The Leaves Are Falling Down!

We got out to play in the leaves and rake a bit the sun disappeared this week. The time change is not fun with darkness coming so quickly after school. Callie has been wanting to get out in the leaves but it has taken awhile for them to fall. We had a significant amount down this week so decided to make some fun. The boys even came out and joined us after a bit. We made a nice leaf fort, did a little leaf pile jumping, and then the kids just enjoyed throwing leaves at each other. Joel got stuck head first in one of the cans which brought laughter! And the evening ended with the leaves nicely raked at the curb, and a beautiful sunset! 

Trick or Treating!

Chewbacca and The Statue of Liberty took to the streets for some trick or treating fun on Saturday, October 31st. Many people were not handing candy at the door, but left a bowl on their front porch for people to grab from. We did a bit of walking in our own neighborhood, as well as a new neighborhood we don’t normally stop at. That neighborhood was a jackpot with BiG candy bars at many stops.  Like other years, we drove to many of our favorite stops - Melvina, Scroggs, Holmes, VanDenBussche! We added in Callie’s first grade teacher this year and the Heaton’s too. We had a fun evening out and about. Callie and Joel both loved their costumes! Yipppeee for the $2 we spent at The Closet for these grand costumes this year! 

Pumpkin Carving

We carved pumpkins this year. It doesn’t happen every year but it did this year. Cade manhandled his pumpkin and got his carving done lickety-split. Joel and Callie worked hard at trying for a specific look. Callie’s transformed throughout the carving process and we ended up with a baby girl. The bow was fun to make! After looking through lots of pictures, Joel decided on an owl. It wasn’t easy but when he finished, it really wasn’t too bad. It had to take some extra thinking but you could see the owl in it! We also learned this time around that Callie really can’t handle the pumpkin guts. She actually went and got a mask to wear so she could avoid the smell - ha ha! 

Deer Hunting

Callie wanted to try sitting in the bow stand for some deer hunting with Curtis after school on Thursday, October 29th. They ventured out and came home without seeing anything and very cold toes! Patience patience!! 

Happy Birthday Pop!

We celebrated Pop’s birthday on Tuesday, October 27th! It was a simple Beck’s chicken dinner with some yummy apple pie made by Grandma. We are so thankful to celebrate Pop this year. 

Happy 7th Birthday Callie!

We enjoyed celebrating Callie’s 7th birthday on Sunday, October 25th. She got serenaded at church and then we enjoyed a little party with Pop and Grandma. She was surprised with her Cat Cookie Cake. 

She had a special shopping day with Grandma Bev on Saturday and got to open a few of her gifts from their time together. She loved her shopping date.  

Grandma Glenna and Grandpa Bill sent a big Lego set for Callie. She was so excited when she opened the box. 

Mom and Dad got her a new coat, walk-in talkies, and a Tervis Tumbler. The boys got Callie a new purse and a charm bracelet. She felt so loved with all her gifts. 

We had Care Group in the evening and surprised Callie with a piñata to share with her friends! She was so excited to get to celebrate with her friends. 

Happy 7th Birthday Callie Mae. You are so loved!! 

Corn Maze

After school on Tuesday, we ventured south to Tanner’s Orchard in hopes of trying their corn maze. We haven’t visited Tanner’s for years or any orchard as a family for sometime. The kids were a bit wore out from their weekend travels, but we knew our days of good weather were lessening so we decided to make it happen. Plus going during the week helped us to avoid the crowds!

We enjoyed the play area with some tether ball, a jump house, numerous vehicles to play on, tug of war, and our favorite was the drain tile races! 

The corn maze was a highlight of our time! It was awesome! Mom and Joel were a team, Dad and Callie were a team, and Cade wanted to run around by himself. It took awhile to get use to the map, and part way through we realized there was a “clue” type game happening along with the check points. So we got to figure out the mystery too! Joel and Mom successfully got all of the punches but it took us the longest. Cade just went for the check points, and Callie and Dad did all the check points with a few mystery ones along the way. We had a great time! 

Life Without Kids!

While the kids were in Kansas, Mom and Dad tried to figure out what to do. Life was awfully quiet. We enjoyed a date out on Thursday night to Neil & Shorty’s for some yummy burgers and barbecue. We also enjoyed some Chinese later during the weekend. On Saturday we enjoyed a bike ride on the canal. We found the start of the canal (it doesn’t actually go to the IL River) and made it all the way to Lock 3 where we had biked to our first ride of the season in the Spring. It was a beautiful day for a ride! On Monday morning we went hunting together. We didn’t see any deer but enjoyed time together in the tree stand. This was Mom’s first time out hunting! 

We also got Wilma for the weekend. She is a wild thing!! She and Walter play and fight all at the same time. Though she is fun for the kids, we do enjoy our Walter’s temperament a whole lot! 

We waited with much excitement for the kids to return on Monday afternoon. They had such a great time with Pop and Grandma, and the Lamberts. What a gift to get to go!

A Trip to Kansas!

The kids got a special treat with a trip to Kansas with Pop and Grandma! Mom was subbing so she couldn’t go and Dad had to work, so the kids just went with Pop and Grandma for the long Columbus Day weekend (5 days!). The kids got to see Anna play volleyball, Jake play football, and Caleb as a Sterling Warrior. The weekend was extra warm in Kansas so they sweated a ton (and the Lambert’s AC went out!). What a great weekend! It definitely did their hearts good!!