Halloween 2009

Like I said, Halloween was only fun this year because of Ali...oh, and Chey came for the weekend!
Friday night before Chey got in, we had our ward Trunk-or-Treat...it was raining and very cold outside, so the kids trick-or-treated through the halls and big rooms in the church. It was like speed trick-or-treating...I kinda liked it!

Ali showing off her costume...as soon as I put it on at home, she started "Buzzing" all over the place.

Last year it was "Tukka Tukka". This year it was "Trick or Treat, please!" Every time.

Huh, I get more candy?

Ali and her friends: Nyah, MJ and Neela

Her treat of choice: the sucker.

Brant doesn't dress up...period. But I convinced him to throw on a t-shirt and a pair of antennae. I was the "Queen Bee" and Brant was the "Drone Bee"(whose main job is to fertilize the eggs of the queen bee, not actually do any work...we thought it was funny.) We also made Cheyanne a t-shirt that said "Worker Bee" on the front and "Chey-Bee" on the back! Man, I'm clever!

Saturday, we took Cheyanne out to Lark Toys and to see the Mississippi river. Ali refused to ride anything on the carousel that moved, so she insisted on us riding in this. Unfortunately, I didn't take many pics, they're all on Chey's camera...hint, hint, Chey!

We put her on one just for fun after the rides...screaming....haha!

Ready to go trick-or-treating. She had arm-warmers, my black scarf, two pairs of pants, and later we added a hat...it was a tad bit chilly!

Close-up of my cute Bumblebee!

Riding in the wagon with Carter, the Viking and Josie, the Bride. Man, she was so dang cute that night. LOVE that she had so much fun!

Pre-Halloween Fun!

I love the fall! It's a shame it's kind of short up here in the frozen tundras of Minnesota! I'm not particularly a fan of Halloween, but it's so much fun with Ali! She was so excited for everything that we did...

Josie, Ali and I made a chocolate haunted castle. Ali ate more than she decorated, but it was really fun.

Silly faces!

Our finished product...very SPOOKY!

Ali and I with our hands in the pumpkin guts! She HATED touching the inside of the pumpkin this year, very different from last year.

I asked her to help me get out the seeds, so that's all she would touch.

Not wanting to go back in...

Checking for more seeds.

As funny as this picture is, it was pure TORTURE for her. She wanted nothing to do with the pumpkin guts!

Funny girl!

Fine, you can take them off...

To keep her occupied, we let her color her pumpkin.

She was quite proud.

Cheesin' with Daddy's scary pumpkin.

Oxbow...Ali's favorite place to be...

When Cindy, Maggie and McKinney came out last year, every day we planned to go to Oxbow, it poured rain. This time we finally had a beautiful day...compare Ali's outfit to the previous post. It was GORGEOUS! Ali loved showing Grandma and Maggie her favorite place to go and all the animals.

The girls on swing #1.

Ali wanting to stay and talk turkey...

Then deciding it would be more fun to come with us!

The girls on swing #2.

One of my favorite parts about this zoo: Ali isn't afraid to feed the animals. And also, the animals aren't afraid either.

She would only eat the "green leafs".

And one more!

We don't have a lot of pictures just of Grandma and Ali...these are so precious. Ali kept bringing Cindy books, long ones too. She loved that Grandma just kept reading and reading.

I absolutely LOVE this picture! She loves her Grandma. She was asking for Grandma and Maggie to "Come our house" for days after they left! Come visit soon!!!

Tweite's 2009

So this may be the most pictures EVER in one post, but there were too many cute ones to cut, plus this is my journal so deal with it! Haha! We were so lucky to have Cindy and Maggie come out and visit us. We took our now traditional trip to Tweite's, a pumpkin patch in the city next to us. Ali was fun to watch last year, but she had a blast this year! She is at such a fun age!

She's getting TOO big!

Ali and Maggie Shae

Ali being serious on the track...

Me, being not-so-serious...

She could only sort of reach the pedals.

Maggie trying to make it up the hill!

I love, love, love the look of pure joy on her face! Oh, she makes me so happy!

On the "boat".

Giving one of the pirates a kiss.

Playing "Lawn Ball" or as it is so fondly called here, "Teste Toss"...

Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy!

Maggie wanted to race. I said no...

I think she had to try out each one!

Ali and Maggie on top of the castle.

My girl in jail.

Then we told her to make a sad face...LOVE this girl...

And this guy...

Our little Family.

Grandma helping Ali down the slide. She was TERRIFIED of the spaces in the wooden slats on the play areas. Actually, it was quite hilarious to watch her freak out.

Corn Teepee, I win!

Ali loves tractors!

Doing what she does best...making noise!

Ali and Maggie after their slide-ride.

Maggie...

Ali...

And Mommy!

Climbing the "mountain" as she was calling it!

