PREPARING FOR HALLOWEEN.....OUR DAY AT THE PUMPKIN PATCH
We all really enjoyed our little outing to the pumpkin patch this year. Especially since our effort to go last year didn't pan out. The place we went last year only had apples, absolutely no pumpkins...so of course because we drove all the way there and there was nobody else at the stinkin place, Jason and I felt obligated to buy like twenty bucks worth of apples....but I'm getting a little off subject here! It was a little windy, but otherwise it was a really nice day!

My two boys are sooooooooooooooo handsome!!!!!!!!! I'm so blessed! Cale really liked this pumpkin but soon grew tired of it once he realized he wasn't gonna be able to pick it up, despite his best efforts!

The thick sticks got to be a little much for Cale after awhile, but he was a trooper!
Now we're talking! Pint sized pumpkins -- just the right size for our little pint sized man!

Not quite sure what has his attention here......

THE FINISHED PRODUCT...CALE'S FIRST PUMPKIN "HERBIE"

Jason and I had a great time in Jamaica...it was really nice to get to spend some time together and just RELAX!!! Well, at least when we were finally able to let ourselves relax! We had to keep telling ourselves that it was okay to just be sitting on our butts and taking a nap under the hot Jamaican sun!!! But we were also very excited to come home to see our little guy--we missed him so much! I especially had a hard time leaving him for so many nights...prior to our trip, I had only left him overnight! But we all made it through. Thanks to both grandmas and grandpas! They kept Cale busy while we were gone---I don't think he even cared too much that we weren't there! But it was back to the grind once we got home...Jason was frantic to get his lawn up to par for the winter...god forbid that our neighbor's lawns already had their leaves raked and bagged!!! Needless to say, Jason's need to "catch up" ended up being a fun way to spend our afternoon!!!

FALL FUN !!!!!

It took Cale a while to get used to the leaves.....he didn't quite think it was ok to run through them all. But once he saw mom and dad do it a couple times, he decided to give it a try and then we couldn't get him to go inside. He had his own little butt groove imprinted right in the middle of the pile and everytime he would get up he'd come back to sit precisely in the same butt groove!

Notice in the next two pictures how hard Cale is squeezing his eyes shut when Jason is throwing the leaves up in the air....This was before he was ok with touching the leaves!

Man, this kid loves to work!!! Cale better be careful at how much he volunteers his help though, cuz at this rate, Jason will have Cale mowing the lawn next summer!

...the infamous butt groove.....

Cale has become quite the artist. He loves coloring. Now we just have to concentrate on not breaking every single crayon. We're trying to teach him that he doesn't have to press so hard by showing him that the crayons still work with just a small amount of pressure. But it's always brute force with this one! Notice the multiple broken crayons on the table.....
....I know, I know....he certainly isn't wanting for toys....

MOMMY'S LITTLE HELPER

I sure have taught him well! For as many times as I say "Cale is all boy," he does throw a curveball our way every once in awhile that really catches us by surprise! Who would have thought he would take to sweeping?


Great hand positioning here....

Even digging into all the corners....he really pays attention when mommy cleans!
I'm such a slave driver!!!!!!!!

OUR WEEKEND IN HIBBING

Cale and I spent last weekend up in Hibbing visiting family. It was quite a drive going up...Cale slept for about 30 minutes and was pretty restless the rest of the time. He just wanted to get out and run around so we had to make a few stops just so we both didn't lose our minds! It's really hard traveling without Jason---keeping Cale entertained in the car was quite an ordeal...I've never sung so hard or loud in my life and I don't think I've ever been so animated with silly hand motions---the things we do to get a laugh out of this one!!

But we did eventually make it to grandma and grandpa's and Cale couldnt have been more excited! We got a lot of stuff done in just a few days!
Feeding the geese was something new for Cale! He loved it! We went a few times (Grandma used up a lot of bread!), but it was worth it, seeing Cale's face light up when they all swarmed around the food. We feared for our lives only a few times...the seagulls were scanvengers! You can see our car in the distance...it's quite a ways to run there when you see 50 geese following you!!!

We headed over to the water fountain next to try and throw some pennies in and make a wish, but that dream ended rather quickly as we realized when we pulled up there was no more water in the fountain. They had drained the dang thing already...poor Cale staring into an empty fountain

Good job Grandma! Both Cale and I are in the picture, we're both looking, and neither one of our heads are cut off!!!! A miracle for those of you who know how well my mom takes pictures! Poor Corrine and Nana! They had to bribe Cale with a toy bus for him to like them! He was having nothing to do with them, until the toy bus came out! It took him awhile to warm up, but once he realized they brought him a present, he was so sweet!
Grandpa and Cale playing pool! Cale was getting really good at rolling the balls around on the table. Funny how grandpa doesn't care if Cale sits on the table!
We tried going to the park one morning but discovered that everything was too wet, considering it was only about 40 degrees and everthing was covered with dew! So the only thing open that early was, of course, Walmart! We headed there to look at toys of course! Cale wanted to show daddy what he wants for Christmas this year....the BARBIE car!!!!!!! Not the tractor right next to it....the BARBIE car! Couldn't even get him to sit in the tractor!
Before Cale and I headed back home to see daddy, we stopped at Caribou for some good coffee and a little snack! Thanks for a fun weekend grandma and grandpa! Love you!