Family Trip to the Apple Orchard

Emma’s a lucky girl. She got to go to an apple orchard twice this year: once with mommy and school and once with the family. I look forward to this trip every year, it’s the surest sign of fall. We’ve been going for years, and they do a bang-up job.

We always go to Afton Apple Orchard, and after sampling some different type of apples we hop on the hayride and pick apples. This was Abby’s first time to get in on the fun.

That’s right, she just sat down and started eating.

That’s when we ran into Titan. Ever since he started going to school with Emma, they’ve become the best of friends. After the apple picking, the kids got to play a little in the playground and watch them make apple cider.

The kids had a lot of fun jumping off the hay bales.

…and we got to feed the animals as well.

The Early Trick-or-Treating Tradition

We’ve gotten in the habit of making a Family Fun Night the week of Halloween centered around some early trick-or-treating at Kowalski’s Market and at the Croixdale Residence (a nursing home). Jake is Superman, Emma is the Tooth Fairy, and Abby is Abby Cadabby (of Sesame Street fame).

Kowalski’s does a great job getting stuff out to the kids. Most of the goodies are samples from their suppliers of solid quality. There is a path around the store that the kids can go, some pictures out front, and giant Jellybelly jelly bean.

We had dinner (sandwiches and candy) there at Kowalski’s.

Croixdale was great! The put the residents in a big circle and the kids walk around and collect candy. Emily’s great-grandmother Zella is there and we always look forward to seeing her. Cane, Annabelle, and Titan showed up too.

One of the big hits for the kids is the birds. There’s a talking parrot there and Emma is the perfect age for that.

Even our little Abby-Cadabby had a great time!

Abby’s Birthday

Abby turned one on the fifteenth. Both Tara and I are in shock! We just brought her home from the hospital and now are little baby is one.

Ever since Emma’s 2nd birthday, we’ve used a polka-dot themed door display for birthdays. She loved it and Tara and I enjoyed watching her play with them. The little dots just proved too much for her to resist.

That night, we had a small family dinner at Acapulco Restaurant in Stillwater with family. Her big party is this weekend. She got a few presents and got to spend a little time with her great grandma. It’s a great family place and now that Adam works there, it works well with the family.

Jake is helping Abby with her new toy.

Jacob had a little homework to do and Uncle Adam got him some bottle caps for his collection if he finished it. He’s been doing great in school and we’re happy with the progress. He’s reading at a 2nd or 3rd grade level.

After, we went to Nelson’s (home of the ridiculously large ice cream cones) and Abby got her first taste of Ice Cream. Jake’s friend Hunter was there and they got to hang out.

Jacob and his friend Hunter.

All told it was a nice family time with everyone: Grandma & pappa, Grandma McCloud, Adam, Shelly, Emily & Kelly, and our family. Very nice to have a relaxing day ahead of big party on Saturday.

State Fair

Today was our annual trip to the Minnesota State Fair.  We really didn’t go to the fair until we had Jake.  That year we owned the salon and had to couple the birth of our first with grappling with two career and the perils of small business ownership.  The State Fair was the first time that we got to act like a normal family, and I really can’t tell you how much that affected us.  The stress was almost intolerable, and that trip was really the day we needed.

Over the years, we have gotten organized in how we approach this trip.  Most of the strategy involves our food rules:

1. Never, ever eat anything that isn’t on your “list”.
2. The list can only contain must-have items.
3. Cheese Curds are always, always a must have.
4. Only buy one of everything – that way everyone gets a nibble and nobody fills up.
5. Always share with everyone.

This year, we did some rides, which is new.  Normally we have a strict no-ride policy.  We got there early and the Tara, Jake and Emma did the Skyride – leaving me to push Abby in the stroller at a dead run under them.  The kids got to go on the Space Needle thing and ride a couple of other to boot.

We love to go to the animal barns and this year the kids got to pet a 3 day old baby pig.

One of our favorites is the “Little Hands Farm” where the kids get to walk through the business model of a farm.  They raise animals, plant seeds, collect milk, harvest food… and then take it all to market where they collect some fake money to spend on real stuff.

Emma got a “Fair-Do” and Jacob got some face-painting.  They looked great!

We had a TON of food!  Here’s a list and some pictures.

1. Red wine ice cream for the grown-ups.  It’s 5 o’clock dessert time somewhere.
2. Real apple cider from the Agriculture Barn
3. Mini donuts – a kid favorite!
4. A pronto pup.  Abby had her first bite of one and LOVED IT!
5. Swedish egg coffee from the Luther eatery by the Eco Building.  Supposedly it’s brewed with an egg.  Can’t taste the difference, myself.
6. Bratburger from the Ballpark Cafe (a smashed brat on a pretzel bun).
7. Grain Belt beer from the Ballpark Cafe (following the rule:  the warmer the weather, the cheaper the beer).
8. Drinks:  Lemonade for Emma, 1919 Root Beer for Jake
9. Key lime pie on a stick.  They really shouldn’t sell fair food with the nutritional information printed on it.
10. Big fat bacon. Thanks to a recommendation.
11. Summit Extra Pale Ale.
12. Cup of fruit.  Cleanse the pallet.
13. Cheese Curds.  A favorite of everyone!
14. Blackberry sundae from the dairy tent for mom and dad.
15. Twist cone for the kids.  Oh what a mess!
16. A funnel cake – very disappointing and there is only one place to have one at this fair – how wrong is that?!?!?
17. Sweet Martha’s Cookie.

Abby’s Dedication

We were so excited to celebrate Abby’s dedication.  It’s great to stand in front of our church family at Eagle Brook, family, friends and God to say that we’ll raise her with a love for God.

What a cool day.  We were blessed with fabulous people in our lives to go down that road with us and have asked Missy and Jerry Andrews to be her godparents and Emily to be Abby, Emma and Jake’s godsister – which is perfectly fitting. We have always viewed Emily as a sister to the kids, but to give her an extra bit of responsibility and a cool title was awesome.

It was a beautiful day.  We stood before the church and promised to raise the Abby in the church in front of 2000 people including our friends and family – so cool.  Abby was dressed in a beautiful white dress – thanks grandma. 

We also were able to take some pictures in the family Christening gown, which most of us wore for our Christenings on back (and before) to my maternal grandmother who was born in the 1890s.

After church we came back to our house and barbecued with everyone.  It was an amazing summer day and we relaxed with burgers and hot dogs from the grill.

Tara is 33!!

We had a really fun day Monday, despite the disconcerting news from home about mom.

We took the day off and relaxed. In the morning I took the kids to Karen’s and let Tara sleep (she’s running at 4:45 am these days, so it doesn’t count as “sleeping in” per se). Afterward, we went to Best Buy to scope out Tara’s gift: a new camera lens with a higher aperture (for portrait shots).

Then it was off to brunch at one of our favorite restaurants: Victor’s 1959 Café, which is the only place in Minnesota to get good Cuban food. We sat at the table below which has a lovely portrait of the Terrorist Che Guevara.

Then we saw The Hangover at the Rosedale AMC. Very funny movie, if not way inappropriate.

Afterward, we played with the kids at Teddy Bear Park.

Then met up with Grandma, Papa, Shelly, Adam, Emily and Kelly at Acapulco’s in Stillwater. Karen took the kids overnight, freeing us up for a little date at another of our favorite spots: Ingredients.