Happy Halloween!

From our 'family' to yours!

Carving Pumpkins

We finally got around to carving the pumpkins we picked out a couple of weeks ago and had great fun. Anytime goo and flying projectiles are involved, you can't help but have fun! I'm still discovering pumpkin seeds (usually right before they enter Morgan's mouth...) a couple days later.

Cleaning pumpkins is very entertaining - and don't let that neat little pile of goop fool you!

Mommy had some fun too.

Full of grins, especially when peek-a-boo is involved.

Carving pumpkins is very serious business ... can you tell they are father and son?

Lane, meet Jack!

The pumpkin version of our family.

Fishing and Other Watery Tales

For those of you who've missed seeing fish pictures lately, here are some of Lane and Morgan's latest catches. They can play with this puzzle for hours. When they're done, Lane puts one of my flip flops on the end of the fishing pole using Morgan's pacifiers for 'bait' and announces that he's caught a walleye ... I really need to get a picture of that!

Even their favorite books are about fishing! If you would have told me 10 years ago that I'd be married to a fisherman and have fish enthusiasts for children, I might have looked at you funny. We remembered the other day (while we were eating fish, yes, even me) that on our first date, Ryan took me to a seafood restaurant and I ordered chicken ... he looked at me and said 'oh.' He still orders seafood and I still order chicken when we eat out and it works.(:

The Pumpkin Patch

What is fall without a visit to a pumpkin patch? So, off to the 'patch' we went and enjoyed some other fun fall activities too.

Picking out pumpkins: Morgan loved the white ones ...

and Lane wanted one he could carry.

They all stopped in the middle of the hay maze just long enough to snap a picture ...

Although Morgan hung out a little longer ... she's walking but still not sure about uneven ground.

And they're off - can't sit still for too long if there's more to explore.

The Joys of Canning

The last couple of weeks have been busy getting fruit off our trees and into jars to be used this winter. We got things picked in the nick of time as we have had a string of well below freezing nights and days that haven't been much warmer.

We had more than enough plums ... 72 half pints of jam and syrup and we didn't even use them all! We were glad that Don and Darlene were willing to help us out!

Next came the apples off our two small trees. Not the greatest eating apples but perfect for applesauce.

Our helpers ... Lane was ready for any attack from wild animals too. (:

The finished products:

Applesauce

Pears (that came off the ugliest looking pear tree you've ever seen - however, after a week sitting in brown paper bags, they ripened up and were quite tasty.)

Plum jam and syrup

It is always nice to see jars full of food and feel a sense of accomplishment. Ryan helped speed up the entire process by doing the majority of the peeling and coring and it is always more fun having help!

When There's Water ...

When a playground has water, cool fall day or not it is impossible to stay out. So down to the diaper (we weren't prepared for water) and into the splash pad Lane and his cousins went, shrieking and shivering the entire time.

Cora wasn't quite as sure about the whole thing, even with big brother's help.

Josh and Lane squaring off.

And then there were those of us who would rather stay dry!(: