pumpkins, piercings, and honey crisp apples

We had an awesome 5 days with Will's parents in Rochester and we were sad to say goodbye this morning. But I think the days we had with them here have been some of our best days in Minnesota so far. We went to the pumpkin patch, spent a day in the Twin Cities (or "the cities" as the locals call it), picked apples at an orchard, and enjoyed several family dinners and game nights together. AND...are you ready for this...WE HAD OUR FIRST SNOW!!!! We went to bed on Oct. 11th with flurries coming down and woke up the next morning to the ground covered in white! Beautiful and frightening all at the same time.

view from our deck

i have decided that i must and i will have a positive attitude about the weather. so this is me having a positive attitude.

my little pumpkins at the pumpkin patch

the fam

Pops and Sandy with their grandbabies

Liam scoping out the patch

in true Liam-style, he felt the need to gather ALL the pumpkins

When we went to the cities we spent the day at the Mall of America. Nickelodeon Universe is there and Liam loved riding the rides. And Hayden got her sweet little ears pierced! I have to admit... when I was holding her down for the girl to pierce her ears my heart was pounding and I had a moment of regret. But Hayden only cried for two seconds and her little earrings are completely adorable.

Liam driving a big rig

Sandy and Liam on the carousel

Billy, Will and Liam on the log ride (poor Liam was afraid for his life)

Before you die, you must come to Rochester, MN in the fall, go to an apple orchard and eat a honey crisp apple straight from the tree. There's nothing like it. And if you've got mad skills like me you'll go home and make pie too. By the way, I've learned not to underestimate the weight of apples. We didn't realize how many apples we had picked until we went to pay for them. We had picked almost 30 lbs. and it cost us $50!! But worth every penny.

making my first apple pie, i didn't know if i could pull it off, but it was actually pretty delish

We carved our pumpkins the same night we baked pie. Such a festive little evening.

Hayden taking it all in

Sandy and Pops' pumpkins

Will and Liam's pumpkins (Liam used markers instead of knives)

just a sweet pic from the week

It's still hard to believe that I live in Minnesota and this is my life. I was just saying to Will's parents this week that I still feel like I'm in college but I blinked and suddenly I'm a mom in a mini-van with two kids, a mortgage and my first grey hair (no really, i found my first grey hair last month). Sometimes I'm behind the wheel of the Odyssey and I look in the rear view mirror at my babies and it's almost an out of body experience. But THIS IS THE LIFE!! I can remember when I was feeling anxious about going to college my mom said to me, "these will be some of the best years of your life." And college was great - so much freedom, so little responsibility, going and doing what you want when you want. My life now is a stark contrast to that - little freedom and HUGE responsibility. But the path that God has led me down since college is RICH with blessings and I praise and honor Him for it. My main objective now is to be a servant for Him and to teach my kids the same.

Thanks Billy and Sandy for coming to visit. We love you so much!