Pumpkin Fest

Our church's annual Pumpkin Fest was on Wednesday.  It is a huge Halloween event with food, games, candy and fun!  We were excited to take him, but were prepared for it to be a short visit.  Parker can get a bit overwhelmed in crowds and we knew it would be a big turn out.  He looked great in his costume and a ton of other kids knew exactly what he was!

 There were several inflatables, which he has become very fond of!  He probably could have stayed in there all night, but I wanted to check out the other activities.

We got a great family picture out of it as well.  I can't wait to dress him up one more time for Halloween!

Big Boy Bed!

We have been discussing transitioning Parker from his toddler bed for a while. Now that baby number 2 is on the way we will be needing it back to a crib at some point. We got a flyer for a great deal on a mattress over the weekend so I pulled the trigger. I was brainstorming ideas for a platform when I found an IKEA foundation with legs for $25 on Craigslist! What a steal. A friend was able to pick it up for me and my mom brought it to our house Monday night. I also got a great deal on bedding at Target with the help of a couple online promotions! I couldn't contain my excitement and had to start tearing things up! The first picture is his room before.

Here is his room after! There is still some additional decorating to do, but at least we have the furniture moved. I will probably move some of the pictures and maybe make some new valences. The crib is totally gone for now, but will likely be back in once the new baby has a decent sleep routine. Parker was a bit frazzled to see his room torn up, but loved it once it was put back together.

He kept climbing in and out, covering and uncovering.

I am excited to actually be able to lay down and snuggle if I want to.

Even Jimmy got in on the action! He secretly wants truck bedding now too!

The first two nights have gone well and he is adjusting easily to the new layout. Just another step in growing up!

Buxton-Herrmann Pumpkin Extravaganza

A few weeks ago my sister-in-law suggested get get together to carve pumpkins.  Jimmy isn't a huge fan of it, so I was excited to have someone to do it with!  We headed to my parents house straight from the birthday party.  Lindsay, Jayden, and Cody were already working on a skeleton craft and I joined right in!

 My skeleton was having a grand ole time!

 We started carving pumpkins next.  I have tried to get Parker involved every year (2012, 2013, 2014) but he hasn't quite been as excited as me.  He even started to gag a bit at the smell this year...

 The rest of us had a hay day while he ran around!

 We even broke out the power tools to make it go faster.  I have been a traditionalist in the past, but I may have to adopt the jigsaw approach.

My pumpkins are on the right.  A Rebel Alliance symbol from Star Wars and a goofy cyclopes!  I think all of them turned out great and I hope to make this an annual event!  

Have you been having any Halloween fun?

Bowling Party

Parker was invited to a bowling birthday party this weekend for his friends, Mitchell and Sophia.  Since we met most of his buddies at an infant ECFE class they all have fall birthdays.  It makes for a fun and busy season!  We got there early so we got to bowl a few rounds before it got too crazy.

Parker, Mitchell, and Sophia

 Parker loved saying "ready, set, go" and pushing the ball down the ramp.

Mitchell

 With a little aiming help from mom, Parker got a strike on his second shot!  That's the "X" on the bottom below.  Ignore the letters, the kids were just going in whatever order.

Simon 

Sophia

It got a bit hectic once all the kids arrived, but the parents did a great job regulating and helping the kids.  Parker was happy just running around and trying to walk on the open lanes.

 We tried to keep him off, but he kept going back!

 He eventually got a good scolding and that took care of things.

 Happy Birthday Mitchell and Sophia!  Thanks for letting us celebrate with you.  We can't wait to go bowling again!

Halloween Kick-Off

We had a Halloween even this weekend at a local shopping center.  I have wanted to go in years past, but never had Parker's costume finished in time.  I remembered it in advance this year and made sure to get it finished.  We had a play date with our friends the Johnson's before hand, then caravanned over.  I try to get pictures of them playing, but it doesn't always happen.  The only picture I got was of Parker and the new addition, Felix Wonder!  We have been taking advantage of opportunities to expose him to babies since we will have one of our own soon.  He did a great job and was very interested in him.  He kept walking up to me saying "baby."

