Thursday, October 26, 2006

While daddy's away, mom goes insane.

I've had several calls these last 2 weeks from many of you dear friends and family checking up on me while Rob has been out of town. I am doing fine, but the experience has given me a new profound respect for single mothers. I honestly don't know how they do it day in and day out. Of course, my experience might be exaggerated a bit since 1) I do not live near a grandma that I can bum childcare off of, and 2) I am not used to going it alone, so I have not learned the specific skills to do so gracefully.

Yesterday I yelled at my 19 month old for dumping his plate of fruit in the floor. Ugh. He looked at me like "now honestly, mother, how is this behavior any different than any other day? Why are you yelling? Have you gone mad?" and proceeded with his little gravity experiment. Ethan would have been in tears, and I would have followed. Not Noah. He points out the absurdity of my behavior by not letting it phase him. So one deep breath and a quick trip to my knees in prayer and we were all back to "normal"...whatever that is.

In that respect, having Rob gone for an extended period is good - it makes me take stock of me. It gives me a chance to see how easily I rely on him for my strength or spiritual guidance, when I should be relying in Christ. It gets me back on track.

Not that I'm advocating for him to be gone more often....oh, how I miss him! His absence also reminds me what a terrific man he is and how much I love that my husband is also my best friend. :)

Monday, October 9, 2006

More Fall Fun: the Apple Orchard

Last year we had a lot of fun at Minnetonka Orchards, so it seems this is becoming an annual tradition along with the state fair. Peak color today, so I enjoyed myself thoroughly!

Click to enlarge and zoom in on Noah - he's turning into quite the ham!
The boys enjoyed climbing and rolling in the large mountain of hay.

Simply cannot get enough of John Deere tractors! My boys will be customers for life!

There was a very cool wooden train for the kids to climb around in and on. Noah is slowly starting to catch on to the whole "pose" idea for a picture. I say slowly because usually he either won't even look at you, or will just stare blankly. He only today started copying big brother and saying "cheese" whenever mommy had the camera out.
Mom suggested (much to dad's chagrin) that they boys bury dad in the hay. I think Rob was picking hay out of his shirt the rest of the day! (hee-hee)
Even though they have a rather large sandbox at home, this proved to be one of their favorite activities of the day!


We also went on a hay ride, enjoyed some yummy apple donuts, and played hide and seek in the corn maze. It was a very fun day! Noah wore himself out and was asleep within five minutes after heading home. Even Ethan took a short nap in the car.

After all this beautiful weather, would you believe they are predicting snow flurries by Wednesday? That's Minnesota for you. 9 out of the 11 years we've lived here we've had our first snowfall before Halloween. Guess this year's unseasonable warm streak will not stop the trend. Batton down the hatches....winter's comin'!

Fridley Fire Dept. Open House

Every year, our Fire department has a shin-dig for the kid-os. Lot's of activities, free stuff, and big machines. It's heaven for the boys!

We met up with James and Letitia there. Henry, Ethan, and Noah had lots of fun together.




Better in the front seat than the back, huh?

Saturday, October 7, 2006

Fall Family Fun


Well, we've gotten an "Indian Summer" here the last week - the rain stopped and we've had temps in the 70's. That, along with the dazzling color has made me giddy. We've been outside a lot the last week or so. Tuesday, we went to Springbrook Nature Center to enjoy the scenery and see the animals. Of course, one cannot pass up an inviting pile of leaves!
















Honestly, now. Is it possible to be any cuter?

Historic Ft. Snelling


Fort Snelling had 4 special homeschool days this last month. We attended one on frontier technology. It was really cool! I can't believe I've lived here for 11 years and have never gone before now! Not only was the Fort demos fun, but we also caught a glimpse of a barge coming down the river!

Ethan and Noah posing on a soldiers bunk in the living quarters.
Not sure why Noah is sticking out his tongue here. Maybe he is really feeling his "horse" character...

Ethan as a soldier circa 19th century.
I think this was both of the boys favorite part (besides getting to help make a brick)!

All the historians inside are dressed in period. They didn't take it quite as far as the Plymouth Plantation interpreters did...they at least would answer your 21st century questions like "where is the bathroom?" It was a lot of fun, though. The boys got to work pulleys, a wood turner, pretend to chop planks from logs, play in the old schoolhouse, scrape a moose hide, make a brick, build a rock wall, and watch a blacksmith. Ethan thought the potty chairs in the hospital were "GRRRROOOOOOSSSS!!!!!"

September in Ohio

We recently found ourselves on a whirl-wind, action-packed family adventure to Ohio! It was kind of last-minute, but lots of fun. Here is our jouney in pictures...















We got to go to KY for a family reunion of sorts. KY is a beautiful state full of interesting people...many of which are related to me. I can assure you, however, this vehicle did not belong to anyone in my party. This was spotted at a small gas station in Mt. Vernon. You may want to click the picture and zoom in on the license plate. I really don't know what else to say about this - I can't even believe they sell these, much less that someone would actually buy it and display it in public. Ah, Appalachia....















Our flight home had a brief layover in Michigan. The airport was designed with kids in mind! They had several play areas along the way. Ethan and Noah enjoyed this little playhouse while waiting to board.















Here is a picture of the extended family that was able to meet in KY and go spelunking. This is taken outside our "family cave".















This cave was on family property and run as a tourist site by our family for years. I have many fond memories of our yearly reunions that always included a tour through the cave and all the facinating stories that went along with it. Many years ago, it was sold to the University of Cincinnati and there is no more tourism. We were able to pull some strings to go through it one more time. Lots of history in that cave. "Fire Down Below" with Steven Segal has some scenes that were filmed in there. Haven't seen it. You couldn't pay me enough to watch 2 hours of Steven Segal...hurts just to think about it!















Ethan and his cousins enjoyed picking up large "logs" and "rocks" - leftover props from the movie. It's really amazing what they can do with styrofoam!




















Part of the reason behind our trip was my brother's 30th birthday bash. Yep. Nothing will make you feel old like your little brother turning 30. We had a great time. Of course, what would a party be without dancing? And you know me, even if I'm the only one out there, I gotta dance! Usually the kids felt sorry for me and joined along.






























That's my dad. Now you know where I get my goofiness! :)
Also note Ethan...took him a while to warm up, but he was really bustin' some moooooves!

And here is mom and dad both getting into the rhythm. I didn't have the heart to tell them that no one does the "bump" anymore... :)