Attempting to rope climb up a wall. She didn't make it very far...notice the wooden slats!

Model Maggie!

Yes, I realize I got Brant's hand in the picture, but the next one I took, Ali was looking away and Maggie and Cindy had their eyes closed...

Riding the tire horse with...

Mommy and...

Maggie!

We were racing.

Again with the racing...

Posing with our horsies!

So much fun stuff to sit on...

Playing bean bag toss with Grandma.

Ali was good at picking them up again.

Us in the Corn Maze..."thinking" about the next question. They give you a piece of paper and every time you come to the checkpoint they have listed a Left or Right answer, one is correct and will lead you the right direction and the other will get you lost. So fun!

Finding our way...

Man, it was a gorgeous, BRIGHT day!

We only got lost once or twice...

Maggie, Grandma and Ali

Group Shot!

Ali FINALLY got to ride the tractor ou to the pumpkin patch. If it'd been up to her, that's all we would have done all day! She loved touching all the pumpkins and picking a "Mama" one and a "Baby" one just for her from Grandma!

Did I mention it was BRIGHT that day?!? We seriously had SO much fun! Thanks Cindy and Maggie for the fun memories! Can't wait til next year!?!

Snow, what?!?

On October 12th, it snowed and snowed! Ali was so excited to play and I was so excited that her snowsuit form last year still fits!!! Josie came over to play and they tried to build a snowman with no success, so Ali and I tried it again at our house later!

Ali and Josie raking the snow...this is what happens when it snows in OCTOBER!!!

Ali and Frosty

Her addition to Frosty...

Showin' the Frostman some love. He lasted about 3 days!

Apple-picking at Apple Ridge

A couple of Saturdays ago, we had an eventful morning! We went to breakfast with Auntie Sara at Cheap Charlie's, to the Farmer's market for some fresh veggies, then to Apple Ridge Orchard for some apple-pickin' with the Coburns. Ali loved the orchard last year, it's so much fun to watch her pick her perfect apple and then devour it right away. Brant wasn't able to come with us last year, so it was fun to have him there, too.

My cute girl before the tractor ride.

Us and the Coburns on the tractor.

They have 2 corn mazes; a child one and a big kid one. We let Ali lead the way!

Ali, Daniel and John. Ali clearly thought I was taking too many pictures...

I Love this little guy. He was enjoying the apples too!

She was a little distracted.

Scary ghosts: Ali and Daddy

The Coburns. I love Daniel's grumpy face!

Us.

This is on the side of the road on the way to the orchard...kinda random!

A visit from Aunt Chey-Chey

**Lots o'pictures!**

Brant's sister, Cheyanne came out to visit over Labor Day weekend. We tried to show her a good time. We took her up to the Como Zoo, Minnehaha Falls, Mall of America and the Rochester Waterski Labor Day show. We had a great time and hope she did too! Come back soon, Chey!

Me and my cheesy girl on the giraffes!

The girls.

Ali and Chey.

Me and Chey-Chey

While we were eating our lunch, Ali decided that she wanted us to take her picture. She crossed to the other side of the path and said, "CHEESE!"

So we made her do a silly face.

Ali and Sparky the Sea Lion.

That's her "I want some cotton candy" face.

The "Gorlillas", as Ali calls them.

Why are they always so grumpy and serious looking?

Brant and the gorilla looking tough.

Titty twister! Haha!

This guy was so much fun to watch with his buddies. Ali kept saying, "They're flying!"

That baby Orangutan, so cute!

Huh?

Yeah, I have a long tongue...

Ali chattin' with a butterfly.

Brant is just so popular with the butterflies!

Me and Chey in the butterfly exhibit.

There's a story behind this picture: There was a woman taking a picture of her two children (seen also in the picture). Well Ali decided they were new best friends. She sat down, said, "Hi!" and smiled for the camera. What a funny girl!

"Fufferfy"-Ali

Ali checking herself for "hitchhikers".

Ali and Chey.

The girls doing our flamingo pose.

Those lilly pads...they're real...and beautiful.

Chey's photography skills...gorgeous!

Again...

Beautiful Cheyanne.

Daddy taking Ali on the carousel. She was again terrified.

Every time they would come around to where Chey and I were standing, they would make a silly face of some kind. This is one of the only ones that turned out...and it's not even that silly.

On the way to Minnehaha Falls

The Falls

Chey and Brant (I stayed in the car because Ali was taking her only nap of the day!)

Chey and the Falls.

Cheyanne Gump

We ate at Kokomo's Island Cafe.

Cheyanne: "Are those seriously made out of legos?"

Chey and Ali at Lake Zumbro

Enjoying the Waterski Show!

Ali and her daddy.

Megs and Dax came for a visit!

