A Pumpkin becomes A Jack-O-Lantern

The last weekend in October, Matt's parents came up to see Tyler play and also spend some time with us. I think this is the 3rd year in a row they have been here for the pumpkin carving, which I would say definitely constitutes a tradition. Can't wait to see you guys join us again next year for the 4th Annual!!

First you have to draw your design, very carefully

Then dig out all the icky stuff...

..and when I say icky, I mean slimy, gross, stringy gunk!

But boy is it fun!

Wyatt picked out this huge pumpkin and Matt had quite the time trying to even cut open the top to clean it out. In fact, he started out by using one of those flimsy little carving knives but when it broke, I ran to the store to get another once since we would need it for the front of the pumpkin.

Blake was busy assessing what exactly was inside his pumpkin

Still workin on it

Still trying to see what's in there

yep, still at it. By this time I was back with a second set or filmy, cheap, worthless carving knives, Matt was so frustrated with the knife he had that he wanted to try one of these new ones again. 

"NO Way!" was my response

"Maybe if I talk to it, it will talk back"

FINALLY opened that thing up!

And at the same time, everyone else was finishing up their jack-o-lanters!

Wyatt and Matt took turns carving out the big guy--until Wyatt broke the 2nd knife I had gotten.

It turned out great, but forget those big pumpkins for next year. They cost more and they are virtually impossible to carve!!

Wyatt was also really excited about his design and we had several people that they had never before seen a pumpkin with glasses. Made Wy proud.

I forgot to get a picture of Wyatt with his Jack-O-Lantern, but I took some on Halloween so you'll have to wait until that post it published!

Fall Happenings

Some notable things from the past two months (can it really be December already?)

At our church, all the 2nd graders are presented with their own Bible during both church services. Wyatt was really excited to get this Bible because, although he does have one already, this is the same version that the kids read out of in their sunday school classes (ESV) and that all the 'older' kids have. So Wyatt, along with the other 5 kids in his sunday school class, were presented these Bibles by our pastor and then they asked the elders of the church as well as each child's parent to come forward and lay hands on the kids and pray for them. It was really special day and we are so blessed to be in a church that recognizes the importance of events such as this. (The second service is more highly attended and had almost double as many kids. But the smaller size classes are perfect for us!) 

Our Pastor Tim calling the elders and parents forward. After church, Wyatt came home and spent a good amount of time on Sunday afternoon reading and looking through his new Bible. He even took it in his backpack to school on monday and brought it in the car whenever we went somewhere. We pray that he would keep God's Word central in his life and that it would be his guide always.

We had a fairly mild fall, so sometime in mid-October, Matt and the kids did some preliminary work on the hockey rink in our backyard. Laying the boards and putting the brackets in the ground was going to be tough once the ground was frozen, so they took advantage of the warm temperatures. 

Blake was a big fan of that rubber mallet!

This is what Blake and I do most days after Sadie gets on the bus....we either play a game or read some books before his nap. I always love 1-on-1 time with each of my kids and am thankful that this is a daily occurrence for Blakers and I.

Yes, Sadie and I also had some 1-on-1 time a few weeks ago. She and I were in need of a 'date' and a friend from our small group had just had a baby, I could think of nothing Sadie would love better than to hold a newborn while they are still in the hospital. I think this is her idea of heaven.

(She was only slightly disappointed that although this family had 4 girls already, this one was a boy!)

Sadie still loves to play school and I found this upstairs on the white board after she had gotten on the bus. I had volunteered in her class the day before, which explains some of what she wrote. 

(Translation: Hi friends, Sadie's mom is coming to school. We will go to the library. Love, Ms. Eull)

And this has been our evening toy cleanup after the kids are in bed. Matt was actually picking up most of the toys this evening and he called me over and said, "Do you think we could get these kids a football to play with?"

Or some sticks to play knee hockey with in the morning? Seriously, thank goodness for hardwood floors!

