Apple Orchard

We spent this morning at an apple orchard. It turned out to be a great day for it. We did some apple picking, rode a trailer behind a tractor, had a picnic lunch and a were able to get some good fall photos. I do enjoy this time of year and will try to get an apple crisp in the oven today. For those who know me, know this may be a little ambitious. All 3 kids were able to participate this year so it was even more enjoyable. I hope we make this an annual tradition.

Friends and Family Weekend

Target Book Festival with the Schwartz Family

Mom's Birthday

Summit Hill House Tour 2010

It was a busy weekend with friends and family. On Saturday, the kids and I joined the Schwartz family and went to the Target Book Festival. It was very kid oriented so Dru and 3 yr old Sky were able to bounce in the jumper, we had an impromptu lunch on the grass and read books in the "book nook". Jessica had the girls running like crazy so Dru (and Leo) were zonked in the car immediately.

Sunday we went on the Summit Hill House Tour in St. Paul. We were able to go into recently or currently being restored large homes. They were amazing and well done. It would take a lot of money and TLC to bring some of these homes back to their original architecture. I would recommend this tour. It was a lot of walking but luckily the weather was perfect. Afterwards we celebrated my mom's birthday with dinner and apple pie. Yum!

Look at your own risk...

DRU'S FIRST POTTY!!!!

Potty training has commenced. It has been a week and we have had good days and not so good days. I have had moments where I had to talk myself out of giving into to the ease of the diaper. She definitely has some big steps to conquer, but we're on our way to having only one in diapers. Dru and I had our first successful trip to a public bathroom. I've been dreading that moment for years (yes, years). She did great and it wasn't as bad as I had envisioned.

Out and About

On a walk before bedtime. A rare sibling photo.

He looks fairly content after a quick lunch.

Funny hat for a sunny day.

She loves to sit in the infant car seat. Look how big (and heavy) she is!!

2010 MN State Fair

Space Tower

Listening to Tonic Sol-Fa

Dru's first time on the Giant Slide

Dru in the Butterfly House

Rides with Reed

The Minnesota State Fair is one of our favorite events of the summer. The kids did amazingly well without naps. We ate lots of food, of course. Dru and Reed went on a few rides. We were lucky to catch Tonic Sol-Fa in concert. I took Dru down the Giant Slide for the first time. I don't remember the last time I went down the slide. It was quite emotional for me because I used to go down the slide as a child with my dad and loved it. I hope Dru and Leo will love it too. I look forward to taking Leo next year! I also took Dru into the Butterfly House. She did quite well, though wasn't immediately okay with the butterfly flying down on her shorts. After it settled in, she let it sit there for a few minutes. Our day began at 7:30am and we got home around 6:00pm, all 4 of us were exhausted! Julie and I were able to go again by ourselves the following weekend so we could see some other things and could cover more ground. We spent some time people watching which was quite entertaining. We'll be back next year!

Look what Dru did!

That is Dru holding a tarantula!! Every time I look at this picture it amazes me! A "Bug Guy" came to her school a few weeks ago with cockroaches, spiders and other bugs.