**WARNING: LOTS of pictures!**

We were so luck to have Megs and Dax come visit us for 5 whole days! Well it would've been 5 WHOLE days if it weren't for stupid Delta...Anywho, they got here safe and sound and that's all that matters. Ali and I had lots of fun things planned for their visit. I'll tell you about it through pictures!

Megs with the kiddos at Lake Pepin in Lake City, MN.

Beautiful Lake Pepin

Ali and I haven't been to Lark Toys since Grandma was here last year...since then she's developed a fear of carousels apparently...she literally had a DEATH grip on my shirt the entire ride!

I know, I'm so mean!

Eating her "green" ice cream at the Nelson Dairy in Nelson, WI.

She LOVES ice cream!

Megs and Dax at the Water ski show on Lake Zumbro.

One of the amazing stunts by the Rochester Water ski Team.

Our little familia at the water ski show. Ali was so dang cute. She was cheering and clapping so loudly for every act, and if you weren't clapping...she would make you clap!

Dax and Ali checking out the wolf.

Quick pose on the swing.

On Saturday, before Megs left we went to the Como Zoo and the MOA. They've got a baby orangutan there...it's SO cute!

Ali and Daddy waiting for Sharky the Sea Lion show to start.

My buddy, Daxto.

Us and the zebras.

Ali and Dax on the giraffes!

"Hi, Butterfly!"
They had this cool butterfly exhibit going. I was nervous after the way Ali was behaving about certain things that she might be terrified. She LOVED it.

Mommy and Ali

Brant was very popular with the butterflies for some reason. They kept landing on his back and staying for a few minutes.

Number 2.

Our cute kids...

And again...

I love butterflies!

So do they!

Megs and I near the entrance of Como Zoo.

The kids were REALLY ready to see some sharks!

My sweet girl!

Our little treasures!

Megs...bein' Megs.

We were trying to snap a quick picture on the turtle and Dax was falling off...what did I do? I still took the picture! What? It was funny!

That's better!

Ali touching a Sea Star, she was so brave!

You're supposed to touch the sea creatures with one or two fingers...NOT for Ali. She kept trying to pick everything up, to "wake" it up. That girl cracks me up!

THANKS Megs and Dax for coming to visit! We hope you can come again soon! We miss you!

What about Ali? Our 100th post!

This is our 100th post! And look, Ali is so happy! Seriously, who can resist that face? I can't believe I've actually (somewhat) kept this blog going! Some months better than others, but hey!

This video cracks me up! Ali loves her veggies. We gave her an ear of corn a couple weeks ago and this was the result. Reminds me of What About Bob. Also, at the end is the video of her jumping into her pool, such a funny kid!

Randomtown aka Wisconsin Dells

Since Alison was so close in Chicago, we decided to go and meet her almost halfway in the Wisconsin Dells. If you have never heard of the Dells, it is a VERY small town with the largest waterpark in America, indoor and outdoor. However, the town is so random! The hotels are very themed and everything kinda looks out of place in this little town.
It was fun, however to spend a few hours with Alison. Ali loves her "Aunt Alcee"! Thanks for the memories Alison, oh and lunch and the outfit and dishes for Ali, too!

I asked Ali to hold this skirt at Old Navy. She tried to put it on and got stuck in her stroller...so instead of helping her first, I HAD to take a picture!

The Alisons and Paul

Me, Ali and Paul

Where we had lunch. Paul Bunyan's Lumberjack meals, didn't even finish one go through! It was delish though!

THIS was the most random thing we saw...it's the White House...upside down?!?

And there's more...

A couple Fridays ago, Brant and his classmates had their annual "1st years vs. 2nd years" football game. Ali felt left out, so she decided to put some black stuff on her face! The 2nd years won...just in case you were wondering.

The next day, a family in our ward had their annual get-together at their house. It was a blast! Lots of games, a GIANT slip-n-slide and of course, FOOD! Here's Brant in the adult potato sack race. So funny!

The Minnesota way to sunbathe...in a snow tube in the pool!

If you look closely you can see Brant and I in the middle gearing up for the couples race.

Men vs. kids tug-o-war...the men lost!

My Ali thinking she's a big girl trying to play games with the big kids.

Oh yeah, and they have a zipline in their yard, too! I thought why not?!? Here I am loading up!

On the way down...

Almost down!

Brant and Ali laughing at me. What? So I was the only adult in the line of kids? Who cares?!?

Our Ali girl...

We had such a fun weekend! Brant had Friday off and even though it was nasty and rainy, we made the best of it. We went to lunch at the mall and let Ali play around for a bit. Brant then had a meeting at the clinic so Ali and I walked/ran around the subway system since it was raining outside. Saturday we had a water activity with the primary and then while Ali was taking a nap I decided to get out her pool since it was SO hot and sticky outside! She had so much fun jumping off her slide and having mommy and daddy's full attention. Brant and I were enjoying just sitting and playing with Ali and nothing else. Too fun! Here are some pics of our beautiful girl.

