HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween everybody! Will thinks this holiday is great, he's been saying "treat? pleeeeaaase" all day long. He was very excited about his loot after he went trick or treating with Scott.

Per request

My sweet friend Jaci reminded me that she "tagged" me... so here goes...

1. When I was younger, my favorite clothes were: my hot pink and hot green socks - worn together of course and my sisters lightening bolt earrings. (Lisa, do you remember those? I used to try to steal them off your dresser!)
2. And now: Anything comfortable, I'm really liking my DownEast shirts and jeans at the moment. Right now, any clothes that can get sticky fingers, snot, and baby drool on them and wash perfectly are a must. Mostly I just shop clearance racks from my favorite stores (Gap, Lerner, and Old Navy)
3. When I was younger, my favorite TV shows were: Full House, my little pony, and the Sunday night Disney movie
And now: The Office, Amazing Race, Biggest Loser, and lately Dancing with the stars
5. When I was little, my favorite music artists were: I had no idea I listened to whatever my bro's and sis's were listening too... mostly country
6. Now that I'm grown up: Norah Jones, Colbie Caillat, Michael Buble, Brad Paisley, and Diamond Rio... among a few - we've got quite the random mix on our ipod
7. When I was younger, my favorite food was: popcorn!!!!
8. And now: let's just say I LOVE food, and I really love to cook. I still love popcorn, nachos, soup, salads with lots of stuff in them, and of course, ice cream!!
9. When I was little, I was afraid of: snakes, our neighbors dogs, and getting in trouble... now, it's pretty much the same, I still hate snakes, but worry about something scary happening to my family.

I guess that's me in a nut shell!

Well baby check....

Well baby checks are the best. It is so nice to know that your child is healthy, growing the way he should and learning just the way he's supposed to. Will just had his 18 mo. check-up and all was well. Besides the fact that he SCREAMED the whole time the nurse and dr. were around, even when they weren't touching him... I don't know?! He weighs in at 24 lbs. 10 oz. (33%) but is still a little short (31 1/4 inches - 21%), with a gigantic head (80%)... no wonder he's so smart! He must get that from his mom....

He only had to have his flu shot today, and so did mom. I was trying to be brave in hopes that he wouldn't cry, but I'll be honest, shots HURT. Poor thing, he screamed through that also!

THE MONSTER DASH

This year for Halloween, we dressed up as Paul Bunyan, Paul's wife, and BABE the blue ox. My friend Tana made this darling hat for Will and it totally completed the outfit. She saved me from spray painting devil horns!!!

Yesterday, we ran the "Monster Dash" 5K. It was SO much fun, we can't wait for next year. Everyone was so festive and dressed up, and there were lots of families there. I loved seeing all the families out together and encouraging each other and having fun together. It seems like you don't see that all too often these days... The race was held at Lk. Harriett here in Minneapolis, it was a gorgeous sunny day, but only about 40 degrees.

We were glad we had our flannel shirts on!

Here's our determined little OX who has to WALK everywhere by himself and won't hold hands... ever! We were glad we finally got him to wear his gloves. We had to tell him it was like "Nemo" and then he put them on (he has finger puppets that are fish like Nemo that he puts on his fingers at church)
The Bunyan Family (someone told us we would look more like the Bunyans if Scott was on stilts and could grow a beard....)
The bribe: crackers, just so he would get in the stroller - who ever said not to bribe with food?
Our big finish - this is how Will spent the race
Whew - the other finishers, wide awake!It was such a fun day as a family. We got to enjoy lunch at the lake afterwards, enjoy all our little freebies, and eat our candy that we got from "trick-or-treating" along the race course (what a fun idea!). So... Until next year... maybe we'll be ambitious and run (or walk) the Monster HALF marathon???

FAMILY PICTURES

I think Will is looking for his "owie"
Will prefered to show his trick instead of sitting still to take pictures

Our good friend Heathere took some family pictures for us. We went to Stone Arch bridge, a historic landmark here in Minneapolis. It is near the milling distric where Pillsbury and Gold Meadal Flour all had it's beginning. We were downtown with the city of Minneapolis in the background, right on the river (Mississippi of course). Hope you enjoy... thanks Heathere you did a great job!

PUMPKIN

I love fall! Martha Stewart inspired this fall activity - glittered pumpkins. It was very fun, and I loved the result - they really do look gorgeous. Every year around this time, I also start craving some good "fallish" food and pumpkin has always been a favorite of mine. Just lately, I've given out a few really yummy recipes that include pumpkin, so I thought I would share in the tastiness....

Pumpkin Pancakes

(I have my sis in-law Lorinda to thank for this awesome recipe. We had them at her house and now they are a favorite of ours... with apple cider syrup of course! - thanks Rinny!)

Beat 2 eggs and add ¾ c. canned pumpkin
Add:

2 T. sugar
½ t. cinnamon
½ t. nutmeg
½ t. ginger
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 ½ t. baking powder
¼ c. oil
1 ½ c. flour
Stir in 1 ½ c. milk

Bake on a slightly greased griddle.

Apple Cider Syrup

¾ c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1/8 t. nutmeg
¼ t. cinnamon
2 c. apple cider (I used apple juice)

In saucepan, mix together sugar and cornstarch. Add nutmeg, cinnamon, and apple cider. Bring to a boil. Serve on pancakes or waffles.

I'm an 80 year old....

It's true, I have a disease that normally occurs in women over 40. I don't know who to thank for it, genetics I guess. We found out a couple weeks ago that I have to get my gall bladder out because I have gallstones. That is such an ugly word... gallstones, why couldn't they name it something more femenine or fun to say? Either way, I have them and they will be taking them out by laproscopy sometime in the next month. I've been having lots of stomach issues and they did an ultrasound and that is what they found, exciting?... not really, but we are relieved to know what it is and that it can be taken care of.

