The Lion and the Kangaroo-HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We tried to recreate a picture from last year with Chase and Bridger. While visiting Grandma & Grandpa this fall we put the boys in some costumes and tried to get their picture together. (costumes courtesy of grandma Sue's rummage finds) It wasn't as easy as last years pictures. Last year Chase was a devil and Bridger was a frog. They were a little more on the run this year at 18 & 19 months.

Bridger's lion outfit is so darn cute!!! I was laughing at him the whole time while trying to take the pictures.

Fonzie's secret passion

Last Saturday while the household was napping I woke to find Fonzie hugging Chase's vacuum cleaner. I couldn't resist taken some pictures when he woke up he looked darn guilty.

Chase is a freak about vacuuming. He loves it when I get out the real one. He gets his and vacuums right along with me. Many days he runs to the closet where the vacuum is stored wanting me to get it out. (Chase- Auntie Kara is proud of you and I'm sure at her house you could vacuum everyday!!)

Here is some pictures of Fonzie caught in the act. Also a shot of Chase and Fonzie last May (look how small he was?) Chase got the vacuum from his great uncle and aunt Mike & Shirley. Thanks guys they love it!!!

TRF Past time BINGO

While in TRF a couple of weeks ago. The grandparents watched Chase so I could get out and play some Bingo. I believe on any night of the week you can find a spot in town to play this exciting game. We hit up the Eagles on Friday night. It started with just 4 of us but soon grew to 18 of us. The first game Katie got a Bingo for like a whole $18 (wasn't that many people there yet). She Bingo again a couple games later along with Joni. By the end of the night we were down $6. Not a great night of Bingo for us anyway. But always a good time!!

Here are some shots of the winners and a group shot.

Chase and Cousin Bridger

Always our trips to TRF now are spent letting the boys hang out together. Bridger is 5 weeks older than Chase but has a couple more solid pounds on him.

Here are a couple shots of them from their weekend together. Though right now they don't really play together I'm sure in a year it will be a different story.

The last shot is Grandma's play room which has more toys than our house. Chase sure likes it there.

Chase's 1st Hotel stay

Chase and I left the cities Wed the 14th at 7 pm. Hoping to make it to TRF by midnight. It rain pretty much the whole way. Than as we drove farther north it started to snow. By the time we hit Wadena the roads were full of slush and it was getting colder. I made the executive decision to stop in Detroit Lakes and find a hotel room. I was tired and didn't feel like pushing myself another 1 1/2 hours.

We pulled into the AmericInn Hotel and decided that is where we would spend the night. I wasn't the only one seeking shelter from the snow. A couple came in right before me. I asked for the cheapest room and they gave me a handicap room right off the front desk. We settled in quickly and tired to get a good nights sleep. But with the front desk noise and the constant trains going by it was hard. Every time Chase heard a train he would say choo-choo. I finally got smart at 2am and turned on the fan for some white noise.

The next morning we took full advantage of the free breakfast. Probably spent an hour hanging out in the food area eating a little of everything. I like to think we ate about $20 in food so we got our short hotel visit monies worth.

Here's a couple shots of Chase in the room. We didn't have a tub (handicap bathroom) he was really interested in the drains on the floor. Bedtime and his enjoyment the phone. Had to take it off the hook in fear he would start calling rooms.

Yes-I'm still alive!!

It's been a couple weeks since my last blog. We had a trip up to Thief River Falls scheduled for Oct 14-18. We made it up on Thursday after a over night stop in Detroit Lakes due to bad weather Wednesday night. We had planned to help with an Avon sale for my Grandma's stuff. But proved to be not much help. 18 month olds are a little busy for all that stuff. My mom and aunts sat in the cold garage for 2 days and tried to sell as much as they good. A think a couple more sells might be in the future. Grandma had a lot of items.
It also turned out to be a longer trip due to the fact that after almost a year they found my friend Gina Anderson. She had went missing with no clues last October. Finally they got permission to draw down the river. The search started Wed afternoon and after an hour they found her car. At the bottom of the river in town. She was in it and had been since that day in Oct when she went missing. So sad she was so close all this time. The family has been though so much but they now have closure. Gina's husband Jeremy called and asked me to be a casketbearer for the funeral. I was honored. Since I moved to the cities 10 years ago I slowly lost close contact with Gina and Jeremy. Something I have always regretted. In high school and for years after that we had a lot of great memories. And I will always cherish those. Gina you can now rest in peace free from pain and rumors.

Chase you can eat in the Living room but only to watch the Twins!

Pretty exciting game tonight!! Eric had to work so he wasn't able to watch it on t.v. Chase and I decided to have dinner in the living room. We don't eat much in the living room anymore once Chase started feeding himself and throwing food.

Here is a picture of him enjoying his sandwich and crackers and watching the game. I have to say he ate more food this way but I know the facts people that eat and watch t.v. are more likely to be fat.

He of course didn't make it to the end of the game. As his bed time is 8:00. Oh well there will be other games.

Fall + No Vikings on Sunday = Apple Orchard

So every year when the Vikings don't play on Sunday (Eric has no reason to say no) we head out to an Apple Orchard. This year the fall weather was definitely in the air so it was a quicker trip but still a good one.

We went to a new orchard this year Afton Apple Orchard in Hastings. We headed down to Char's first and she feed us a home made breakfast. Funny how your kid doesn't eat your french toast but Grandma's he loves. Than off to see the apples.

Chase really enjoyed climbing the hay bales (he could of went higher but none of us were climbing to get him down). There was a petting zoo with his favorite BAAAA's. Also my favorite the "Donkey". (I have a hard time looking at any donkey now with out hearing Eddie Murphy's voice from Sherk.) Also a llama was there which we stayed clear of.

Chase and I took a ride on the MooMoo Choo Choo train. Chase knows what a cows says and his lastest is letting us know what a train says. To quote him "Choo Choo Choooo" and he does a little arm action with it. (Think trying to get a trucker to honk their horn. That's his arm motion.)

Because it was starting to rain a little and it was colder out we didn't pick any apples this year. We just bought them in the store. We did let Chase pick out his own pumpkin. Of course he went to the first one he seen. Not the prettiest but it's the one Eric said he picked out so we got it. It's a big one so let's hope we can get it decorated before the squirrels eat it up.

Here are some pictures from our day in the Orchard:

Chase on the hay bales.

This shot on the moo moo choo choo was to funny. No I'm not squeezing him to death he's telling me what a cow says.

Family shot in the Orchard.

Chase's pumpkin.