Halloween 2011

In our quest of keeping our lives simple, I looked at the outfits that our kids already had and tried to come up with costumes from them. For the girls, it was easy. Mom made their "Little House on the Prairie" dresses a few years ago and I asked them if they would like to dress up in these dresses for Halloween. Will had visions of being a superhero...but I remembered his Daniel Boone coon-skin cap from this summer and thought that would be a perfect compliment to the girls' outfits. Only problem was finding him some clothes...thanks to Goodwill (and Mom's sewing talents), we completed our costumes!! I even found metal buckets for the girls (just like the lunch pails from years ago).

Here's the crew before heading out...my 4, Deb's 3 and my cousin's little boy (the skunk).
First stop - "Aunt" Barb & "Uncle" Willy's (my parent's neighbor)


One of our last stops had these "legs" under the garage door...Will & Emma were so worried and had to investigate!

Another Emergency Room Visit

I've never been fond of the hospital or ER (who is??). I praise God that our kids have been healthy and safe (for the most part) all of their lives.

So, with that said, Will walked out to the kitchen the other day and said that his finger hurt. We looked down to find a lot of blood. After examining it, we realized he would need stitches. A few hours and 6 stitches later, he was much better! During this process, we learned that he wanted to carve a stamp (like Matt) and cut his finger with the exacto knife. We praise God that he didn't cut the whole tip off!!

We had many people praying for him all day...this is the note we put on Facebook that evening...

Pumpkin Carving

I don't know why we are always scrambling to get our pumpkins carved...and this year proved no different!

Harvesting Corn

With both of my parents growing up on farms...and with us living in the midwest, the best farming land in the world...I wanted to give my kids a harvest experience. Matt asked some friends from church to see if they had started harvesting yet. We were blessed by "Farmer Bob", as we affectionately call him! He had us come out one afternoon and we all got to ride in the big John Deere combine! It was an experience that I will never forget - and I don't think the kids will forget either!

Will watching the combine - carrying his new friend, a grasshopper.

Katie with Pollyanna

Maddie & Matt riding the combine
Alex taking her turn on the big combine!

The Pride of the Wapsi Pumpkin Patch

We decided to try another pumpkin patch this year. We actually drove to Princeton, IA to try the Great Corn Maze, but it wasn't open for the season yet! So, we traveled a bit further and had a fun afternoon at The Pride of the Wapsi.

The kids rode a pony -


Had their faces painted -
Enjoyed a hayrack ride -

Got lost (and found) in the corn maze - and we even found Waldo!!! What a wonderful way to kick off our month of fall activities!