We debated if this rendition looked like Princess Belle, or a witch.  The witch got all the votes!


Happy at dinner!


Saying good-bye... :(



Not related to my parents' visit, but still fun stuff we've been doing...

Ava got a balloon animal at On the Road Again in South St Paul...not sure what this really was supposed to be...



Our pumpkins!


The last pepper plant in our garden produced some lovely crop!


Out with my friend Tina - Ava couldn't get enough of her!

Comments

Jean said…
Sorry I've been MIA lately. I have actually been reading all of your posts, but typically through my phone which makes it difficult to comment. Been thinking about you guys and love reading your updates. Looks like you guys had a great fall and also had some great weather. That's awesome! Ava is as adorable as can be - as always! I can't believe how tall she is getting. And your spiders turned out awesome! Super cute!

Popular posts from this blog

Goodbye Sweet Spanky

This is a post that I'm not very excited to write.  As you probably know, our oldest dog, Spanky, had struggled with health issues (ear infections, seizures) his whole life, and recently, his health had severely deteriorated.  He hadn't been eating, his ear infection was so severe his face was swollen, he had a hard time getting up the stairs, and he very rarely wanted to play.  Last week we got a few tail wags from him, and he ate a few bowls of food, but it was a 50-50 chance that he would actually keep the food down. On Thursday, we made the decision that if he wasn't any better by this weekend, we were going to put him down.  I know Scott didn't want to make that decision as Spanky was a very special dog to him - he truly was his little buddy, following him around everywhere, wanting to be wherever Scott was, and howling his sadness whenever Scott would leave him. Throughout Friday night, it became clear that Spanky wasn't going to have a miraculous recovery...

Happily Ever After?

Lately, I've been adding to the Disney Princess movies in our collection.  Last week I bought Beauty and the Beast for Ava.  That was never a favorite movie of mine, but now that I've seen it several times in the last week, it's growing on me.  I figure this is a good chance for me to catch up on some of the stories that I missed out on! Watching all of these princess movies has me thinking about fairy tales...why is it that it's always the evil stepMOTHER?  Or the mom is dead, and no one has taken her place?  Very rarely is it the father who is evil, or dead.  This has actually come up as a topic in more than one conversation lately, and has me a bit intrigued.  Fairy tales are often not very happy - and usually someone dies at some point.  I was a giving an overview of Snow White to a friend of mine, and as I was going through the story, both of us were horrified at the message - mom dies, evil stepmother wants to murder her pretty stepdaugh...

What's Black & White?

It's officially summer in Minnesota.  We've passed the 1-2 weeks where it's pleasant outside, and have moved into the hot and humid midwestern summer season.  This calls for some FUN in the SUN!  We were hoping that Ava would enjoy the water a little more this year than she did last year (I took her to several weeks of swimming lessons in a lap pool, where the temp of the water was just a wee bit too chilly.  It didn't go well for either of us.)  Plus, she has a new swimming suit I was anxious to have her try out, so at the very least, I knew she would look cute. :) So, Daddy decided to set up the sprinkler for her one night after dinner.  This, too, did not go very well.  Perhaps it's because he sprung the sprinkler on her without warning, causing her to run to me, with fear in her eyes, and very wet hands...  After that, we never got her to come near the sprinkler (way to go, Daddy), and she decided to play with my potted flowers...with h...