"I didn't do it!" Yep, I even gave her the whisk to lick! Mmmm, brownies...

At park day last week. She looks so big!

Makin' cookies with mom. Seriously, I had to cut her off! Funny girl!

At the mall, notice the terrified face She's always wanted to ride in one of these, so I finally caved. It was $1 and when it started jerking her around, she was not very happy about it. No worries though, there was a little boy standing right over her that took over the controls when she got out!

A little junk in the trunk...

Puttin' out the vibe!

Off she goes!

She was catching some serious air!

Splash!

So happy...and proud!

I know this is nasty, but Brant and I were laughing so hard at how much her diaper kept growing! We weighed it...a little over 3 pounds!

I tried a new hair-do for church yesterday, she looked so cute, but WAY too big!

Her favorite thing is to show Daddy her hair and let him tell her how cute she is! Haha!

My little princess!

Who needs California...

...when we have a beach right here!!! Ali and I, along with Cami and Daniel went to Chester Woods Park last week to visit the beach. It's on a quiet little lake, lots of sand for playing and water for splashing...Ali was in HEAVEN! I think we'll try to make this a weekly adventure as long as the weather stays somewhat warm. Our "high" was 68 on Saturday...where did summer go?!? Today is nice and hot and sticky!

Cami, Daniel and Ali on the beach.

Ali was so happy to play in the water!

Ali and daddy being silly.

He's gonna love me for putting this pic up...but it's so funny!

Our neighbor, Josie, came over to make snow cones with Ali. This is what we've resorted to since there's not one single Sno Shack in Rochester!

Cheeese!

We had the Adairs over for dinner on Friday night. On the menu: Grilled Salmon with a miso-orange glaze, rice pilaf, grilled zuchinni, salad, shrimp skewers and this lovely chocolate cake. Yes, it was quite delicious!

We had the wonderful pleasure of watching cute little Daniel on Saturday. Ali absolutely loves this kid! She's gonna be a great big sister someday!

This is what Ali does when she's in time out...lovely. "Help, Mommy, Help!"

Nothin' better than a fair!

We made our 2nd Annual trip to the Olmsted County Fair on Monday night. We were so thrilled that the Coburns were able to go with us as well. Ali was SO SO excited to go when I told her we were going to see cows and pigs. She kept saying, "I say hi to the cows and chickens and pigs and goats and horsies!" We also got to see turkeys, geese, rabbits and a donkey. Brant and I just went for the food...I love fair food and in the Midwest, there's nothing better than batter-fried cheese curds! YUMMY!

Ali and Daniel in their Cowboy/girl attire.

"MOM! They're ridin' the horsies!"

John and Daniel. Love the scrunchy face.

Ali waiting for the "Egg and Spoon" contest. Yep, the girls ride the horses with an egg on a spoon and they have them do certain commands until the last one drops it. So funny!

So happy to see the horses.

Ali wanted to push her stroller.

Ali with the chickens.

Classic!

Ali petting a rabbit.

Cami, Daniel and John

Ali and Daddy with the sheep.

Ali told me she wanted an ice cream cone. She was one happy kid!

Daniel...straight up gangsta!

My treat: Hawaiian Shave Ice

I was nice and shared with Brant

She didn't even get that messy with her ice cream cone. We were thoroughly impressed.

"All hail New York Pansies!"

A few randoms....

Because I've done SO well in keeping this blog updated the past few months, I realized today I left out a few pics.

I came out of the bathroom yesterday to find Ali like this...that's clean laundry...

Hu Hot? You hot? Alison hot!

My pretty girl with her camera at the zoo.

Playing on the bars at the zoo.

BABY COW!!! BABY COW!!!

Ali LOVES animals.

Ali petting the baby goats.

Peeking at the prairie dogs.

My happy Ali. She loves going to the zoo.

Me and the Alisons!

Ali and her friend, Guilianna. We were so sad when they moved back to Boston.

I love to see the crazy positions Ali sleeps in. This time she had pulled her sheet half off, too! What a girl!

Whoops! Forgot this one!

I forgot I still had to post the rest of the pictures from our trip! So sorry! Like I said before, I was more than lacking with my camera duties, so I apologize for the randomness! We had such a fun and busy trip and we wish we lived closer so that we could go more often! We love and miss you all!

Swingin' with Grandma Anne at the park.

Ali loves to swing!

Still in love...

We so happy!

A blow-up toy and water? What could be more fun!

I heart Creamies! I wish we had them in MN.

Ali chillin' in her chair with her Creamie at Grandpa Bill's.

Some of the crew at Grandpa Bill's

Ali on our way to Queen Creek. She wasn't feeling well that day, but she still kept us pretty entertained!

Our little family with Grandpa Nik

Ali and Grandpa Nik