Luckily, I don't feel completely alone, my sister who is only a few years older than me had hers out about a year and half ago. We can be 80 year olds together! Thanks Krista!

Maybe I'll get to post a picture of my "stones" - gross, I won't do it, no matter how tempting!

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON

Before Scott and I got married, I frequently looked through Scott's baby books and thought "I wonder what our kids will look like.....?" Scott was hands down one of the cutest little boys I had ever seen (...and what a handsome man!). I couldn't wait to see what Will would look like. From day one, he's been his father's son in many ways. Although I catch glimpse's of myself in him occasionally - usually when we're eating, go figure - most of the time it is ALL Scott. I love it, and here are some pictures of Will in a sweater that Scott wore at 18 months.

Grandpa Glenn always tells us a joke of when they had a plummer at their house and Scott (at about 2 yrs. old) ran out of the house past the two of them and the plummer said "he's built kinda short from one end, aint he?!" Yes, Scott has always had super short legs, and once again, like father like son. Hence, the rolled up pants in EVERY picture we have ever taken of Will. Nonetheless, we love this little boy and he brings a lot of fun and laughter to our family!

MY FAMOUS NIECE

..... okay, maybe not famous, but she's close! I have 13 nieces, and I must say, they are all cute, special, and famous in their own ways. Meghan, my niece who lives in Grand Junction, CO won an art contest and got to ride in a fire truck, have lunch with firefighters, and she got to see and do all the cool things that firefighters do. They even got called out TWICE while she was there.

Way to go Meghan! Keep up the good work -

You can see Meghan at: http://www.gjsentinel.com/ scroll down and click on "Meghan's big day"

"Baby Will"

Will is our little chatter box. I tried to catch him having a conversation with me, but I only got a few words out of him. Normally, he'll go on and on in jibberish and then every few words, you can understand a few. When we ask him what his name is he says "Baby Will" - what a funny kid. Oh, and I don't know why I only film in PJ's, I promise I do dress him!

THIS OLD HOUSE

Disclaimer: memories and bragging to follow

Scott and I have been reminiscing about the days of owning our own home. We thought some of you might like to see our home in Logan. We are pretty proud of it, after putting in hours and hours and hours of back breaking hard work, paint, and floors, etc. When we got married, we were lucky enough to buy a house. Not just any house, a house built in 1916, and then remodeled in 1980... and with our hard work and the help of lots of family and friends, we remodeled it again in 2003-2005. It was the funnest, hardest, longest project we've ever attempted, yet we can't wait to do it again! When we were first married, we lived in the basement and rented out the upstairs. The basement was the smallest apt. ever, those of you who saw it, will agree. We had a kitchen/living room/entry (all about the size of a small bedroom), bathroom, and bedroom. Just to give you an idea of how small this place was, we could BARELY fit our queen size bed in the bedroom. And the closet was about the size of a small coat closet.

When we finally moved upstairs (that was the greatest day, we couldn't wait to have 3 bedrooms and a big kitchen!!!), we fit ALL of our belongings into one of the upstairs bedrooms. Don't get us wrong, we absolutely love living in student housing right now, it is the perfect place for our family at the moment. But we truly cherish the days of our little home, because it was literally OUR home, we used our own hands and made it our haven.

FYI - these pictures were taken a couple days after Will was born, we had to get our house on the market because we were headed to MN a couple months later!!!

The front door, living room, taken from the kitchen

The kitchen, taken from the front door

Master bedroom

Baby's room, crib is behind the camera

The loft... this was our guest room, but probably would have been a play room/nursery

The bathroom... you've got to have a bathroom shot, right? My favorite part was our floors, which Scott did all by himself!!

Monkey on the bed

Will thoroughly enjoyed jumping on the air matresses while gma and gpa were here!

SCOTT'S RACE

Scott ran his half marathon this past Saturday... as usual, he did great. He had a lot of fun running, and we are glad that his knee held up and didn't give him any problems. He ran it in 1:34 - beating his goal! Go Scott! What a man.

Grandpa

This is pretty much the only way Will would sit on Grandpa's lap. Once again, this boy LOVES to read - it is nearing an obsession. I guess that is a good thing, right?

SCULPTURE GARDEN

The catch of his life.... just kidding. This is a glass fish as big as a house at the sculpture garden. Glenn only wishes he's ever caught one that big!

This is how Will spent most of his time with Grandma and Grandpa... Grandma spoiled him and bought him a new book. The "Quiet Cricket." We read it at least 10 times a day. Family pictures at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.
The famous Spoon and Cherry....
I like this one because Scott is trying to convince Will to look at the camera and Will just keeps looking down because it was too bright... smart kid.

PAPA & GIGI

You know that feeling after Christmas when all the presents are open and the excitement settles and you feel sad because you know you have to take down all the Christmas decorations in a few days....? That is a little how we feel right now. Grandpa and Grandma (Papa and Gigi) just left today from a week long stay in Minneapolis. It was SO fun having them here, Will was in baby heaven with all the attention and constantly having someone read to him. Every morning he would wake up and say "gigi?" And when we went downstairs, he would head straight for his books, plop down on her bed (almost on her head!) and say "hi!" until she would wake up and then he would say "read? Okay?" and snuggle up with her while she read over and over to him.

It took Will a little longer to warm up to Grandpa, but he sure loved it when he did his Donald Duck voice! We had a great time chatting, playing games, and exploring some sights of Minneapolis. We are truly blessed with great family and wonderful parents on both sides. We cherish every moment we get to spend with you and look forward to our visit in December!!!

LOVE YOU MEAN IT Papa and Gigi!!