Happy Halloween!

We had 2 very excited kids at our house today. Aidyn could hardly wait to get to preschool to show her friends her costume. Here she is with her friends Emma, Lauren & Jordon. This afternoon we had a party at church and then it was trick-or-treating time. As you can probably see from this picture, they were almost bursting with excitement!
When we got home, it was time to sort through the loot. They each got to eat quite a bit of candy and then we brushed their teeth for the full recommended 2 minutes...twice. All in all, I'd say it was a good day to be a kid. Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving

Tonight we carved our pumpkins. Since it was so nice out, we opted for the pumpkin gutting to be held outside. Aidyn was not too thrilled with the sliminess of the pumpkins so she opted for the spoon method.

Nolan wanted a scary pumpkin and I think Aidyn was looking for something kind of in the middle. They were both very proud of their creations.

Halloween Party

Last Friday we had a Halloween Party with some of our friends. The kids had a great time! Here is the whole crew...
They played musical chairs. The older kids were definitely more "in tune" with the rules of the game.

What's up Tex?

They also played Halloween Bingo and everyone got to Bingo at least once! And then when they were done you got to eat your Bingo pieces. (At least as many as you could shove in before your mom intervened.)

I love it when they read together...

Fall Fun

The kids and I spent the morning outside today doing yard work (me) and playing in the leaves (kids). They had a blast!

Safety First

This is how Aidyn protects herself while Nolan is playing ball in the house. She has been injured enough times to know better than to just sit there.

Go Bison!!!

Yesterday, the mighty Bison of North Dakota State reigned supreme over the Gophers of the University of Minnesota with a score of 27-21. It was an awesome game and being there in person was a great experience. There were just over 60,000 people in attendance with almost half of them being Bison fans. We had a great time and were proud to be wearing green & gold!!! Bo Bison!!!

ESPN
Fargo Forum
Star Tribune

Election '08

I just came across this interesting site on my friend Tammy's blog. You answer a series of questions about major issues and you can learn which candidates are most closely aligned with your views. Check it out and let me know who you come up with!

Select a Candidate

Although I don't know who I'm voting for yet, apparently Barack and I share a lot of the same views.

Black Eye #3

Nolan is only 2 1/2 years old, but has managed to get his 3rd black eye! This isn't a great picture, but trust me, it is there. He fell and hit his cheek on a slide on Tuesday, by Wednesday it had spread upward and yesterday it was a good old black eye. You can kind of see the dark spot on his cheek and then it spreads up to the corner of his eye and then back across under his eye. Just lovely!

Sunday was another action packed day. Aidyn's choir sang at church on Sunday morning. In case you can't pick her out, she is the tall one on the left. This is the 3, 4 & 5 year old choir. Sunday afternoon we took in the local Fire Departments Open House. They served Firehouse chili, ice cream & cookies. They had all sorts of safety demonstrations and of course gave away lots of fun goodies, like firefighter hats!

We got to go for a ride in one of the fire engines. Jeff & Nolan even got to sit up front!

The local dive team was there diving for toys for the kids. It was so funny watching Nolan with the diver. Each child put the headphones on and was supposed to talk to the diver as he was finding a toy for them. Nolan just stood there with his mouth open, staring at the diver and wouldn't say a word. It was the quietest he has been in a long time!

Grandpa Jerry & Grandma Sharon with the kids.

We all had a very fun weekend celebrating Aidyn's birthday. Thanks to everyone who came to help celebrate!

On Saturday we celebrated with family. Grandma Sharon made Aidyn a Tinkerbell birthday cake and of course there were more presents....
One of the things Aidyn got was a Bella Dancerella Cheerleader set. She has been practicing her cheerleading everyday since then. Nolan has also been getting in on the action!

Aidyn's 5th Birthday

Aidyn's 5th birthday was on Friday. For those of you who don't know, turning 5 is a BIG deal. (As was 4 and as will be 6...) Anyway, she got to celebrate in school with a crown (which she wore ALL day), birthday snacks and well wishes from her friends.

That evening we went out for dinner and then opened a few presents when we got home. And she got some birthday love from her little brother...

Apple Orchard Field Trip

Aidyn's preschool class had a field trip to the apple orchard this morning. We got to see how they process the apples, how they peel & core them for the bakery, we went on a wagon ride and then everyone got an apple donut as a treat. YUM!
Each child got to pick some apples to take home. Here is Aidyn selecting the choicest apples!

Pretty Daddy

Aidyn got a "beauty set" from one of her friends for her birthday. She convinced Jeff to let her paint his nails. She was thrilled with the results!

Aidyn's 5th Birthday Party

Yesterday Aidyn had her birthday party at a park near our house. She invited lots of friends who all had a great time playing, eating pizza & cupcakes and playing more.
L to R: Julia, Lydia, Daisy, Aidyn, Rachel, Nolan, Amanda

L to R: Eli, Carter, Noah, Sean, Alana

When it was time for cupcakes, I gave Aidyn her cupcake so everyone could sing Happy Birthday to her. As her friends sang to her, Aidyn proceeded to snarf down her cupcake. It was classic!

Nolan & Sean enjoying their cupcakes.

Aidyn got lots of very nice gifts. It was great to watch all the kids watching Aidyn open her gifts. They crowded in as close as they could get and there was commentary on everything!

Notice the look of love as Aidyn admires her beautiful new pony.


Aidyn also got many beautiful cards from her friends. Here is Lydia explaining the finer points of her card.
Aidyn had a great time at her party and is so lucky to have such wonderful friends. Thanks to everyone!!

Apple Orchard

We attempted to go to the apple orchard on Saturday. Bad idea. Aidyn was crabby...this will cheer her up! It looked like rain...probably just a sprinkle! It was pretty windy out...we'll be protected by all the trees!
So we get there, it starts raining, the wind is blowing and Aidyn starts crying "I want to go home!"
We'll just go for a little wagon ride to pick some apples. "I want to go home!"
Oh, the apples we want aren't nearby, we need to go on the tractor ride to go get them, "I want to go home!"
OK, no tractor ride, let's just stop at the orchard's store and pick up some apples that have already been picked. "I WANT TO GO HOME!!!"
Fine, let's go home. We should stop and pick up some lunch on the way home. In the parking lot of Subway...the rain stops, the clouds break and the sun comes out. "We should go for a walk when we get home." Ahhhh kids, you gotta love 'em!

Superheroes

Here are the kids "flying" off the couch the other day...