 I have alluded to the fact that I was making Parker a Star Wars costume and here is the final product, an Ewok.  It was a pretty easy costume to make.  I purchased a long sleeve brown thermal shirt and brown sweatpants from Walmart, then used them to make a basic pattern for the fur.  They also add a barrier between skin and the scratchy back of the fur. Both the top and bottom close with velcro in the back  I also got a small piece of orange flannel to create the hood/cape.  The ears are made the same fur and are attached to another strip of fur on the inside to help them stand up.  I used the ink from a marker brown marker to create smear marks that look like dirt.  The final step was taking some suede cording and stitching the sides.  I think it turned out pretty good and people seemed to recognize what he was.

 He was done with trick or treating after a few stores.  I was pretty crowded so he was getting a bit anxious.

 He was much more at ease running around outside.

 And dancing to the music!

It turned out to be a great day to be outside!  We have at least one more event before Halloween so it should be a fun season!  What are you guys doing to celebrate?

Nebresota and Minnaska

Many of you know my family hails from the land of corn, Nebraska.  We bleed red, but we have also been in Minnesota a long time.  I was born and raised here, so I have a certain amount of loyalty to both states.  My parents have been here over 30 years and feel the same.  The Nebraska Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten conference several years ago, so they play the Minnesota Golden Gophers every year.  They played in MN this year and my parents were going to the game.  We have talked about making some hybrid shirts and finally did it this year.  I found shirts online with similar type and styling.  We determined the best combinations would be "Minnaska" and "Nebresota."  I carefully cut each shirt in half, then sewed the opposite sides together.  There wasn't a lot of seam allowance, but I made it work.

 My parents were the hit of the whole day!  They even traded a picture for some beverages!  I hope they will get a lot more use in the years to come.

For some reason, I thought it would be fun to do a Twitter search and I found a guy that tweeted a picture of my mom!  You know it's awesome when strangers are tweeting about it! 

The Huskers won the game, which they desperately needed!  The gophers won the last two years, so it was time to share the wealth!  Hopefully this will inspire you to embrace your loyalties too, even if they clash a bit!

Bayfield Apple Fest 2015

Our trip to the Bayfield Apple Fest this year looked a bit different.  We knew quite a while ago that Jimmy likely wouldn't get the vacation he needed for our standard trip.  Changes over the summer all but sealed his fate.  I didn't want to sacrifice the tradition for Parker since he has been every year.  We decided to take a day trip, which is a pretty long drive alone.  I mentioned it to my mom and she suggested that her and my dad tag along.  I was excited to spend the day with them and not have to drive the 400+ miles with just Parker.

We woke up just before 5am and were on the road at 5:01!  We stopped for breakfast in Turtle Lake at The New Frontier.  They had a huge pancake platter that Parker and I shared.

We were on the road again just as the sun was coming up.  We saw a gorgeous lake a bit later and I had to stop for some pictures.

We finally arrived a little after 10am.  It was a bit chilly, but the sun was out, which helped.

As always, we made direct course for the apple brats and apple mustard!  I grabbed another on the way out and bought a pack of frozen ones for home.  

We take a picture with the pier sign every year to and had to keep the tradition alive without Jimmy.  

The fall colors were almost non-existent, which was a bit of a bummer.  I love taking these pictures because they are great to compare from year to year.

We checked out all the vendors and ate tons of delicious foods.  Parker's favorite is the mini donuts!

He loved listening to the band play too and was practically dancing out of the stroller.

We were back in the car about 10 minutes before he conked out.  Not bad for being up since 5!

It was too early on the way there for our stop in Hayward, so we did it on the way home.  We got cookies at the bakery and candy at Tremblay's.  Jimmy's only request was some fresh peanut brittle, but we also got him pecan turtles and peanut butter balls.

Our final stop before home was dinner at the Wagon Wheel Cafe in Chisago City.  Parker took full advantage of happy hour! ;-)

Their pizza was super fresh and delicious.  I enjoyed a fried cod meal and my dad raved about the fried chicken!

We all stretched out legs one last time before hopping in the car one last time.

We finally got home about 7:30.  Over 14 hours and we were all ready to hit the hay.  I had so much fun driving with my parents, they made the trip so much fun!