Fall in Minnesota

I LOVE LOVE LOVED the fall this year!

I missed the changing of the trees most when we lived in Tucson. It is a beautiful time of year and the weather is perfect. There are so many things to enjoy! For a while, on the street we drive up to get to our house the trees were full of yellow leaves, and then for several days the street and yards were covered with the leaves after they all fell off the trees. 

About the second week of October Lilly started walking. By the end of October she was up and about her own business!! It wasn't until the second week of November that she was good enough to add trouble to the mix. Now she wanders around the house, opening everything (cupboards, garbage cans, toilet seats, . . . you name it). Trouble is her new name around here!! 

Benson loves to see Spencer off to the Bus. The rule is he has to have shoes and a coat, but no rules about getting dressed first!! This is how he went out one morning!

 If I wasn't his mother, I might be embarrassed! But it was just too funny!
We've had them start wearing two shirts to bed to keep them warm, but one night Benson didn't want another shirt. He thought a pair of shorts over his pants would keep him just as warm!! :)

Halloween 2013

Halloween was a week long even this year. Good thing too because Brooks was out of town for work, so we needed to keep ourselves busy!

Trick or treating at the grocery store!!

This was a last minute plan so we have borrowed costumes from our friends.

Benson (Costume #1 - Spiderman with a Batman mask), Spencer - Transformer

Costume #2 - Pirate (for Joy School)

Costume #3 - Buzz Lightyear (Preschool) (not pictured)

the Joy School group

Ready to go out on Halloween night!!

Spencer is a Ghost, Benson (costume #4) is Tigger, and Lilly was a fairy!

Digging through the loot! 

Benson ran hard at first, but got in the stroller about half way through. He was content with his stash and did not need any more! Spencer was sooo tired, but kept at it. We went trick or treating with some neighbors and he was determined to keep up with them!

Let the holidays begin!!! 

Apple Orchard

We went to the apple orchard with a bunch of friends in October. It was a beautiful fall day and we came home with lots of apples and raspberries. There's nothing that brings back memories more than eating fresh picked raspberries!! YUMMMM!

Spencer was such a good raspberry picker! 

I definitely want to get raspberry bushes some day. We will need a lot though, because I don't think half of them will make it into the bucket!!

The Gang!

Pumpkin Princess!

Birthday Bash!

Brooks had a birthday shout hurray!! 

Don't let the brownies fool you.  It may not be a fancy birthday cake, but we made homemade ice cream instead - with fresh raspberries! It was scrumptious!!!! 

This was the week that Lilly started walking, not very steady on her feet, but trying making small strides!!

Sleepy Eyes

This little guy is getting really good at falling asleep where ever!

This is at General Conference. He was so tired he almost fell off his chair!

at dinner, 

one night I even found him asleep on the stairs after I had already put the kids to bed. He must have come out of his room and sat on the stairs, then fallen asleep.

Life is too fun, when the end of the day comes, it's hard not to crash!

There's always a first

This was our family's first time dealing with stitches!

I got a call one morning from the school nurse telling me that Spencer didn't get on the bus to come home because he was in her office getting cleaned up when the buses came. He had fallen out on the playground and cut open his chin. Of course it was the morning I was teaching Joy School so I had 6 kids at my house that I couldn't just put in the car to go get him. Thankfully, the neighbor around the corner has a girl in Spencer class so I called her and asked her if she could run get Spencer.

We ended up taking him in to the doctor's office and got three little stitches. He had a bandaid on his chin for a week, but I think he kind of liked all the attention!

We played doctor at home at the end of the week to take the stitches out. I can handle that part of being a doctor, just not putting the stitches in!

Hopefully this is the last event involving stitches for a while!