Birthdays All Around!

We had a couple birthday parties this last week.  Parker's friend, Ilana, had a Halloween themed birthday party.  Parker's costume wasn't complete yet, so he wore a ninja turtles one I got on clearance last year.

We made mummy hands with plastic gloves, candy corn, and popcorn.

Parker really liked playing the rainbow spinner.

We tried to get a picture of all the kids, but you know how that goes sometimes.

My friend, Shannon, was doing face painting.  I told her to surprise me and she did!  It's me, really, it is!

Chocolate cake for dessert was perfect.  Happy Birthday Ilana!

Yesterday we went to my friend Rick's house for his birthday.  Esme helped open his present and had a fun time playing.  Her and Rick are best buddies!

Happy Birthday Rick!

Autism Speaks Walk 2017

The Autism Walk was on Saturday.  They booked a new venue, US Bank Stadium.  All of the events were on field level, which was so cool. 

 We got to actually run around and play on the field.

  

We took a few laps around the field and Parker got lots of high fives!  We raised $1700 this year and $7700 over 5 years.

 We were all wiped out, even Parker took a nap.  We are all looking forward to next year!

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

This fall has been a little crazy as we are still catching up from the move.  We were able to take a family date night trip to the pumpkin patch on Friday.  It was almost 80, so we didn't even need to bundle up.  Dehn's pumpkins has been our favorite spot for many years.  They have one of the cleanest corn pits around, which is a favorite.  Esme wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but Parker dove right in.

 Something is added every year, and this time it was a slide.  

 Esme was trying to clean all the kernels off the hay bales, but it wasn't working very well.  I helped her go down the slide a few times too.

 They had a jumbo inflatable slide that Parker had fun on too.  He has been hit or miss in the past, but seems to be getting braver.  

 We took a short walk through the patch, but the pumpkins were pretty picked over, so we just headed back.  Parker wanted to help pull the wagon and Esme was mostly content sitting.  The video below if cute and a little funny.

 Esme will definitely be able to enjoy it more next year.  Happy Harvest!

Fun and Productive Family Weekend

Our niece, Emma, turned 11 earlier this month and her birthday party was last Saturday.  We got to see Jimmy's sister and niece and nephew from Two Harbors and celebrate.  Esme loved playing with a balloon and outside on the slide.  It was chilly and drizzly, so she got pretty wet.

 Happy Birthday Emma!

 It cleared up enough on Sunday for us to install the free swing set we picked up last week.

 The platform was a little wider than we wanted so, we cut down the boards to make it narrower.

 I already had a long drill bit to make new holes for the bolts and we had it put together within a few hours.

 Sunday was also my parents anniversary so I grabbed a dozen donuts from Dunkin to celebrate.  Parker was a big fan.

 We added some mulch a few days later and it was ready for playing!  It is going to be so nice to have a decent play set in our yard.