A Weekend with Friends

This weekend we had fun visiting with our friends. Andrew and Janelle and their kids came on Friday and left Saturday. The guys got to do some pheasant hunting, the kids had fun playing with trains, going to the park, and riding bikes. I didn't get any pictures because it was crazy-busy!

On Sunday, Randy and Kristi came with their family for the day. We met when we were in Korea meeting Henry and they were meeting their son, Parker. We have a lot in common, so we look forward to the time we get to spend with them. You won't meet nicer kids than Melanie, Brooke, Ryan, Parker, and Noah!


It was a full table at lunch: Noah, Henry, Parker, Melanie, Brooke, Ryan, Walter


Walter and Noah were pretty messy after finishing off cookies with orange frosting - very messy!


Parker and Henry kept busy playing with Moon Sand.


Things got a little loud when the girls were playing the organ.



Ryan joined in the fun.


The musicians...


What can 7 kids do to a family room? Take a look around! They definitely have healthy imaginations which lead to lots of creative fun.


There was some chasing...


...football...


...driving and leaf removal...



What handsome brothers!


These four went on a few walking "adventures" around the house - and came back laughing every time.


Meanwhile, Walter had fun pretending to drive with Ryan.

Keeping Busy while Dad's Away

While Nate was hunting in Canada and South Dakota, we spent some time in the cities. We went to Como Zoo and rode on the Carousel, played at the park, went on rides at the Mall of America, went to the doctor's office, an apple orchard,church (just the 3 of us without any help...for the first time ever!), ate a yummy meal at Hoban with our friends and much more. We tried to keep busy but not too busy to keep the time from crawling. Happy to report that Daddy is finally home! We made it - Praise the Lord! I owe a BIG thank you to my sisters and dad who were my extra hands!

The boys loved Boppa's headlamps!








We had fun playing at the park with Adeline!

Sharing

Henry and Walter each picked out a lollipop at the grocery store and had fun sharing with each other. I know I really don't need 5 pictures of this event, but it was kind of sweet so I couldn't choose.

Fall Harvest

Nate left last Friday for his duck hunting trip, so we headed to the cities. We met our friends at the Fall Harvest Farm for a morning of fun. They loved seeing the cows, turkeys, and chickens. We went on a tractor ride and picked corn and gourds and then we were so tired out, we headed home.


The goats were Walter's favorite part of the farm. Henry didn't want to feed them, but Walter thought it was so fun to have them eat out of his hand. I had to include the second picture because wanted to look them right in the eye!



The corn pit was actually Henry's favorite thing (Walter liked trying to eat the corn) but I couldn't get a picture of him or the boys together in the corn that wasn't blurred!


There are obviously not good pictures - Preston is the only one who would look at the camera. I thought it was funny how they all went different directions and did their own thing once they saw the pumpkins - maybe orange wasn't the best color to dress Henry when I wanted to be able to see him easily!

My Funny Boys

Nate is hunting is Canada (I'll post a pic later) so the boys and I stayed with my family for a few days so I couldn't post any pictures. There's my excuse...


Henry relaxing with blankey, Little Bear (who is actually a dog), and Shorn.


Walter loves to help me vacuum.


"Hmm. Now where did I put that?"

Afternoon at the Farm

Our friends, Randy and Christy, invited us to spend some time with them at Randy's parents' farm today. Henry and Walter had so much fun...and it made me miss my grandparent's farm. The boys' favorite thing was the cattle - they even got to feed them some apples.


They loved watching "the shy cows." I had to stop both of them from trying to climb over the fence.


The cats were a big draw, too. They finally figured out that if they sat down the cats would come sit by them...chasing didn't work!


Oh, the Gator! Walter wanted to drive all by himself. It was hard to convince him to let Dad take him for a ride because he would have to get out of the driver's seat.


Watching the cat.


Damon helped Henry pet the cat.


Here is Henry on the combine. Farmer Harold was kind enough to take Henry and Dad for a ride in the combine while he took out his soy beans. Henry thought this was pretty cool...Walter was even impressed!

Lunch with Dad, Chalk, Tomatoes, Bikes

LUNCH WITH DADDY
One wonderful thing about living in a small town, is that Nate works 2 blocks away from home so he comes home for lunch every day. As you can see, the boys love having Daddy home!


Resting with Daddy


Wrestling...or smothering

CHALK
Henry and Walter had lots of fun using chalk to draw on the driveway last night. You can tell how much fun they had by how dirty their clothes got...







TOMATOES
This spring, Uncle Dave gave us 4 tomato plants that he started and this is what they look like now! They are taller than Nate.


Someone told us it looks like we'll need a chainsaw to chop down our tomato plants this fall!


The boys love picking sweet treats off the tomato plants.

BIKES
Today we visited our friends and enjoyed a beautiful morning riding "bikes" together and playing.


They were very busy.


Tseganesh


Trying out pedals


The seat is a little high, so he found a new spot to sit.


Hmmm, this thing looks way more exciting than those bikes!