Putting the Big Kids to WORK!

What a weekend we had! On Saturday we helped my brother Jacob load up his stuff and move to Cambridge. The big kids were great helpers carrying things into Jacob's new apartment!

Then last-minute on Sunday morning we decided to pack up the van and make the trip to RWF to help my parents load up their wood cellar for the winter!

Thanks to Uncle Billy for letting us borrow his BRAND NEW tractor for the day!

Andray and Roslyn LOVED riding in the tractor.

Roslyn said, "Mom, it doesn't smell like "farm" yet!"  :)

I haven't been home in over a decade to help with this project!

Brought back a lot of memories filling the cellar with my brothers "back in the day."

It felt really good to get this job done for my parents.

I forgot how much work it is!

Definitely going to be a new "tradition" to head home every fall and accomplish this as a family.

Andray and Roslyn were awesome helpers the entire afternoon.

And the greatest reward...putting my feet up by the warm fireplace before heading back home.

Can't wait for Christmas to get here so I can relax for a couple days down by the fireplace!

How I'm Surviving Work Away from HOME!

Thankful I have pictures of my family and beautiful flowers from my Mom's garden to get me through the days at work!!!

Let the Spelling Tests Begin!

Andray Paul has his 1st SPELLING TEST at school today!

I think he's more  than ready!

One confident little man - very proud of him.

Can't wait to get home this afternoon and hear how he did!

Grandparent's Day at SMHOC!

Grandparent's Day was a success at SMHOC this morning!

So glad my mom and Jake's mom could join the big kids for mass and brunch!

Andray and Roslyn were so proud to have their Grandmas with them today!

First time ever - Carrine crawled underneath our pew during the "Sign of Peace" and ended up in the pew behind us!

Roslyn tugged on my shirt and asked where Carrine went - I literally couldn't find her.

Got a tap on my shoulder and low and behold, the lady behind us lifted Carrine up from the floor.

Can't make this stuff up! Andray and Roz never pulled a stunt like that in church when they were little!

Every day is a new adventure with our CC!

19 Months Old and Already Wants Her Privacy!

Hard to believe our Carrine Faith is 19 months old today!

Caught the kids having a dance party last night after bath time.

So funny that our youngest is the one shutting the door!

Miss this lil' lady so much during the days!

She is growing before our very own eyes!

Pumpkin Picking Season is Here!

Sunday afternoon was the PERFECT day to head out to Sleepy Hollow and pick out our pumpkins. 

Last year we weren't able to make it to the pumpkin farm - was fun to bring Carrine out there for the first time. 

On Saturday the big kids and I headed out to Sleepy Hollow for a school work-a-thon to help harvest all the gourds and mini pumpkins. 

More than once while harvesting Roslyn said, "Mom, this is a lot of work!"

You're right Roz - farming is a lot of work!

Carrine wasn't a fan of the tall weeds in the pumpkin patch...

But she did think the "baby pumpkins" (as Dray and Roz called them)

were pretty cool. 

The big kids were like "old pros" in the pumpkin patch.

And their TEAMWORK skills came in handy!

Carrine enjoyed her wheel barrel rides!

On Saturday the owners of Sleepy Hollow announced that this fall would be their last year of harvesting pumpkins. Sad to see a good thing end - apparently this farm has been in the family for over 160 years!

Thankful for the family memories we've made out at Sleepy Hollow!

Lots of photo opps set up as well. 

Can you guess who picked out the GREEN pumpkin? 

Thanks Andray for keeping our wheel barrel diverse :)

Heading home with a full barrel!

Thankful every day for this trio - we had a great weekend together and enjoyed the beautiful weather!

Sunday was fun decorating our pumpkins in the garage while watching the Vikings win!

We have one "colorful" front porch now :)

Life is Simple...

Life is full of choices...change is scary, but the positive reward in the end is worth it!

Life is too short to not strive towards happiness!