Recently we were at one of Uncle Ty's hockey games and ran into our dear friend Glo (Mrs. to the kids) Erickson. She was Wyatt's children's leader in BSF and then had Sadie two years ago. We see her every Thursday morning and she is one of our favorite people. She loves on my kids constantly, remembering their birthdays and always stopping to hear what they have to say. Her son plays for Gustavus, a school in the same conference as Bethel, and they happened to be playing on a different rink at the same time as Ty was. I asked her if we could get a picture when I realized that I have NO pictures of her with my kids. We LOVE Mrs. Erickson!! She is a wise woman. 

Stormy Lake

Over the kids' fall break, we went up to Stormy Lake to stay in our cabin for the first time. We bought it back in September but hadn't been able to get up there until now. I have to say that we weren't really planning on buying a place, but it ended up being a perfect scenario--wonderful older christian couple looking for someone with ties to Stormy Lake to buy their summer home at an incredibly reduced price. When we were up in September, the offer had just been accepted and we took the kids over to look at it. We told them we had a surprise and just the five of us drove over to the house. (They had been with us when Matt's entire family had walked through the house with us and heard rumblings about the possibility of us buying it.)

When we pulled up, Matt and I just smiled at the kids and said, "This is the surprise."

Sadie was the first to respond, of course, "Is this our cabin? Does this get to be our family's cabin? Is this ours?"...endless questions without pausing to let us answer! But the excitement built in her voice and in her facial expressions. 

Once Matt said, "Yes, it's ours", Wyatt was completely overcome with emotion. He teared up, smiled and turned his head away from us all at once. Then he hopped out of the car, I think in hopes that we would stop watching his reaction!)

Of course Blake just ran out of the car and kept running around and running around and running.....and running and running!

We weren't sure if the kids would understand or appreciate how unbelievable this was, but clearly they did and were SO much more excited than we had anticipated.

My parents met us up there for the long weekend and their help was hugely appreciated!

This is is!  

The kids enjoying their breakfast in the morning with Nani at the fireplace (that's what you do when you don't have any furniture setup yet!)

The first project to tackle....removing wallpaper! Thankfully Matt got some great stuff at Home Depot and it came off easily.

Pops and Wyatt put together all the IKEA furniture

And Blake told Cali all about his PB&J!

Wyatt is such a great helper, always wanting to be a part of a project. So he helped Matt take off the cabinet doors in the kitchen so we could sand the cabinets and paint them.

Wallpaper off and cabinets sanded, ready for paint

And just like that, my wonderful husband painted the cabinets and they look amazing! I am loving the open shelving--now just to get some color in there and figure out what to do with that backsplash area.

Of course when you're up at Stormy, it can't be all work! Lots of relaxing in PJs and cartoon watching (at least in the colder months when we can't get out on the water)

Matt's parents were up at their place on Stormy Lake over the weekend as well, so they stopped by to check it out and take a few pictures....this is the view of the lake from our cabin.

And then Sadie got a hold of my camera....

in her own words, "I am taking pictures of all the things God created."

And then she convinced her brothers to shoot a few of her....

We did several projects but by Saturday morning, everything was done and we had the rest of the weekend to just enjoy the fall weather and time together as a family. The kids brought up their BB Gun and Matt set up a target for them to practice on. I put on my 250mm lens and took these pics of Wyatt showing Sadie how to shoot the gun and aim it.

Papa stopped by on Saturday afternoon to see if the kids wanted to join him for a bike ride around the lake---a hilly 5-mile trip on single-gear bikes! But they did it and were great troopers in the chilly temps!

My parents had to get back to Madison since they both volunteer at church on Sunday mornings, but Matt's parents were still around and joined us at our place for dinner on Saturday night. Matt's dad does this hilarious thing with his face that used to make his little brother cry, but for some reason my kids find it hilarious!!

He pulls them in real close and then makes a scary face and they just die of laughter!

Papa is possibly the best story teller and the kids just love listening to his endless stories!

Blake LOVES 'I SPY' books and will sit for long periods of time looking for the objects in a picture. Grammy and Blake looked at their book for quite awhile!

Many more pictures to come but if you really want to see more of our place, invite yourself up for a visit!!! We loVe guests!