Light Parade

We made our annual trek to the light parade in Perham this year and it was fabulous!! One of the nicest nights that we have had when we were out watching - and the kids were able to nab a lot of candy and goodies while we were out!

Christmas Tree

And then we jump to Christmas! :) We went to pick out our tree while the weather was still a little warm and there was no snow on the ground. The kids had a blast running around trying to find the best one and we ended up with one of the first ones that we saw! (Brody was the proud picker!)

ECFE Halloween Party

The kids definitely get their fill of Halloween parties and the ECFE party is always a great time. They all really enjoyed pounding golf tees into pumpkins so we spent a lot of time there!

Pumpkin Carving!

Everyone carved their pumpkins so well this year, I was super impressed! Beau and Brody both did theirs pretty much on their own and Bella didn't need much help. They tried hard and we all enjoyed the seeds afterwards!

Halloween

Time for our annual SCAB Halloween party and the kids were decked out and having a ball! This was the only picture that I got of all my kids in their costumes that they all picked out on their own... My very own zombie, headstone, bum and princess! Love them!!

Braxton

I mean, who doesn't watch television laying on the kitchen table? I had to snap a picture before I made him get down! :)

Brotherly love!

I love when Braxton crawls up with Brody and Brody actually takes the time to read to him... So adorable!!

Fire Station Field Trip

Every year the kids get to make the trek to our local fire station for a preschool/ECFE field trip. They have a great time checking out the fire trucks and listening to the firefighters (this year it was their uncle Quentin) show their gear and tell about what to do if there is a fire. Braxton is even getting in on the excitement and ran around the whole place yelling "fire station, fire station" every time he saw a new truck. They definitely had a blast, I guess some things never get old! :)

Murder Mystery!

This year's SCAB murder mystery had an 80's twist to it and you know that everyone went all out with that!! It was a blast! As soon as I told Josh the theme, he decided that he needed to be Richard Simmons. Let me tell you - he was THE ultimate Richard Simmons! He was a little tired the next day from all the working out, jumping and being wild and crazy that he did... It was a great night and we raised some good money for our next projects that we have in store for our town!

Pumpkin Patch

Tuesday we headed out with the ECFE class to the pumpkin patch in Wadena. It was a beautiful day, with much better weather then last year when it was rainy and cold the entire time! Josh actually made it home in time from work and was able to go with us. Bella had dance in Wadena that day so he stopped in there and then we headed to the park for a picnic supper and some play time before we hit the pumpkin patch. A hayride, some fun on the playground and a pumpkin to take home and our night was complete! It was a wonderful time with our family!!

Oz

This past weekend was a rough one... There was a lot of talk of dying and heaven, starting with the 5K that we walked in honor of Jane, the Princess Warrior, that lost her battle with cancer last year. Some of you might know that Oz has been having a lot of issues over the past year. He was diagnosed with having congestive heart failure and has been on a couple different types of medicine. He continued to have issues with seizure type episodes, wasn't breathing very well and was losing weight rapidly. On Sunday he died. He has been in our family longer then any of our kids and there is a huge hole in all of our hearts. It was one of the hardest talks that I have ever had to have with my kids and while it was a bit easier to explain death when it is a pet and not a person, it is still a hard thing to explain to your kids... They wanted to make him a headstone, so we found the perfect rock and worked together as a family to create it. They picked what they wanted it to say and we made it happen. I think it says it perfectly - we all loved Oz!

Princess Warrior 5K

Our family participated in a 5K last Saturday, in honor of a little girl that lost her battle to cancer at age 8... I was a little nervous about the kids being able to do an entire 5K, they rocked it!! The stroller helped, especially since it rained the entire 5K and poured on us for a bit even. But, we were out there, doing it for those that would want to and can't! It was a wonderful experience full of decorated houses along the route, a balloon/wish release, cookie stops and music. The love was everywhere during this wonderful 5K adventure!

Grandma Cindy

Cindy decided that she had enough of the Minnesota winters and headed back to Arizona last week. We tried to get a picture of her and the grandkids - short one that was being a bit of a butthead... Guess he didn't really want Grandma to move and was showing his feelings by acting out!

Helping??

The week before Grandma Cindy moved back to Arizona was full of finishing up projects that she wanted to do for the kids before she left. With her apartment in shambles because of the moving process some of that happened at our house while most of the kids were at school. Fortunately she still had one helper left so that she could get it finished... I'm sure the chokeholds helped tremendously with the sewing process!

Bella's Meet the Teacher and 1st Day of School

Bella is super excited to start school and today was the day! She will be going 4 days a week this year and gets to ride the bus every morning... Brody's class is right next door to hers and he has already been asking if he gets to walk her to her room each morning. Feel the love, feel the love! :)

Bella and Becky

Bella and her teacher Heidi

1st day of school (it's a little cold this morning, but she HAD to wear her new dress to meet the teacher AND the first day of school!)

Beau, Bella, Brody

outside her room